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.
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.
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment