starter Doug Rau in the top of the first. After a leadoff single and one-out walk, Willie Stargell's three-run home run put the Pirates up 3–0. One out later, an error, the first of five the Dodgers committed in the game, allowed Bob Robertson to reach base before Richie Hebner's two-run home run extended the lead to 5–0. In the fourth, back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Hebner and Mario Mendoza with two on off of Charlie Hough made it 7–0 Pirates. Bruce Kison gave up only two hits in the innings he worked and his reliever Ramón Hernández, slammed the door on the Dodgers the rest of the way as the Pirates staved off elimination. Game 4 Don Sutton and Jerry Reuss, as in the opener, were the opposing pitchers in the fourth game. Sutton was just as good as he ever was, permitting but one run (on Willie Stargell's home run in the seventh) and three hits and striking out seven in eight innings of work before allowing the ubiquitous Mike Marshall to close. Reuss and three relievers, on the other hand, were hammered. Davey Lopes walked to lead off the first, stole second and scored on Jim Wynn's double. In the third, Steve Garvey's home run after a walk made it 3–0. In the fifth, Garvey's second home run of the game, also after a walk off of Ken Brett, extended the lead to 5–0. Next inning, Steve Yeager drew a leadoff walk off of Larry Demery, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a triple by Davey Lopes, who himself scored on second baseman Rennie Stennett's errant throw to third. Next inning, after a leadoff single and walk, Dave Giusti relieved Demery and allowed RBI singles to Bill Russell and Don Sutton to extend the Dodgers' lead to 9–1. In the eighth, Giusti allowed a one-out single and walk before Joe Ferguson's RBI single made it 10–1 Dodgers. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Russell's two-run single capped the game's scoring at 12–1 as the Dodgers advanced to the 1974 World Series with the largest margin of victory in a championship series game. Composite box 1974 NLCS (3–1): Los Angeles Dodgers over Pittsburgh Pirates References External links Baseball-Reference.com – 1974 NLCS National League Championship Series National League Championship Series Los Angeles Dodgers postseason Pittsburgh Pirates postseason National League Championship Series National League Championship