The 1979 American League Championship Series was a best-of-five series that was the semifinal on the American League side of the 1979 postseason, which pitted the East Division champion Baltimore Orioles against the West Division champion California Angels, who were making their first postseason appearance.
Game 1 matched up two Hall-of-Famers, as Nolan Ryan, in his final season with the Angels, took on the Orioles' Jim Palmer.
In the bottom of the fourth, Baltimore's Pat Kelly singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly.
The inning seemed harmless when Frost got Ken Singleton to ground into a 6–4–3 double play that put Bumbry at third with two out.
Singles by eventual league MVP Don Baylor and Brian Downing followed by a sacrifice fly from Grich made it 9–3.
A Murray error put two on with nobody out, and Lansford's single sent Thon home with the fourth run and Flanagan to the showers.
Long-time Dodger standout Willie Davis, playing in his last professional game, pinch-hit for Thon and doubled to left, putting runners at second and third and the tying run at the plate was Carew.
Aase got out of the jam when DeCinces hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Singleton, pinch hitter John Lowenstein walked, and Rich Dauer hit a seeming sacrifice fly to center for the second out that Rick Miller turned into a double play by gunning down Murray at home to keep the score 2–2.
In the seventh inning, Al Bumbry tripled and scored on Terry Crowley's single to give the Orioles their first lead of the day.
Martinez had his work cut out for him as the three hitters he was scheduled to face were 1979 AL MVP Baylor, eight-time batting champion and eventual Hall of Famer Carew, and Downing, who had finished third in the league in hitting.
He got Baylor to fly out, but Carew doubled, causing Baltimore manager Earl Weaver to yank Martinez and replace him with Don Stanhouse.
John Montague relieved Dave Frost and allowed a three-run home run to Pat Kelly to cap the scoring at 8–0 Orioles.