World Series Game 4: 88-MON 5, 72-KC 4 (11 inn)

GAME 4 (Stade' Oympique): (88)Expos 5, (72)Royals 4 - 11 innings

Up 3 games to 0 the Expos decided to tap 5th starter John Dopson to start the game. On the brink of elimination the Royals did not have the luxury of going to a lesser arm, so they hoped to get one more stellar performance from hard throwing rookie, Steve Busby. Whether it was nerves or fatigue, on can only speculate. What one is certain of is the fact Busby was lifted after only getting 2 outs in the 1st for veteran Bruce Dal Canton. Royal manager Milo Miller made one of those judgment calls that really paid off. Busby was shaky and the Expos already had 1 run and were threatening to score more. With runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 out Dal Canton got Tim Wallach to fly out to short center and minimize the damage. Certainly in a regular season game or even if the series were tied, Busby would have been given every chance to continue on. With no margin for error Miller had to make the move, and Dal Canton rewarded his skipper with 6 rock solid innings in relief. KC tied the game up in the 3rd when Lou Piniella singled home Amos Otis from second. The Expos answered right back when Tom Foley hit a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to make it 2-1. Not to be outdone Paul Schaal hit a solo shot of his own and the game stood tied again at 2. That's the way it would stay until the 6th when Dopson hurt his own cause by allowing the opposing pitcher (Dal Canton) to reach first with one out on an throwing error charged to Dopson. Otis then walked and Rojas doubled Dal Canton home to make it 3-2 KC. Dopson was now officially in a jam, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, nobody out and the heart of the KC lineup due up. With 1st base open, and with John Mayberry on deck intentionally walking Richie Scheinblum was not an option. Instead Dopson reared back and struck out the hard hitting Scheinblum on 5 pitches to make it 2 out. As Mayberry strolled up to the plate he had to be thinking that there was no way on earth the Expos were going to pitch to him. If that was his thought he was dead on right as Dopson issued him an intentional pass in order to face the less lethal righthanded Piniella, who grounded weakly to Foley at second to end the inning and keep the score at 3-2. HOF pitcher Tom Seaver says that every hurler has 3 or 4 must outs that he needs to get in order to win a game. This was one of those moments for Dopson. By getting Scheinblum and Piniella out he prevented KC from posting a big inning, which would have put the game out of reach. The bottom of the 7th saw the Expos tied it on 3 successive singles, which included a pinch hit RBI from Otis Nixon. The bottom of the 8th saw Raines single his way on and then steal second, which might have been a questionable move since that opened up 1st base and allowed KC to intentionally pass the Expos cleanup hitter Andres Galarraga. Mitch Webster, who replaced the injured Hubie Brooks in the 4th inning, singled off of Al Fitzmorris to score the speedy Raines and give the Expos a 4-3 lead, which they would take into the 9th. Reliever Jeff Parrett started the 9th hoping to close it out for the 'Spos. Scheinblum worked out a walk on 6 pitches and sent notice that this was not going to be a mere formality. Montreal was going to have to earn this win. Andy McGaffigan came on to get John Mayberry who slammed a game tying double off the right field wall. KC had life ! Piniella was intentionally passed to create a force at any base. Kirkpatrick, who has one heck of a batters eye took the count full and worked out a walk to load the bases with only 1 out. Just like that Montreal went from the precipice of closing out the game and series to losing the game entirely. With the infield drawn in pinch hitter Bobby Knoop grounded sharply to Galarraga at first who went home to force Carl Taylor who pinch ran for Mayberry. Light hitting Freddy Patek came up looking to walk and was forced to swing at a 2 strike pitch which was weakly popped back to McGaffigan for the 2nd out. With a 1-2 count on pinch hitter Bob Oliver, KC manager Milo Miller took a bold initiative and sent Piniella in an attempt to steal home and the game. Burke, who no doubt was shocked beyond belief recovered just in time to nail Lou at the plate on a low throw that Oliver could not get his bat on. Game 4 headed to extra innings. The 10th inning was uneventful for both teams. The 11th inning played out to be a classic. With closer Tim Burke on the mound the for his second inning the Royals hoped to take advantage. Scheinblum, like he's done time and time again this season seized the moment and slammed a lead off double down the right field line. Burke hoped to get off easy facing Taylor, who stayed in the game after pinch running for Mayberry. Taylor grounded out to third and failed to advance the runner, which violates the rules learned in baseball 101. Royal reliever Paul Splittorff (goat) was forced to bat for himself, since there was nobody left to relieve in the pen. Splits is a darn good hitter for a pitcher and for some reason Burke felt the need to over respect him and walked him on 5 pitches to make it 1st and 2nd with 1 out. A wild pitch would put runners on 2nd and 3rd, with Ed Kirkpatrick coming to bat. Montreal brought the infield in and Kirkpatrick obliged them by popping up to 2nd for the second out. Bobby Knoop came on to bat for Schaal and was intentionally passed to load the bases for the banjo hitting Patek, who flew out weakly to right. The Expos half of the 11th started poorly. Wallach grounded out to Patek and Hudler went down looking. Mike Fitzgerald (hero), who entered the game in the 7th as a pinch hitter jumped on Splittorff's first pitch and barely missed a walk off homer. The ball bounced around and was mishandled by Otis in center, which allowed Fitz to wind up on 3rd with a two out triple. Tracy Jones was then tapped to pinch hit for Burke, who after 2 innings was done anyway. Jones, who destroys lefties, never saw a pitch and was intentionally passed on 4 straight soft tosses. The following batter, Dave Martinez, was intentionally walked as well to create a force everywhere and for the lefty Splittorff to face Tom Foley, who's next hit off a southpaw just might be his first. If imitation is the finest form of flattery, KC's Milo Miller would have been extremely flattered when his Montreal counterpart decided to send Mike Fitzgerald home for the steal. Unfortunately for Miller and his Royals Montreal netted a different result on the same play choice as Splits threw the ball inside and by the time catcher Ed Kirkpatrick dove across the plate Fitzgerald had touched home and thus presented us with one of the wackiest endings for a World Series ever. The final 2 games of the series ended in bizarre fashion: a walk off walk and a walk off steal of home. Montreal won their second KOD championship in a row and presented their manager with 4 championships in 6 seasons. Special congrats have to be handed out to KC and their gritty manager Milo Miller, who kept his overachieving charges in it all year and presented the Expos with a World Series battle that was epic, even though the series only went the minimum 4 games.

World Series Game 3: 88-MON 3, 72-KC 2

GAME 3 (Stade' Oympique): (88)Expos 3, (72)Royals 2

Roger Nelson and Bryn Smith faced each other in this pitching dominated matchup. Smith went 7 innings, which was by far his longest outing of the season, yet he left of the losing side of the ledger at that point. Nelson was locked in for 8 innings of 1 run ball, but the 9th inning was unkind to him and the Royals cause. Montreal drew first blood and had Nelson on the ropes in the opening stanza. Speedy Mitch Webster led off with a double and then advanced to third on Tom Foley's infield dribbler. The Rock, Tim Raines lifted a sac fly to cent to score Webster for the first run of the game. The Expos seemed to be poised for a big inning, but Nelson would have none of that as he jammed Galarraga into hitting a weak roller to third and fanned Hubie Brooks. KC tied it up in the 3rd when Patek bunted his way on and moved to second on Nelson's sacrifice bunt. Smith struck out Otis for the second out of the inning, but Cookie Rojas came through with a clutch opposite field double to tie it. It stayed tied until the top of the 6th when the Royals began to produce another run. Otis led off with a single and went all the way over to third when Rojas dropped a parachute into short right field. The combination of Otis' speed and Brooks' weak arm landed Famous Amos on 3rd with nobody out. Sweet Lou Piniella, for one of the few times in his career did not come up big. Looking to at least hit a deep fly ball to bring Otis home, Lou lined to Foley at second. In defense of Piniella the ball was scorched and if it went a foot to either Foley's right or left it would have been a clean single. As good teammates do, John Mayberry picked up his mate by slamming an RBI single off the wall. Mayberry hit it so hard the ball caromed right back to Brooks who held Big John to a single. Bryn Smith was now on the ropes. Getting past the 6th inning has been a chore for him this season. With Andy McGaffigan warming up in the pen Smith new he had one more batter to face if he could not record an out. Smith fooled Scheinblum with a cutter that the lefty fisted to Raines, who was hard charging and able to throw a strike to third while on the run. This prevented the runners from advancing and put the pressure squarely on the shoulders of Ed Kirkpatrick who lined one right back to Smith for the final out of the inning. All the while Nelson was making the right pitch at the right time and not allowing Montreal to get that big hit to score a run. Nelson started the 9th and got Tim Wallach to fly weakly to Scheinblum in right for the first out. Mike Fitzgerald came on to pinch hit for Santovenia and promptly sent a hump backed liner into right center for a clean single. Luis Rivera then struck out on 3 pitches and all Nelson needed to do was record 1 more out and KC would have their first win of the series. Wallace Johnson (hero) was then tapped to pinch hit for Joe Hesketh, who pitched beautifully in relief. Montreal's team strength is their bench, specifically their pinch hitters like Johnson and Tracy Jones. Johnson loves these pressure packed spots and on a 2-2 pitch he delivered a low liner to right that moved Fitzgerald over to third, since with 2 outs he was in motion. KC manager had enough and went to his pen to bring in his ace closer Ted Abernathy (goat) to face Expo lead off man Mitch Webster, who ran the count to 3-2 and then walked to load the bases. You could now cut the tension with a machete. Montreal's "other" pinch hitting star Tracy Jones came up to bat for Foley and he too worked out a walk to force in the tying run and bring up Raines. It became apparent to all that the normally reliable Abernathy did not have any control. Raines being the patient hitter ran the count to 3-0 before he saw a strike, a borderline one at that. Raines looked into the dugout for the sign, but it was obvious to most in Stade Olympiqu that he was not going to help Abbernathy out and swing wildly. Abernathy's 3-1 offering wasn't even remotely close and just like that the Mike Fitzgerald scored the winning run scored thanks to 3 successive bases on balls. The Expos now had a commanding three games to none lead over the Royals. KC hung tight, but 3 close losses still put them on the brink of elimination.

World Series Game 2: 88-MON 3, 72-KC 1

GAME 2 (Municipal Stadium - KC): (88)Expos 3, (72)Royals 1

The opening inning saw both teams make errors, yet only 1 run crossed the plate. KC starter Dick Drago was able to hold the Expos at bay by getting Galarraga to ground out and fanning Hubie Brooks to strand Tom Foley and Tim Raines. In the bottom of the inning Tom Foley (Goat & Hero) booted a grounder from Amos Otis to start things off. Cookie Rojas flied to left, but Foley followed things up by booting a second one in the inning when Richie Scheinblum found him with a sinking liner. Expo starter Pascual Perez was walking in circles and talking to himself by this point. A visit from his manager was needed, but none was forthcoming. Instead Perez walked the next two Royal hitters (Mayberry/Kirkpatrick) to force in a run...all with 2 outs. Finally a visit from the pitching coach calmed Perez down as he got Piniella to ground right back to the box to start a beautiful 1-4-2 DP to get out of the jam. Royal manager Milo Miller commented later how his team didn't maximize the damage they could do. Dick Drago got out of another jam in the second, but could not escape problem in the third when he violated one of the cardinal rules of baseball: Don't allow the opposing pitcher to reach base. Pascual Perez is a bad hitter for a pitcher, so Drago must have taken him so lightly that he grooved a 80 mph fastball that Perez punched into RF for a clean single. With the corners in Nixon still was able to bunt Perez over to second. That sacrifice wouldn't be needed when Tom Foley redeemed himself with a 2 run homer. Baseball is a game of redeeming qualities and no better form of redemption can occur when a guy who makes 2 errors in the 1st inning can hit a 2 run homer in the 3rd inning, which effectively puts him in the black on the ledger. Drago was definitely ticked that the light hitting Foley homered off him. To his credit he might have bent a bit (he walked the speedy Raines), but he didn't break as was evidenced by him forcing Galarraga to ground into a 5-4-3 DP. Both hurlers settled into a comfort zone and cruised until the top of the 7th when Montreal tacked on an insurance run off of a Luis Rivera homer that barely cleared the fence. Perez took the hill for the start of the 8th and after he got Scheinblum to line to Foley at second his day was done. Lefty specialist Joe Hesketh came on for the second game in a row to put down the big left bats in the Royals line-up and Tim Burke pitched an un-eventful 9th to put the Royals down in order and help the Expos to a 2 games to 0 lead in the series, which will head north across the border for games 3 and 4 + game 5 if necessary. Dick Drago pitched a fantastic game for the Royals, but his inability to get the Expos weaker hitter out burned him. Pascual Perez, was stellar after righting the ship after the challenging opening stanza. He gave up 1 unearned run in 7+ innings of work in a clutch and gutty performance.

World Series Game 1: 88-MON 9, 72-KC 7

GAME 1 (Municipal Stadium - KC) Expos 9, Royals 7

To sum up this game in a nutshell one would advertise it as "Pitching, need not apply". Both teams trotted out their respective aces. What they got were two jokers that were very wild. Dennis "El Presidente" Martinez did get the win, but he should not have much pride in the fact that he surrendered 7 runs in only 6 innings of work. Every time his team's offense gave him a nice lead he found it in heart to be generous enough to give some back. KC starter Paul Splittorff was even more generous. The Royals lefty surrendered 6 runs in 4 innings of work. His replacement Bruce Dal Canton was just as pitiful yielding 3 runs in 2 innings. The difference in the game was the Expo bullpen, which held the fort down after Martinez was finally relieved of his duties. For those who like to see baseball games with football scores this was your kind of game. The Expos wasted no time, by jumping all over Splittorff for 3 quick 1st inning runs. Hubie Brooks picked up his teammate Andres Galarraga, who fanned, by smashing a 3 run shot to draw first blood. KC clawed back to tie it with 1 in the first and 2 in the second by playing some scrappy small ball, which was very effective. KC manager, Milo Miller said, "I guess I'm not Earl Weaver...since I don't play for the 3 run homer". Miller is a smart man, who knows the talent level of his team's personnel. If he sat back and played for the 3 run homer he wouldn't be managing in this fall classic. Montreal played a little small ball themselves and carried a 6-3 lead into the 6th frame. Usually that type of lead is safe with Martinez on the mound, but not this evening. The bottom of the 6th saw the Royals post 4 runs and take a 1 run lead. In the process Martinez was chased from the hill and the hometown fans were ecstatic. The 6th saw John Mayberry lead off with a walk (the fifth by Martinez on the day). Martinez, who struggled with his control all day clipped Sweet Lou Piniella on the left thigh. Up stepped Royal catcher Ed Kirkpatrick, who was only hitting .368 with 4 HR's with runner in scoring postion. Kirkpatrick crushed Martinez' 1-0 offering and watched the ball sail over Mitch Webster's head in center. When the dust cleared Kirkpatrick was standing on second with a double and Mayberry and Piniella were exchanging high fives on their way back to the duguout. Schaal then grounded to Wallach at third for the 1st out of the inning. Up stepped Fred Patek, who might be short in stature, but he's real big when it comes to heart. Patek, down 0-2 in the count fought off what seamed to be Martinez' best pitch of the day and dropped it into left field to score Kirkpatrick and tie the game. Bruce Dal Canton (goat), allowed to hit for himself left a dribbler in front of the plate, which in essence worked out like a sac bunt as it moved Patek over to thrid with 2 outs. On the next pitch lead off man "Famous" Amos Otis singled and KC had a 1 run lead. The top of the 7th would be both KC's and Dal Canton's undoing. I'm sure if manager Miller had a crystal ball and could see the future, he would have lifted Bruce for a pinch hitter in the 6th. Unfortunately managing is a lot like driving blind. You have to trust your instincts and you hope the road ahead is clear. This road was going to be filled with lots of pot holes and sharp turns. Rex Hudler led off the inning with a homer to tie it at 7 off a knuckler that still hasn't knuckled. Right fielder Richie Scheinblum could only look up and watch it sail over his head. The Rock, Tim Raines followed that up with a clean single between Schaal and Patek. At this point Dal Canton was rattled and knowing that Raines can flat out fly he began paying more attention to the runner (Raines) than the batter Andres Galarraga (hero). This proved to be a fatal mistake, since El Ghatto can flat out swing the lumber. Dal Canton finally delivered one to the plate that again did not knuckle. Apparently he tried to over throw it, which we all know inhibits the kuckler from dancing. Galarraga turned on it and the only question that was left to be answereed was: "fair or foul". The answer was fair, and just like that Montreal was up by 2. KC went quietly in the bottom of the 7th as lefty Joe Hesketh fanned Mayberry and Piniella after getting Scheinblum to ground to second. Tim Burke came on to work a scoreless 8th and got the first 2 outs in the 9th, before walking Scheiblum on 5 pitches. Prior to that walk the Expos might have pulled off the defensive gem of the series. Facing a 1-2 count, Cookie Rojas hit one up the middle that Rex Hudler dove for and barely got. Hudler had no ability to get up and throw, but he alertly flipped to shortstop Luis Rivera who nailed Rojas by a stride. Without that play Montreal would have been facing John Mayberry with 1 out and runners on 1st and second. Instead, big John came up with a man on first and 2 down. At this point Tim Burke, who had done a fine job in relief was lifted for Neal Heaton to give the Expos the coveted lefty/lefty matchup. Mayberry kills righthanded pitching and Burke struggles vs southpaws. Heaton, who was added to the roster after sitting out the first 2 post season series, got a called strike on the inside corner on his first pitch. Mayberry, who struggles vs lefties, decided to jump on the next offering, an offspeed pitch on the outside corner. Big John didn't get good wood on it and when the ball comfortably came to rest in Mitch Webster's glove about 20 feet in front of the warning track the game was over. Heaton notched a 2 pitch save in a very tense situation. The Expos came out alive with a win, but KC served notice that they were a scrappy lot they will not quit.

The Bucs stop here, as the '88 Expos capture the NL Flag in 6

1988 Montreal Expos (M.Weiss) vs 1973 Pittsburgh Pirates (J.Elicker)

GAME 1 (Three Rivers) MON 6, PIT 5:

Montreal staked staff ace, Dennis Martinez, to a 4-0 lead, which on most days is an insurmountable lead for El Presidente. Today was not one of those days as Martinez felt a twinge in his right forearm and was removed for precautionary reasons. John Dopson came on and in 3 inning of work proceeded to undo all the good work the Expo offense did. Montreal opened the scoring off of Dock Ellis with 2 in the first thanks to a 2 run shot by Andres Galarraga. A Mike Fitzgerald solo shot in the 2nd and a small ball run in the 3rd put Ellis on the ropes and the Expos up 4-0. Dennis Martinez gave a run back to Pittsburgh in the 4th when Gene Clines, who doubled, scored off of a Richie Zisk ground out. Pittsburgh scored 4 big runs in the 6th off of Dopson to take a 5-4 lead and stun the Expos. Zisk hit a 3 run shot and Sanguillen doubled home Stargell, who was on third thanks to a passed ball. If we've learned anything from this Expo team, we've learned that they are a resillient bunch. With 2 out in the 7th Tom Foley doubled down the line then scored when "the rock", Tim Raines lined a double into the gap to tie it up. The game stayed tied until the top of the 13th when Mike Fitzgerald led off with a clean single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Rivera sacrificed him over to third and pinch hitter Nelson Santovenia scored Foley with a sac fly to deep right. Jeff Parrett came on in the bottom of the inning to set the Bucs down in order and save the game for Floyd Youmans, who won the game with 2 scoreless innings in relief.

GAME 2 (Three Rivers) PIT 7, MON 5:

Game 2 had miserable weather just like the opener. Both games featured rain delays of nearly an hour. Many of the fans in attendance wondered just how the KOD commissioner could allow a game to be played in these conditions, but somehow it did get in and thankfully it did not have a hand in determining the outcome. Game two was pretty much a mirror of game 1. This time Pittsburgh jumped out to the 4-0 lead, and Montreal battled back to tie it 3 innings later. Montreal starter Bryn Smith was again not economical with his pitches and he was gone even before the end of the 5th inning. Pittsburgh's Jim Rooker, who did get the win, allowed 15 hits and 5 runs over 7 innings. It's amazing that he was around to get the win with such a poor pitching performance.

GAME 3 (Olympic Stadium) MON 5, PIT 3:

The NLCS moved north of the border to the province of Quebec. Nelson Briles took the hill for the Pirates. He was opposed by Dennis Martinez, who felt fine after leaving game 1 with an injury. With the score tied at one the Bucs jumped on top of Martinez for 3 in the 5th to take a 3-1 lead, when Manny Sanguillen doubled home Rennie Stennett and Gene Clines. The Expos cut the Pirates lead to 3-2 with a run in the 6th. Briles faced the bases loaded with 1 out, but came up clutch by allowing only 1 run. By this time Martinez had hit the showers due to fatigue. Possibly his manager rushed him back into the rotation way too soon. Tough to tell. Briles would allow the Expos to score solo runs in the next two innngs, which enabled the 'Spos to carry a 4-3 lead into the 9th. Lefty Randy Johnson started the inning and was scheduled to face lefty Milt May, but instead Richie Zisk came to bat as a pinch hitter and lined a single to right. Johnson's sole job was to get 1 batter and he did not come through. Jeff Parrett took over and got the speedy Dave Cash to hit into a 6-4-3 DP. Stennett flew out to Hubie Brooks in deep right to end it and give Montreal a 2-1 lead in the series.

GAME 4 (Olympic Stadium) MON 3, PIT 2:

Dock Ellis and Pascual Perez treated the fans to a darn good pitching matchup. Ellis yielded 2 runs in 7 innings of work and Perez did the same in 7 1/3. Neither man would get a decision in this contest. The win would go to Montreal's Joe Hesketh, who came up clutch in the 9th. The loss would go to Dave Giusti who's defense betrayed him. With the score knotted at 2, Tim Raines led off the home half of the ninth with a gapper that turned into a two base hit. Without hesitation Pirate manager Jesse Elicker gave Andres Galarraga an intentional pass to setup a force at any base. Giusti got Hubie Brooks to line out to Dave Cash at second, who barely missed doubling El Ghatto off of 1st. Fearing the DP Montreal ordered up a double steal, but only Raines decided to go as Galarraga must have missed the sign. Raines landed safely at 3rd, which put him 90 feet away from winning the game. Giusti then got Tim Wallach to hit a fly to medium right, which Sanguillen (usually a catcher) caught, but his throw to the plate was airmailed 10 feet above Milt May's head as Raines came on to score. The Expos now had a 3-1 series lead and hoped to close it all out in game 5 in front of the home town fans.

GAME 5 (Olympic Stadium) PIT 5, MON 3:

By this point it doesn't take a Rhode Scholar to realize that these two teams were evenly matched and every contest was going to be a 1 or 2 run nail biter. Game #5 proved to follow the same recipe. With their backs up against the wall, the Lumber Company needed to pull out a victory to force a game 6 and head back to the Steel Town. It took every bit of grit and resolve to do just that. Both starters (Bob Moose-PIT & Scott Holman-MON) posted goose eggs for the first 3 innings. As you could imagine the tension was definitely beginning to mount. The Pirates broke through in the 4th to score 2. Richie Zisk singled to lead off the frame. Holman got too cute trying to pick the corners with Stargell at the plate and he lost him, thus putting runners on 1st and second. Oliver flew out to deep center, which allowed the runners to tag and advance 1 base. Milt May singled home Zisk, but the plodding Stargell was forced to hold at third until Dave Cash plated him with a sac fly to the warning track in left. Two innings later Al Oliver scored on 2 past balls by Expo catcher Mike Fitzgerald after he doubled with 1 out. Pirate starter Bob Moose was cruising along until the bottom of the 7th, when the Expos struck for 2 runs and made it a 1 run game. Tom Foley doubled home a run and later scored on a wild pitch charged to Moose. With 2 outs in the top of the 9th the Bucs put together an old fashioned 2 run rally to post 2 insurance runs. Gene Clines and Richie Hebner singled, putting runners on 1st and 3rd until Richie Zisk hit a bases clearing double to make it 5-2. Nothing comes easy to the Bucs and the Expos opened the inning against reliever Ramon Hernandez with a Walk and a single. PH Nelson Santovenia grounded to short to score Mike Fitzgerald, but Hernandez was able to induce Foley into grounding out to end it. The series was now 3-2 Montreal and headed back to Pittsburgh.

GAME 6 (Three Rivers) MON 10, PIT 5:

With their backs up against the wall the Pirates came out swinging and broke the ice vs Expo starter Bryn Smith by scoring 1 in the bottom of the first. Clines led off with a double and 2 batters later Hebner singled him home. No further scoring occurred until the top of the 4th when the Expos took the lead 2-1 on a 2 run shot by Andres Galarraga. Not to be outdone, the desperate Pirates plated 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-1 lead. Buc pitcher Jim Rooker singled with 2 out and the bases loaded to knock in 2. Clines followed that up with a single of his own to score the 3rd run of the inning. Montreal made the score 4-3 with a solo run in the 6th as Wallach singled home Raines. By this time Expo starter Bryn Smith was gone. Smith has made it a habit of not getting more than 5 innings of work in most of his starts. Game 6 was no exception to Smith's pattern. The top of the 7th saw the Expos bust it open with 4 runs. Luis Rivera led off with a single. Pinch hitter Tracy Jones walked on 4 pithes. Both runners advanced 9 feet into scoring position when Mitch Webster bunted them over. Rex Hudler grounded to second to score Rivera and move Jones to 3rd. Tim Raines singled home Jones on the 1st pitch and Galarraga hit his second 2 run shot of the day to cap it all off. The Pirates came back to score an unearned run in the bottom of the 7th, but the Expos were able to add on 3 more insurance runs to put the game out of reach. The key to winning game 6 was the power of the Expos pen. 5 relievers combined for 4 innings of work and only 1 run. Floyd Youmans came through again with his second middle relief stint of the NLCS. As his reward he got the win. conversely, Pittsburgh's pen gave up 5 runs in 3 innings of work in relief of Rooker who took the loss. Montreal closed out the series 4 games to 2 to advance to the World Series to play the comeback Royals.

'72 Royals capture AL Flag with Amazing comeback after being down 3 games to 0 to '64 Twins

72 KC (Milo Miller) vs 64 MIN (Marvin Sik)

GAME 1: MIN 8, KC 4
Jim Kaat and Steve Busby squared off in Game 1. The Royals held a 4 run lead after 6 innings, with Lou Pinella driving in 2 of the runs. Minnesota started their dramatic comeback scoring 8 runs over the final 3 innings to garner the victory. Hits by Zoilo Versailes and Earl Battey made the score 4-3 after 7. Bob Allison and Versailes hit back to back homers to give the Twins the lead for good. Minnesota banged out 18 hits in the victory.

GAME 2: MIN 7, KC 4
Camilo Pascual and Dick Drago squared off in Game 2. Minnesota jumped on Drago for 5 runs in the 1st, highlighted by Bobby Allison's 3 run homer and Earl Battey's solo shot. Pascual surrendered 3 runs in 6 innings en route to the victory.

GAME 3: MIN 9, KC 8
Roger Nelson and Jim Roland met in Game 3 as the series shifted to Minnesota. The Royals built up an 8-4 lead after 7 innings, but the Twins exploded for 5 runs in the 8th. Rich Rollins and Jim Hall each had run scoring doubles in the inning and put the Twins on the brink of sweeping the Royals.

GAME 4: KC 2, MIN 1
Game 4 seen Paul Splittorff against Jim Grant. The Royals plated 2 in the 1st on a John Mayberry homer and 5 KC relievers pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings to slow down the Twin bats to push the series to a 5th game.

GAME 5: KC 7, MIN 4 (10 INN)
It was Drago and Kaat in Game 5. The Royals plated 7 runs off of Kaat to garner the 7-4 win. Mayberry and Paul Schaal each homered for the Royals to lead a 13 hit attack.

GAME 6: KC 6, MIN 5
Camilo Pascual and Steve Busby met in Game 6. The Royals had a 3-1 lead after 7 innings. Andy Kostro's 3 run homer highlighted a 4 run Twin rally to give them a 5-3 lead after 7 1/2 innings. In the bottom of the 8th, Lou Pinella hit a 3 run homer off of Al Worthington and the Royals escaped with a 6-5 victory.

GAME 7: KC 9 MIN 5
Dick Stigman and Roger Nelson met in the series finale. Minnesota built a quick 3-1 lead after 3 innings. Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew led the way with homers. Oliva made it 4-1 in the top of the 5th with a single, but the Royals plated 2 in the bottom of the inning on Bernie Allen's and Bob Allison's misplays of back-to-back grounders. The Royals tied it at 4 after 7 innings, only to have Rich Rollins get hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Twins a 5-4 lead. The Royals bats came to life in the 8th scoring 5 times. Richie Scheinblum and Paul Schaal each drove in 2 runs in the inning. Bruce Dal Canton set the Twins down in order to send the Royals to the World Series.

SERIES MVP: Richie Scheinblum 28 AB 10 H 7 RBI 3 DOUBLES
--submitted by Milo Miller--

NLDS: Bucs outlast not so hapless Cubbies in 5

1973 Pittsburgh Pirates (Jesse Elicker) vs 1995 Chicago Cubs (Bill Keller, subbing for Mike Kenney)

GAME 1 (Three Rivers): Cubs 5, Pirates 2

The North siders jumped out to a quick lead in the series on the arm of Jamie Navarro, who went the distance and only yielded 2 runs. Brian McRae went 3 for 5 with a big homer off Pirate starter Nelson Briles who gave up 4 (3 earned) in 7 innings of work. Chicago's top of the order went 10 for 14. The big story of the day was Navarro controlling Pittsburgh's potent lefty bats.

GAME 2 (Three Rivers): Cubs 7, Pirates 6

Game 2 saw both offenses slug it out toe to toe with the Pirates "O" coming out on top for 8 innings. Unfortunately for the Steel Town 9 you have to play 9 innings to close out a victory. Up by 1 the Pirates went to closer Dave Giusti to close it out. Mark Grace led off the top of the 9th with a clean single up the middle and Sammy "Say it ain't so" Sosa blasted one deep into the night to put the Cubs us by 1. Turk Wendell came on to get the final 2 outs and give the Northsider a 2 games to none lead in this best of 5 series.

GAME 3 (Wrigley): Pirates 11, Cubs 2

With their backs up against the wall the Lumber Company splintered the Cubs pitching for 11 runs in this big time blow out. Starter Jim Rooker yielded only 1 run against in eight solid innings of work. Chicago went through 5 pitchers on the day. Stargell was 2 for 3 with 4 RBI's and one mammouth 2 run homer.

GAME 4 (Wrigley): Pirates 12, Cubs 3

Different day, same results. The Pirates again blow out the Cubbies and knot the series at 2 apiece. Cub starter Telemaco gave up 9 runs in 5 miserable innings of work. Richie Hebner was 3 for 5 with 5 RBI's and a pair of homers.

GAME 5 (Three Rivers): Pirates 4, Cubs 3

The decisive 5th game was a made for TV classic. This game had it all: good pitching, good hitting, great fielding, a walk off clincher and a 1 hour rain delay. What isn't there to love about a game like this ? The Cubs broke the ice when Mark Grace doubled home Sandberg and Gonzalez. The Bucs answered back in the bottom of the frame when Dave Cash singled home Milt May. Chicago increased its' lead to 3-1 with a solo run in the 5th and held tight until the 8th when Pittsburgh made it 3-2 when May hit a solo shot. PH Vic Davalillo led off the bottom of the 9th with a single. Al Oliver then flew to right and Manny Sanguillen flew to left to make it 2 outs and a runner on 1st. Cub reliever Turk Wendell looked to be in total control. Richie Hebner worked out a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd. With the runners in motion Willie Stargell lashed a gapper that scored both runners and clinched the series for the Bucs in a moment that ranks right up their with Maz's walk off homer off Ralph Terry.

ALDS: KC outlasts Pale House in 5

72 Royals (milo miller) vs 71 White Sox (dan holm)


GAME 1: KC 6 WSox 2 Wilbur Wood vs Roger Nelson.
The Royals jumped on Woodie for 2 runs in the 1st on a run scoring single by John Mayberry and a Richie Scheinblum double. The Sox made it 2-1 in the top of the 4th on a Jay Johnstone double. The Royals came right back with 2 in the bottom of the inning on a Paul Schaal double and Fred Patek single. Kansas City plated single runs in the 6th and 7th and the Sox 1 in the 9th. The story was Nelson, who went the distance, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, and striking out 5.

GAME 2: WSox4 KC 0 Tom Bradley vs Dick Drago.
Game 2 turned out to be a pitchers duel, as the game was scoreless through 4 innings. Carlos May gave the Sox a 1-0 lead in the 5th with a triple. As Tom Bradley continued to baffle the Royals offense, the Sox added 3 insurance runs in the 8th with May, Jay Johnstone, and Ed Hermann each driving in a run. Bradley was brilliant, going 8 innings and scattering 3 hits, while striking out 6

GAME 3: KC 15 WSox 3 Paul Spittorff vs Wilbur Wood.
The series moved to Chicago for Game 3, and the Sox brought back knuckleballer Wilbur Wood for his 2nd start. Amos Otis got the Royals going in the 2nd inning with a 2 run double. The Sox made it 2-1 in the bottom of the inning. In the 5th the Royals started pulling away plating 4 runs, highlighted by John Mayberry and Richie Scheinblum back to back homers. The Royals added 5 more in the 6th, in route to a 15-3 victory. The Royals pounded out 22 hits, with Otis, Mayberry, and Lou Pinella all banging out 4 hits. Splittorff went the distance, allowing 3 runs and striking out 9.

GAME 4: WSox 4 KC 1 Monty Montgomery vs Bart Johnson
Game 4 turned into the Bart Johnson show, as the flame thrower totally dominated the Royals and pitched a jem. Rick Reichardt delivered a 2 run shot in the2nd to get the Sox going. Ed Kirkpatrick lofted a Sacrifice Fly to draw the Royals within a run in the 4th. Reichardt delivered his 2nd homer of the game in the 5th, a solo shot and a Johnson Sacrifice Fly made it 4-1, and that's all the Sox needed. Johnson silenced the Royal bats, going the distance and striking out 9

GAME 5: KC 9 WSox 4 Tom Bradley vs Roger Nelson
The series moved back to Kansas City for Game 5. Bradley and Nelson both were making there 2nd start. The Royals jumped on Bradley for 2 runs in the 1st on a Scheinblum 2 run triple. Mike Andrews evened the score at 2 with a double in the 3rd. The Royals offense broke it open in the 4th, scoring 6 times. Amos Otis and Scheinblum each drove in 2 runs with hits in the inning. Roger Nelson went the distance for the 2nd time in the series. He did allow 4 runs, but struck out 6 to send the Royals to the ALCS. Scheinblum was 4-5 with 5 RBI's.

MVP: Richie Scheinblum, 22 AB, 11 HITS, 3 HRS, 9 RBIS
--submitted by Milo Miller--

"Minny Series": Twins advance to LCS with 3-1 series win over '21 Tigers

The Eastern Division Champions 1921 Detroit Tigers faced off against the top seeded Wild Card 1964 Minnesota Twins.

Game 1: Dutch Leonard opened for Detroit vs. Mudcat Grant for Minnesota.

An early injury knock Grant out of the game. He was replaced by Gerry Arrigo who yield 3 runs to give Detroit a 3-2 lead. Detroit was leading going into the 9th when Minnesota tied the game to send it into extra innings. The score remained tied until the bottom of the 11th when Jim Perry gave up the game winning 2 run HR to Bobby Veach to give Detroit an 1-0 lead in the series. Carl Holling came in the game in the 11th inning to hold the Twins scoreless and earn the victory.

Game 2: Red Oldham vs. Jim Kaat.

Oldham held Minnesota to only 1 run going into the 9th. Detroit led 2-1 when Minnesota scored 3 runs to take a 4-2 lead. A leadoff walk to Killebrew in the 9th started the whole Twins rally. After Jimmy Hall lined out to Young at second Bobby Allison singled to make it first and second. Versalles worked out a walk to load the bases and the pressure really began to mount. Earl Battey grounded to short to score the tying run and put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Don Mincher was summoned to pinch hit for Jerry Kindall, and was immediately given a free pass to load the bases. Detroit's strategy was simple: Play for the DP and get out of the inning with minimal damage. The strategy backfired when pinch hitter Frank Kostro laced a two run double down the right field line, which gave Minnesota a 2 run lead. By the time Rich Rollins grounded weekly to third the damage was done and Detroit's 1 run lead was now a two run deficit with 3 outs to go. Al Worthington pitched the 9th to earn the save and even the series at a game a piece.

Game 3: The series moved to Minnesota with Camilo Pascual facing off against Howard Ehmke.

The Twins jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st, thanks to a 3 run shot by HOF'er Harmon Killebrew. They added 3 additional runs going into the 5th. Detroit scored two runs in the fifth before the skies opened and the game was called due to rain. Immediately after hearing about the rain delay issue the KOD executive staff called an impromptu meeting and decided that MLB's new rule regarding rain outs in post season games would be adopted. Thankfully this game was not close, but the obvious chance for embarrasment was there. Obviously Commish Weiss, does not want to be compared with that Selig guy. (This blurb comes from the official league news agency).

Game 4: Minnesota sent Dick Stigman out vs. Bert Cole for Detroit.

The Twins again trailed 3-1 going into the bottom of the 7th before scoring 3 runs to take a 4-3 lead. All 3 Twin runs were scored with 2 outs. The 7th started innocently with Rich Rollins popping up weakly to second and Versalles ground out to short. Tony Oliva hit a sharp single to right and promptly moved to third on a Killebrew parachute that just fell into shallow right field. With runners at the corners, Bobby Allison worked out a walk to load the bases. Jimmy Hall came up clutch by lacing a 2 run single to center plating Oliva and Killer. Early Battey singled home Allison for the much needed insurance run. Gerry Arrigo came in to pitch the final two innings and hold the potent Detroit offense scoreless to earn the save and send the Twins to the AL championship where they await the winner of the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox series.

--contributed by Marvin Sik--

NLDS: '88 Expos sweep '06 Braves in 3

GAME 1 - Turner Field - 88-MON 8, 06-ATL 5:

El Presidente, Dennis Martinez was just ordinary, but thankfully his teammates were not. Martinez yielded 4 runs in 6 innings of work, but still notched the win. Down 3-1 in the 4th Montreal exploded for 4 huge runs on back to back Jacks from backup catcher Mike Fitzgerald and banjo hitting Luis Rivera. Fitzgerald's blow was a 3 run shot that went deep into the Southern night. Atlanta chipped away by making it 5-4 with a solo run in the 6th. Montreal had to rely on 4 relievers and 2 ninth inning insurance runs before the could rest easy. Tim Burke came on to notch the save. Atlanta's Tim Hudson gave up 5 runs in 7 innings of work despite fanning 7 Expos.

GAME 2 - Turner Field - 88-MON 6, 06-ATL 1:

Montreal scored early and often in this contest and Atlanta's bats went cold. Brave manager Terry Priest said this at his post game press conference, "After scoring 17 vs LA in the play in game I feared it would catch up to us and we would struggle for runs vs Montreal". After scoring 5 in the opener the Braves managed only 1 run in game 2 and could not capitalize on their 8 hits. Expo starter Bryn Smith threw 5 shutout innings before running out of gas. The bullpen carried them the rest of the way. John Smoltz did not come up aces for the Braves as he didn't survive the 6th inning and gave up 4 runs. Every Expo starter had at least 1 hit, except for catcher Nelson Santovenia. Tim Wallach had 3 hits, but did not score or knock in any runs. Luis Rivera continued his hot hitting by homering in his second consecutive game.

GAME 3 - Olympic Stadium - 88-MON 9, 06-ATL 1:

The Expos enjoyed their first sellout of the year. Youpi and the fans were all anticipating a LDS clincher at home and they were not disappointed. Montreal got out of the gate quick by posting 2 runs in the first 2 innings to give starter Pascual Perez a 4-0 lead. Perez has been lights out all year and 4 runs in his back pocket is almost insurmountable. El Ghato, Andres Galarraga hit a 2 run shot for the first 2 runs in the 1st. Mitch Webster and Tracy Jones single home runs in the 2nd off of Brave starter Chuck James, who would be gone after 5 innings of work. James gave up 5 runs, but 2 of them came off of errors, so you have to feel that he didn't pitch all that terrible. The fielding got worse as Oscar Villarreal gave up 3 unearned runs himself and by that point the game was out of reach. Perez pitched 8 full innings and the only blemish on his record was a meaningless solo shot by Brian McCann. Tim Burke worked the ninth even though it wasn't a save situation. Rex Hudler had 3 hits and scored 3 runs as he made one of his rare starts. Santovenia also banged out 3 hits as well as the Expos closed out the 3-0 sweep of the Braves and wait for the winner of the Cubs/Pirates series.

'06 Bravos destroy '79 Bums 17-1 in NL West 1 game playoff

The '79 Dodgers rallied to win 3 of their last 4 vs the Rockies to force a Play in Game with the '06 Braves for the NL West title and an opening round matchup with the '88 Expos. LA tapped Burt "Happy" Hooton, the master of the knuckle curve to face Atlanta's Lance Cormier. Hooton was only able to get 1 out before his arm seized up on him and he had to be replaced. Curiously LA manager Rousel Graciano tapped seldom used Gerry Hannahs to relieve him. Hannahs had nothing and by the 3rd inning the Braves were up 8-1. A slew of Dodger relievers served up a ton of runs to the Braves and the final score of 17-1 was not a realistic indication of how bad it was. Wilson Betemit had 3 hits and 4 RBI's on the day to pace the potent Brave offense. Andrew Jones, who went 3 for 4 had the game's only homer, which is a surprise onto itself. Atlanta will stay at home to host the Wild Card Expos in the LDS.

Pale Hose win Play in Game over Brew Crew 8-2

The Pale Hose scored early and often off of Brewer starter Dan August, who didn't make it out of the 2nd inning. With the South siders staked to a 8-0 lead Joe Horlen went out and just threw strikes for a little over 7 innings before hitting the showers. Rick Reichardt had 2 hits and 3 RBI's for the Sox. Odly the Brew crew had 1 more hit than Chicago, but obviously they didn't make them count. Reichardt also hit his 3rd round tripper of the season. Future HOF'ers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor both finished the season hitting over .300, but alas the post season was not meant to be where they ended up. The White Sox will pack up and head to Kansas City to face the top seeded Royals in the opening round of the KOD6 Playoffs.

Motown drives to AL East Crown

Dutch Leonard cruised in the first game supported by ample run producing to clinch the East title for the Tigers. 11-1. With the title clinched, Johnny Bassler, Donnie Bush and Ralph Young started the rest of the series on the bench and the Tigers began to set their rotation for the post season. The Yankees jumped all over Jim Middleton in the second game and Doc Medich won handily 9-4. All the Tigers' runs in the second game came off three Ty Cobb homers. The third game was the closest of the four, with the Yankees losing a 2 run lead in the bottom of the seventh, regaining the lead in the eighth, only to only to lose the game in the bottom of the ninth 5-4 as Sparky Lyle blew his first save of the season.. In the closer, Hooks Dauss threw a complete game for the Bengals, winning 8-4 as Bobby Veach drove home thee runs an hit his 12th homer of the season.

Jints / Cubbies split. Cubbies clinch 2nd WC slot

The Giants and Cubs split, with each team winning their home games. Only three homers hit in the entire series, all by New York and all in the third game Hoyt Wilhelm blew a save in the first game, lost by the Giants in extra innings, but redeemed himself with a win in the third game and a save in the fourth game. Chicago had a lot hanging in the balance during this series. If they were able to win 3 games they would have tied Montreal for the 1st WC slot and put all the tie breakers into play.

--submitted by Tom "crash" Davis--

Bucs clinch best overall record by taking 3 games from Redbirds

65 St. Louis - Mike Roberts vs 73 Pittsburgh - Jesse Elicker


GAME 1: 73 Pit 6-4

The Cards come in needing at least a split to stay mathematically alive. The Pirates hold a 1-game lead on Montreal, but a playoff berth is in hand. After scoring a run in the 1st on Bill White's single, St. Louis added 3 more in the 2nd. Tim McCarver was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Mike Shannon doubled, then both runners advanced on Julian Javier's ground out, 2-0. Ray Washburn followed with a double to score Shannon, 3-0. An out later, Dick Groat's double plated Washburn, 4-0. It stayed that way until the 6th when the Pirate bats woke up. PH Milt May got a 1-out single. Gene Clines doubled. Richie Hebner singled, 4-1. Richie Zisk doubled in another run, 4-2. Willie Stargell's ground out plated Hebner, 4-3. Top of the 7th, another Pirate PH made a contribution. Manny Sanguillen singled to open the inning, then moved to 2nd on a ground out. With 2 down, PH Fernando Gonzalez' single brought home Sanguillen with the tie run, 4-4. Top of the 8th, relief ace Hal Woodeshick on for the Cards. He walked Hebner to open the inning. Then the lefty challenged Zisk, but lost the battle. Zisk's 2-run HR put the Bucs up 6-4. Ramon Hernandez worked the 8th, and Dave Giusti the 9th as the Pirates held on for the win.

GAME 2: 73 Pit 4-3
Game 2 was a reverse of game 1, except for the final score. The Pirates opened with 2 in the 2nd on Milt May's RBI double and Jackie Hernandez' 2-out RBI single. In the 4th it was Hernandez again with a single to score Manny Sanguillen, 3-0 Pittsburgh. Top of the 6th, Bob Gibson gave up another run. A lead off walk to Willie Stargell, followed by Milt May's single made it 4-0 Pirates, as Bruce Kison took the shutout into the bottom of the 6th. But Kison ran into some trouble. A walk to Ken Boyer, a single by Bill White plus Stargell's bobble, put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Tim McCarver's sac fly made it 3-1, and another out later, Julian Javier's single cut the lead to 4-2. Bottom of the 7th, Bob Johnson now on for the Pirates. Consecutive singles by Brock, Groat, and Curt Flood made it a 4-3 score. Ramon Hernandez replaced Johnson and shut down the rally by retiring Boyer, White, and McCarver. On to the bottom of the 9th, Dave Giusti pitching. Dick Groat got a 1-out single to put the tie run on base. Giusti struck out Flood, and did the same to Boyer to end the game, a 4-3 Pirates' win.

GAME 3: 65 StL 9-1

With their backs at the wall, the Cards explode for 9 runs and 14 hits as they pound Bob Moose for a 9-1 win. The game's beginning gave an indication of what was to come. Singles by Lou Brock, Curt Flood, and Tim McCarver opened the game with a 1-0 Cards' lead. Two outs later Bobby Tolan's single made it 2-0. Moose and the Buccos hung on until the 6th when St. Louis put 5 runs on the board and sealed away the win. For St. Louis, Curt Simmons threw a complete game, allowing just 5 hits and 1 walk.

GAME 4: 73 Pit 3-1
Bob Robertson's sac fly and Al Oliver's 2-run single in the first was all that Jim Rooker would need as he and two Pirate relievers took the finale 3-1. The lone St. Louis run can in the 3rd on Ken Boyer's solo HR. Rooker worked 6 innings, Bob Johnson worked 1.1, and Dave Giusti the final 1.2.

TURNING POINT: Richie Zisk's HR in game 1.
SERIES MVP: Dave Giusti - 5 innings, no runs, 3 saves
--submitted by Jesse Elicker--