Oct. 18 1910 — The Philadelphia Athletics pounded the Chicago Cubs 9-3 for a 2-0 lead in the World Series. Eddie Collins had three hits, including two doubles, and two stolen bases. 1950 — Connie Mack, at age 87, retired as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics after 50 years, and Jimmy Dykes was named to replace him. Mack, together with Ben Shibe, founded the Athletics in 1901. 1973 — The Mets’ Jerry Koosman and Tug McGraw combined to three-hit the Oakland A’s and take 3-2 lead in the World Series. 1977 — Reggie Jackson hit three consecutive home runs to lead New York to an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and give the Yankees the World Series title in six games. Jackson drove in five runs, and all three shots came on the first pitch. 1992 — Backup catcher Ed Sprague’s pinch-hit home run gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves and evened up the World Series at one game apiece. Sprague hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning — the 17th pinch-hit home run in World Series history. 1999 — Orlando Hernandez pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning and Derek Jeter hit a two-run homer as the New York Yankees won their record 36th pennant, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-1 in Game 5 of the AL championship series. 2012 — Max Scherzer capped a stupendous stretch for Detroit’s starting rotation, and the Tigers advanced to the World Series by beating the New York Yankees 8-1 for a four-game sweep of the AL championship series. 2013 — Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals stunned Clayton Kershaw with a four-run third inning, rookie Michael Wacha was again magnificent on the mound and St. Louis advanced to its second World Series in three seasons by roughing up the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-0 in Game 6 of the NL championship series. Beltran had three hits and drove in two runs while facing Kershaw and made a spectacular catch in right field. St. Louis handed Kershaw four losses this season, including the two in the NLCS. 2018 — David Price put his postseason woes behind him, pitching the Boston Red Sox back into another World Series with a 4-1 victory over the defending champion Houston Astros. Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer as the Red Sox stunned Justin Verlander and the Astros in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series to win the best-of-seven set 4-1. ___