[Tiger Fan]

Once again the Cincinnati Reds only needed the first inning to score enough runs to beat the New York Yankees. The Reds scored three times in the opening inning of game one and followed that up with 2 runs in the first inning of game two and now did the same today in game three.

Those two runs were enough for Jim O'Toole and reliever Billy McCool to beat the Yankees and give Cincinnati a commanding 3 games to none lead in the series. The Reds can wrap things up at Yankee Stadium tomorrow afternoon. Cincinnati and the Yankees had previously met twice in World Series play - in 1960 and 1962 with the Reds prevailing each time although both of those series went the full seven games.

Cincinnati's pitching has the heart of the Yankees lineup just baffled. Mickey Mantle, who hit .309 with 37 homers and 112 rbi's during the regular season, is 0-for-11 in the series. It continues a recent trend of tough post-seasons for Mantle, who went 3-for-21 last year against the Dodgers and was 4-for-27 in 1962 against the Reds. It is a far cry from Mantle's early World Series exploits including 1960 when he hit .280 with 4 homers and 13 rbi's in his first taste of action against the Reds.

The problem for New York is it is not just Mantle who is struggling. As a team the Yankees are batting just .181 (17-for-94) and when you remove the first two hitters in the lineup, lead-off man Dick Howser and #2 hole hitter Tom Tresh, who are each 5-for-11 in the series and take the pitchers out of the equation the batting average from #3 through 8 hitters in the Yankee lineup is .076.

Here is the Game Three story.