Thursday, October 16, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 5
Cleveland closes series with luck and long ball
Fernandez blasts homer in 11th
The Associated Press
BALTIMORE — The Cleveland Indians concluded a magical week last night with their best trick yet—surviving another brilliant effort by Mike Mussina and making the Baltimore Orioles disappear from the playoffs.
The Indians claimed their second American League pennant in
an 11th- inning home run by Tony Fernandez to win the American League Championship Series four games to two.
It was only the third hit of the game for Cleveland, which will open the World Series Saturday night in Florida.
The Indians managed only one hit in eight innings off Mussina. Mussina left after throwing 108 pitches in his second successive start with three days' rest.
Armando Benitez, the third Baltimore pitcher, recorded two easy outs in the 11th before Fernandez slammed a 2-0 pitch over the 25-foot score board in right. It was the first postseason home run in 133 at-bats for Fernandez, a late replacement for second baseman Bip Roberts, who bruised his left thumb.
Brian Anderson was the winning pitcher. He pitched a scoreless 10th inning, and Jose Mesa recorded three outs for the save, wrapping up the Indians' fourth one-run win of the series.
Cleveland won Game 2 last Thursday when No. 9 hit Marquis Grissom hit a three-run homer off Benitez, who had surrendered a lead just once all season. The Indians prevailed in the 12th inning of Game 3 on a bungled squeeze bunt, then won again the following day, scoring twice on a wild pitch.
The Orioles won a league-best 98 games during the regular season, but the Indians used some splendid pitching and a lot of luck to average last year's division series loss to Baltimore a year ago.
And they did it all without Albert Belle, who left as a free agent during the offseason. The new-look Indians have only 10 players left from the 1995 World Series team which lost to the Atlanta Braves.
"It may not be a better club, but it has far fewer distractions," general manager John Hart said before the game.
Mussina set an ALCS record with 15 strikeouts in Game 3, but the Orioles failed to score during his seven innings and lost 2-1 in the 12th. Mussina was even sharper last night, retiring 20 of the first 21 batters while allowing only a leadoff double by David Justice in the fifth.
Mussina set records for strikeouts in an ALCS (25) and in one postseason (41).
Baltimore stranded 14 runners and was hitless with runners in
Championship
American League Series
Yesterday
Cleveland 1, Baltimore 0. Cleveland wins series 4-2.
scoring position. Rafael Palmeiro went 6-for-3 and stranded five.
Mussina retired the first 12 Indians before Justice doubled to the gap in left-center. He did not advance.
The Orioles had at least one hit in each of the first five innings. Nagy struck out Palmeiro with two on and two outs in the first inning, then retired Brady Anderson on a grounder with two outs and two runners in scoring position in the second.
Palmeiro stranded another in the third, popping out with a runner on third base. The trend continued in the fourth, when Cal Ripken led off with a double but remained at second.
In the fifth, Geronimo Berroa and Harold Bainis hit two-out singles before Palmeiro hit a meek grounder to the mound. Mussina was perfect again in the sixth, and in the bottom of the inning Chris Holes hit a shot to center that the wind brought back to Grissom's glove at the warning track.
At the request of Fox Sports, the game started at 4:16 p.m. Both teams were worried that shadows crossing the pitcher's mound would make pitches difficult to see, but clouds blocked the late-afternoon sun.
PITTSBURGH — An early fall night, a National League pennant to be won or lost. Jim Leyland in one dugout, the Atlanta Braves in the other.
Marlins coach Leyland finally reaches Series
The Associated Press
It is a scenario that has been repeated three times in the 1990s and, until now, the result was always the same. The Braves won and went to the World Series, Jim Leyland cried and went home.
Baseball, like history, has an uncanny way of repeating itself. But Leyland has recast his story to have a happy ending.
Five years to the day — to the hour
of his most devastating defeat, Leyland achieved his greatest victory Tuesday night by managing the Florida Marlins past the favored Braves and into the World Series.
"I almost don't know how to act, because I've never been (to the World Series) before. I'm going to have to call my good friend (Cardinals manager) Tony La Rusa and see what I'm supposed to do," Leyland said.
How different it was from another Oct. 14 in Atlanta — Oct. 14, 1992 — yet, at the same time, how similar. Just like now, the favored Braves were a beaten team and, just like now, champagne was chilling in Leyland's clubhouse.
Ten minutes later the world came crashing down on the Pirates, their 2-0 victory suddenly transformed
Leyland's Pittsburgh Pirates had rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the series, and they took a 2-0 lead into the ninth inning in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
Saturdav
World Series
Cleveland at Florida, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday
Cleveland at Florida, 6:35 p.m.
Tuesday
Florida at Cleveland, 7:20 p.m.
Wednesday
Florida at Cleveland, 7:20 p.m.
Oct. 23
■ Florida at Cleveland, 7:20 p.m., if necessary
Cleveland at Florida, 7 p.m., if necessary
Oct. 26
Cleveland at Florida, 6:35 p.m.
if necessary
into a stunning 3-2 loss.
Leyland was broken up about the defeat, but not as much as he had been before.
All games shown on NBC
"I never felt as bad about that one as I did about 1991," Leyland said, recalling how the Pirates bleed a 3-2 series lead to Atlanta that year by losing the final two at home. "The Braves were a great team in 1992, but I always felt we had the better team in 1991. We had won 98 games, and I knew in my heart we were the better team."
How fitting that the Braves had baseball's best record this season, but won't be going to the World Series.
"I felt if any club could beat the Braves, we could," said Leyland, whose Marlins won 12 of 18 from Atlanta.
Finally, Leyland has shaken the label of being the best current manager never to make it to the World Series.
"I never doubted for a minute that I would make it," Leyland said.
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