Editor’s note: The 1980 Tournament games are being played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice. The designated hitter will be used for any games involving American League teams. Injuries will only be used during the game when they occur. For this tournament, the rules include a three-man pitching rotation using the best lineups available.
It’s called The Launching Pad for a reason.
The Atlanta Braves made use of their home ballpark with three home runs on their way to a 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres in the opening round of the 1980 National League Tournament.
Jeff Burroughs got the action underway early in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium with a two-run homer off San Diego starter Randy Jones in the second.
In the third, Dale Murphy blasted a solo homer to put the Braves up 3-0.
Braves starter Phil Niekro gave up a RBI single in the fifth to San Diego’s Luis Salazar.
Murphy answered in the bottom of the frame for Atlanta to give the Braves a 4-1 advantage.
San Diego ousted Niekro in the sixth as Dave Winfield hit a two-run double before Willie Montanez added a RBI single that tied it at 4-4.
A solo blast by Burroughs in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the winning run.
Tommy Boggs (1-0), who got the final out of the sixth, earned the victory by blanking the Padres for the next two innings.
Rick Camp tossed a perfect ninth to pick up the save for Atlanta.
1980 AL Tournament
First Round Pairings and Results
(1) New York Yankees (103-59), bye
(8) Oakland Athletics 8, (9) Minnesota Twins 2
(13) California Angels 11, (4) Milwaukee Brewers 4
(5) Boston Red Sox 9, (12) Toronto Blue Jays 3
(2) Baltimore Orioles (100-62), bye
(7) Cleveland Indians 10, (10) Texas Rangers 8
(14) Seattle Mariners 6, (3) Kansas City Royals 1
(11) Chicago White Sox 5, (6) Detroit Tigers 1
Second Round Pairings
(8) Oakland Athletics at (1) New York Yankees
(13) California Angels at (5) Boston Red Sox
(7) Cleveland Indians at (2) Baltimore Orioles
(14) Seattle Mariners at (11) Chicago White Sox
1980 NL Tournament
First Round Pairings and Results
(1) Houston Astros (93-70), bye
(9) St. Louis Cardinals 9, (8) San Francisco Giants 1
(4) Montreal Expos (90-72), bye
(5) Cincinnati Reds 3, (12) Chicago Cubs 1
(2) Los Angeles Dodgers (92-71), bye
(7) Atlanta Braves 5, (10) San Diego Padres 4
(3) Philadelphia Phillies (91-71), bye
(11) New York Mets (67-95) at (6) Pittsburgh Pirates (83-79)