“Whew…Shot J.R.”–‘93 Jints outlast ‘87 Jays in 5

Sorry, I'm a little late at getting this writeup in.....Great series, with most of the games coming down to the late innings. The home team won every game.

Game One: Toronto's Jim Clancy and SF's John Burkett square off in a well-pitched game. SF strikes first, as Willie McGee singles home Darren Lewis in the first, after Lewis hit a bunt single and stole second. It remains that way until the bottom of the sixth, when Clancy leads off the inning by walking a batter and allowing two singles. Two runs crossed the plate for a more cushiony 3-0 SF lead. But then the Jays come back in the eighth as the power comes out: Jesse Barfield and Tony Fernandez hit back to back homers to tie it at three. But in the bottom of the ninth, unheralded J.R. Phillips hits a pinch, two-run shot off reliever Gary Lavelle to send the Giants to a home win. SF 5, TOR 3.

Game Two: Another home win for the Giants, this one in a rout at Candlestick. The Giants score 11 times off rattled Jays starter Dave Stieb, led by two homers and four RBIs from Barry Bonds. Meanwhile, Bill Swift pitches 8.2 innings of shutout, four hit ball. Giants 11, Jays 0.

Game Three: Jimmy Key is again masterful for the Jays, pitching 7.2 innings of two run ball and running his record to 3-0. SF starter Bud Black is victimized by a three run sixth, allowing two balks and another Barfield homer. Tom Henke picks up his second save in a four out, no hit ninth -- he struck out Matt WIlliams but allowed him to reach first on a wild pitch but got the job done. TOR 4, SF 2.

Game Four: Toronto attempts to even the series and stay alive at home. Another tough lefty, Mike Flanagan, holds the hard hitting SF team to two runs in 7.2 innings, a repeat of Key's performance in Game Three. SF starter Trevor Wilson allows four runs and 10 hits in his seven innings, with key fourth innings blasts from Jesse Barfield and George Bell, the fourth homers for each. Henke saves another to even the series at two. TOR 4, SF 2.

Game Five: The rubber game to move to the Sweet Sixteen lives up to its advanced billing. Clancy and Burkett go again, and they keep the offenses in check for the most part. The game is tied at two going into the fifth, as Barfield continues his hot hitting with a key double and SF scratches out two runs on singles. But then Barry Bonds comes alive again, scorching a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth for a 3-2 Giants lead. Burkett continues to dominant Jays hitters after that, shutting down the offense entirely after the fifth. Burkett goes eight innings, only allowing four hits and two runs. The Giants scratch two more runs across the bottom of the eighth with only one base hit -- getting two walks and a passed ball to add to the damage. Rod Beck picks up his third save in the ninth, as the 93 Giants advance. SF 5, TOR 2.

Thanks to Marc for playing this on a late Saturday night.

Regards,

Joe Pryweller

‘99 Sahx win with Dau-bauch’s against the wall vs ‘61 TIgers

GAME 1 : 61 Detroit @ 99 Boston

Detroit 18-0

WP: Don Mossi (1-0) LP: Bret Saberhagen (0-1)

HR: Norm Cash (1), Rocky Colavito 2(5), Dick Brown (2)

Don Mossi (9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 K) didn't need much support but the Tigers decided to beat up any pitcher Boston sent to the mound in a brutal,unrelenting 24 hit, 18 run attack. The Tigers scored 3+ runs in 4 separate innings paced by Al Kaline (3-5, 3 Rbi), Norm Cash (3-6, 5 Rbi), Rocky Colavito (4-6, 2 HR, 3 Rbi) and Dick Brown (5-6, 4 Rbi). The only solace the beaten Red Sox felt was that as bad as it was it only counted as 1 loss.

GAME 2: 61 Detroit @ 99 Boston

Boston 10-5

WP: Ramon Martinez (1-1) LP: Frank Lary (1-1)

HR: Norm Cash (2), Troy O’Leary (2)

It was the Red Sox turn to beat up opposing pitchers in game 2. Boston jumped on Frank Lary early with 4 runs in the 2nd and 2 more in the 3rd thanks to a Darren Lewis 2 run triple and Troy O’Leary 2 run homer. Detroit got right back into the game with 5 runs in the 4th. The Tigers threatened to tie or go ahead in that inning after a scoring 4 but Ramon Martinez came up big with a K of Al Kaline with runners on 1st and 2nd. Boston made sure a comeback wasn't in the cards for Detroit by adding 4 huge insurance runs on in the bottom o the 5th. The key hit coming when Jose Offerman triples with the bases loaded, clearing the bases and ending the night of Lary. Ramon Martinez (6 IP, 7 H, 5 R) was not very good, but Rich Garces and Derek Lowe pitched 3 scoreless innings to help Boston even the series.

GAME 3: 99 Boston @ 61 Detroit

Boston 4-0

WP: Pedro Martinez (2-1) LP: Jim Bunning (1-1)

HR: Jason Varitek (1)

Even the potent 1961 Detroit Tiger lineup was no match for Pedro Martinez on this night. Pedro went 8 dominant innings, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while fanning 8 tiger hitters. The Sox got the Hall of Famer 2 runs in the 2nd and 2 more in the 4th off of fellow Cooperstown inductee Jim Bunning. Jason Varitek not only caught the Martinez gem but provided most of the offense with a 2 run homer in the 4th and a sacrifice fly in the 2nd. Rod Beck closed it out with a 1-2-3 9th inning to push the Tigers to the brink of elimination.

GAME 4: 99 Boston @ 61 Detroit

Detroit 6-5

WP: Terry Fox (2-0) LP: Rich Garces (0-1)

HR: Brian Daubach (3), Norm Cash (3)

With their backs up against the wall, Detroit turned to Paul Foytack to pitch them to a game 5 trip back to Boston. The Red Sox struck first with a solo homer by Brian Daubach in the 4th. The lead was short lived as Detroit responded with 3 in the bottom of the inning sparked by a big 2 out, 2 run single by Al Kaline. The score remained 3-1 until the Tigers added another run in the bottom of the 7th when Norm Cash drilled a leadoff homer. However, Boston would not go down easily, bouncing right back with a huge 4 run 8th to take a 5-4 lead. The big hit being the 2 run triple by Wilton Veras. Boston could feel a series victory was within reach and sent Rich Garces out in the bottom of the 8th to protect the 1 run lead. A lead off double by Charlie Maxwell was a rude welcoming for El Guapo. Jake Wood followed with a single but Maxwell was held at 3rd. A groundout would move Wood to 2nd, which then lead to an intentional walk of Al Kaline to load the bases with 1 down. Unfortunately, Garces could not find the strike zone against Norm Cash which forced in the tying run. Garces bucked down and was able to get Rocky Colavito to ground into an inning ending double play but the damage had already been down. Terry Fox threw retired the Red Sox in order in the top of the 9th, putting the pressure on Garces in the bottom of the 9th. Steve Boros got right down to business with a lead off double to drive Garces from the game bringing in Derek Lowe. Lowe retired Dick Brown and then walked Bill Bruton to set up the force out looking for Bubba Morton to bounce into an inning ending double play. Lowe thought he had done his job when Morton bounced a 1-1 sinker to second baseman Jose Offerman. The ball, however, bounced off the glove of Offerman loading the bases with 1 out. With the infield drawn in, Jake wood drove a ball deep enough into left field to allow Boros to score easily with the winning run.

GAME 5: 61 Detroit @ 99 Boston

Boston 5-4

WP: Rod Beck (2-0) LP: Terry Fox (2-1)

HR: Norm Cash (4), Nomar Garciaparra (1)

In a pitching rematch from Game 1’s 18-0 beating, a better outing from Bret Saberhagen was going to be needed if Boston would pull the series upset over heavily favored Detroit. Saberhagen was better than in game 1 but still left the game trailing 4-1 in the 6th inning. Don Mossi was solid again for Detroit. But, despite being staked to a 3 run lead heading into the bottom of the 8th thanks to another Norm Cash HR and 2 bases loaded walks by Rheal Cormier, Mossi could not hold off a desperate Boston lineup. Nomar Garciaparra finally came through with a big hit in the series, drilling a 1-0 Mossi change up over the Green Monster for a 2 run homer pulling the Sox with in a run. Mossi did settle down and got out of the 8th still clinging to the 4-3 lead. After his team failed to add to its lead in the top of the 9th, Mossi was sent back out to close the series out. A Troy O’Leary single proved to be the end of the night for Mossi as the call went to Terry Fox to close it out. Trot Nixon sacrificed pinch runner Darren Lewis to 2nd. Pinch-hitter Reggie Jefferson lined a game tying shot to right center and advanced to 2nd on the play at the plate. Speedster Donnie Sadler was put in as the game winning run at 2nd base. An intentional walk to Jose Offerman set the stage for Brian Daubach. Dauber was up to the challenge sending a 2-2 fastball from Fox off the wall in the right field corner scoring Sadler easily from 2nd base.

--submitted by Peter Daly--

Three H’s (Hank/Hal/Hutch) are too much for the Cards.

Game 1:  St. Louis opened the series by scoring in the bottom of the first on a Ted Simmons double play ball.  They put up two more in the 3rd on doubles by Steve "Lefty" Carlton, Matty Alou and Simmons.  Carlton kept the Tigers in check until the 7th when starting pitcher Dizzy Trout hit a solo homerun.  Both teams scored a run in the 8th and the game went into the 9th 4-2.  Frank Linzy got the first two Tigers, but Eddie Lake singled and Georgie Kell doubled.  Linzy intentionally walked Roy Cullenbine to load the bases for Hank Greenberg.  Moe Drabowsky came in to face Hank and with the crowd on its feet cheering every pitch, struck him out to preserve Lefty's win.  Cardinals 4  Tigers 2 

Game 2:  Bob Gibson took the mound to face Hal Newhouser.  The Tigers scored in the second on doubles by Doc Cramer and Birdie Tebbets.  The Cards tallied one of their own in the 3rd on a double by Dal Maxvill and a single by Lou Brock.  In the 4th Dick Wakefield singled home Cullenbine with two out.  That would be all Prince Hal needed.  He shut down the Redbirds the rest of the way on one hit, retiring 18 of the last 19 he faced.   Tigers 5  Cardinals 1

Game 3:  Simmons doubled home a run in the first and Ted Sizemore homered in the second.  Then Tiger starter Fred Hutchinson settled in and only allowed 5 hits the rest of the way.  Meanwhile the Motown boys supplied him with plenty of runs.  Cullenbine homered in the first.   Greenberg homered in the 5th.  Hutch drove in three to help his cause.  Tigers 8  Cardinals 2

Game 4:  Dizzy Trout was back on the mound for the Tigers having suffered the only two Tiger losses of the tourney.  He was staked to a 3 run lead after two on another Cullenbine first inning homer, this time a two run shot.  Cullenbine added another rbi in the 2nd on a single.  Meanwhile Trout was cruising.  Through 6 innings he gave up only 4 hits, no more than one in any inning.  He looked to be breaking his string of defeats and then came the 7th.  Sizemore led the inning off with a single.  With one out, Julian Javier worked a walk.  Pinchhitter Bob Burda singled and the Cardinals were on the board.  Brock forced Burda at 2nd for the second out with Javier taking third.  Brock quickly stole second.  Matty Alou then singled to right.  With visions of Willie Horton in his mind, Cullenbine charged the ball hard, intent on throwing Brock out at the plate.  But the ball took a sideways hop and as Cullenbine reached across his body to knock it down he strained a muscle in his side.  He managed to hold Alou at first but he was done for the series,  A succession of Cardinal relievers held the Tigers at bay with Don Shaw saving the win for Al Santorini.  Cardinals 4  Tigers 3.

Game 5:  The Cardinals and the Tigers have met three times in the World Series.  In 1934, the Gas House Gang won in 7 in a series where Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis ordered Cardinal left fielder off the field in Game 7 for his own safety as the Tiger "faithful" pelted him with garbage for sliding hard into thirdbaseman Marv Owens. Owens was also ordered benched.  In 1968 with the Tigers down in the Series three games to one, Willie Horton threw Lou Brock out at the plate as Brock went in standing up and Bill Freehan held his ground.  Mickey Lolich won three games in the Series and Denny McLain as the Tigers came back to win their third World Championship in their history.  Bob Gibson set a record in the first game striking out 17 Tigers.  In 2006, a very young Tiger team featuring Rookie of the Year Justin Verlander was man handled by the Cardinals 4 games to 1. 

Just setting the stage.  One of the great things about tournaments like this is the "what if" matchups.  The deciding game would match two of the greatest left handed pitchers of all time, Steve Carlton and Hal Newhouser.  Cullenbine would be unavailable as his strained muscle still would not allow him to swing  a bat.  The Tigers scored in the third on a Kell triple and a Tebbets' ground ball double play.  The Cards replied in the bottom of the frame when Brock led off with a double and then sauntered home on a Joe Torre single.  The Tigers took the lead in the 4th when Eddie Lake, who had hit nothing for the tourney singled home Cullenbine's replacement Jimmy Outlaw with two outs.   In the 5th, Carlton was removed  after loading the bases with two walks sandwiched around a single.  Carl Taylor came in and kept the Tigers off the board.  With two outs in the 6th Luis Melendez walked and scampered home on Jim Beauchamp's double.  In the top of the 8th, Hank Greenberg singled home Newhouser for the go ahead run. Doc Cramer added a second run on a single.  Newhouser made it stand up for his 4th complete game win of the Series.  The Tigers move on.  Tigers 4  Cardinals 2 

--submitted by Tom “Crash” Davis--

‘78 Bosox “Peter’s out” as ‘64 Pale hose sweep series

Sorry bout the awful writing 'skills', always loathed English...more of a history guy.  Wsox sweep Bo Sox

'64 WSox vs '78 RSox
GM1: Peters vs Eckersley
Pale hose get another big inning, a 4 spot in the 2nd thx to a rare Don Buford 3-run homer. Gary Peters was unhittable tossing  2 hit shutout ball in 7 1/3 striking out 7 ,walking 3.  Eck gives up 5 runs in 6 innings for the loss. Ron Hansen 2 hits , runs, rbis and doubles.

 

 

GM2: Pizzaro vs Tiant
Cuban Luis Tiant at age 38? and Puerto rican born Juan Pizzaro square off in game 2 and once again Chicago comes up with a 4 run inning this time in the 3rd. RBI run scoring doubles by Tommy McCraw and Pete Ward and a run scoring triple by a lumbering Bill Skowron followed by a run scoring single by Gene Stephens finished the scoring.  It turned out thats all they would get or need in a tough 4-3 win. Pizzaro gets his 2nd win of tourney while the great duo of Eddie Fisher and Hoyt Wilhelm shut the door to any bosox comeback. Luis the loss.

GM3: Lee vs Horlen
A classic pitchers duel. Scoreless until the WSox 7th when Pete Ward hits a solo shot to right to give WSox the narrow 1-0 lead. Its all Joel Horlen would need as he blanked Boston on 3 hits. 4 strikeouts, 1 walk for Joel. Horlen now 14 innings of shutout ball in tourney.  Bill 'spaceman' Lee the tough CG loss 6 -hitter. Chicago undefeated in tourney.  Strange injuries in this one I have never seen. Boston had Jim Rice  go down TWICE with game only injuries. Butch Hobson and Fisk also had game only injuries as did one of the RSox relievers.

--submitted by Dan Holm--

‘09 Cubbies “Reul” the day over ‘03 M’s

Game 1

Cubs 2  Mariners 0

The '09 Cubs pitched a three pitcher shutout.  The play of the deadball era stymied the new era Mariners.  Lots of hit and run and small ball...mixed with great pitching.

Game 2

Cubs 6  Mariners 0

Overall pitched a complete game 5 hit shutout with 10 Ks.  The Mariners extended their scoreless streak to 18 innings.  Evers had two doubles and two RBIs to lead the Cubbies.

Game 3

Cubs 2  Mariners 0

Ed Reulbach pitched a complete game 7 hit shutout.  The cubs held the Mariners scoreless for 27 innings.  Evers had three SB and two hits.  Frank Chance chipped in with a pair of hits as well

On to the third round.  --submitted by Brian Stokes--

Pauly sure’s up sweep for ‘97 Bombers over Halos

Game 1 ( Angel Stadium )  Gooden (NY) vs Santana (LA)

New York     2, LA-Anaheim 1

WP Banks (1-0), LP  Carrasco (0-1), SV  Rivera (3)

Yankees take game 1 thanks to some great pitching from Doc Gooden and 4 relievers plus a 6th inning solo HR by Paul O'Neill to put the Yankees up 2-1.

Game 2 ( Angel Stadium ) Wells (NY) vs Escobar (LA)

New York      8, LA_Anaheim 6

WP Mendoza (1-0), LP  F. Rodriguez (1-1), SV Rivera (4)

New York down 5-1 after a pinch hit HR from Tim Salmon, explode in the 9th inning for 7 runs to steal one away from the Halos. Paul O'Neill does it again going 3 for 4 with another HR, his 3rd of the tournament. 

Game 3 ( Yankee Stadium )  Lackey (LA) vs Pettitte (NY)

New York       4, LA-Anaheim  2

WP Nelson (1-0), LP  Lackey (0-2), SV  Rivera  (5)

The Yankees sweep the Angels in another extremely close game. It was a 2-2 game going to the bottom of the 7th when the Yankees string together a Raines double, Jeter triple and O'Neill single to go up 4-2. Rivera comes on to close out his 3rd in a row and New York moves on to the Sweet 16.

‘65 Jints A-Mays ‘32 Mackmen in 4

The immortal Lefty Grove hurls a 3 hit shutout and faces only 30 batters for the A's in game 2. The Giants prevailed in the other 3 and will advance to Round 3 as they win the series 3 - 1.  Willie Mays hit 2 homers and knocked in 4 in the opener.  The rest of the series the Jints had a balanced attack and solid pitching that kept Double X and company in check.

--submitted by Larry Reeves--