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1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 2
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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R
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H
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E
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Florida Marlins
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0
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2
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0
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0
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1
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0
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0
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1
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0
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4
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8
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0
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Cleveland Indians
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0
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0
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0
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2
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4
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0
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1
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1
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X
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8
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10
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0
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Wild Leiter Hands Cleveland Easy Win in Game 3
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In this second shuffling of the October deck, it was Al Leiter who came undone — not all at once, but with the slow unraveling of a man who cannot find the plate on a night when the rain falls sideways and forty-seven degrees feels colder than it should. He carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth and proceeded to walk four consecutive Cleveland batters, two of them with the bases full, as if the strike zone had simply ceased to exist for him. Jim Thome, who would not manage a single hit all evening, nonetheless forced in the go-ahead run by standing perfectly still through four pitches, none of them close. By the time Dennis Cook jogged in from the Florida bullpen, the damage read 6-3 and Leiter's line showed seven walks in four innings — a kind of wildness that felt almost existential, a pitcher arguing with geometry itself.
David Justice, who had been on base four of five times — three hits, a walk, three runs scored, each arrival at first base looking easier and more inevitable than the last — seemed to be playing a slightly different game than everyone else, one in which the ball simply found gaps that opened like doors in a familiar hallway. Sandy Alomar Jr. matched him with a pair of doubles off Leiter and a single in the eighth that scored Justice from third, a sequence so efficient it barely registered as dramatic. Manny Ramirez provided the one emphatic punctuation mark: a solo home run to right in the seventh, 358 feet through the wet air off Felix Heredia, the kind of swing that makes the sound arrive after the sight of the ball clearing the wall.
Cleveland's pitching held well enough. Charles Nagy scattered six hits over five innings without ever looking dominant, and Eric Plunk covered the sixth through the eighth before walking the leadoff man in the ninth with the calm competence of a man who has stood on this particular mound before — or perhaps one who suspects he will again. Paul Assenmacher struck out Bonilla to end it, and 44,880 went home through the rain believing this was the only time it would ever happen, which is of course how it must feel.
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FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
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CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
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Player
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AB
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R
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H
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RBI
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BB
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K
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LOB
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AVG
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HR
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RBI
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E. Renteria
SS
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5
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0
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0
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0
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0
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1
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1
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.000
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0
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0
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J. Eisenreich
DH
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5
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1
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1
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0
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0
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1
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1
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.200
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0
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0
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B. Bonilla
3B
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5
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0
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1
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0
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0
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2
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1
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.200
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0
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0
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G. Sheffield
RF
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3
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1
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0
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0
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1
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1
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2
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.000
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0
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0
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D. Daulton
1B
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4
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1
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3
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1
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0
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0
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0
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.750
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0
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1
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C. Johnson
C
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3
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1
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1
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1
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1
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1
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3
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.333
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0
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1
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D. White
CF
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4
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0
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1
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1
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0
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0
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3
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.250
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0
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1
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C. Counsell
2B
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3
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0
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1
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1
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1
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0
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1
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.333
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0
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1
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C. Floyd
LF
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3
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0
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0
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0
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1
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2
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4
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.000
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0
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0
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Totals
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35
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4
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8
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4
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4
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8
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16
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BATTING
Doubles:
C. Johnson
(1, 8th Inning off E. Plunk, 0 on, 2 outs)
D. Daulton
2 (2, 2nd Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 0 outs; 5th Inning off C. Nagy, 2 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases:
D. White
,
C. Johnson
2
,
J. Eisenreich
,
D. Daulton
5
,
C. Counsell
,
B. Bonilla
2-out RBI:
D. White
,
D. Daulton
,
C. Counsell
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs:
C. Johnson
,
C. Floyd
,
C. Counsell
,
B. Bonilla
Team LOB:
8
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Player
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AB
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R
|
H
|
RBI
|
BB
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K
|
LOB
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AVG
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HR
|
RBI
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O. Vizquel
SS
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5
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1
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1
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0
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0
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1
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4
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.200
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0
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0
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B. Roberts
LF
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5
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1
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1
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1
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0
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1
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0
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.200
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0
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1
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D. Justice
DH
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4
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3
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3
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0
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1
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0
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0
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.750
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0
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0
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S. Alomar Jr
C
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4
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2
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3
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1
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1
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0
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1
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.750
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0
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1
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J. Thome
1B
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1
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0
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0
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1
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4
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1
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1
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.000
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0
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1
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M. Ramirez
RF
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3
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1
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1
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3
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1
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1
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5
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.333
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1
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3
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T. Fernandez
2B
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4
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0
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1
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1
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1
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1
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4
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.250
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0
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1
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M. Williams
3B
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4
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0
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0
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0
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0
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1
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7
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.000
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0
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0
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M. Grissom
CF
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3
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0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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5
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.000
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0
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0
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Totals
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33
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8
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10
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7
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9
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6
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27
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BATTING
Doubles:
S. Alomar Jr
2 (2, 2nd Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs; 4th Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 0 outs)
D. Justice
(1, 8th Inning off F. Heredia, 0 on, 1 out)
Home Runs:
M. Ramirez
(1, 7th Inning off F. Heredia, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases:
S. Alomar Jr
5
,
O. Vizquel
,
B. Roberts
,
M. Ramirez
4
,
D. Justice
4
,
T. Fernandez
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs:
M. Williams
,
O. Vizquel
,
M. Grissom
,
T. Fernandez
Sac Fly:
M. Ramirez
Team LOB:
11
BASERUNNING
SB:
O. Vizquel
(1)
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FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
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CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
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Player
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IP
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H
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R
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ER
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BB
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K
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HR
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PI
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PS
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ERA
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A. Leiter
L (0-1)
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4.0
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5
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6
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6
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7
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3
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0
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91
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46
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13.50
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D. Cook
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1.1
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2
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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26
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16
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0.00
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F. Heredia
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2.0
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2
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2
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2
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1
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2
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1
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44
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24
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9.00
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L. Hernandez
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0.2
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1
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0
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0
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1
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1
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0
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16
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10
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0.00
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PITCHING
Game Score:
A. Leiter
24
Batters Faced:
A. Leiter
24,
D. Cook
6,
F. Heredia
9,
L. Hernandez
4
Ground Outs - Fly Outs:
A. Leiter
6-3,
D. Cook
1-3,
F. Heredia
1-3,
L. Hernandez
1-0
Pitches - Strikes:
A. Leiter
91-46,
D. Cook
26-16,
F. Heredia
44-24,
L. Hernandez
16-10
Inherited Runners - Scored:
D. Cook
3-1
,
F. Heredia
1-0
,
L. Hernandez
1-1
WP:
A. Leiter
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Player
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IP
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H
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R
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ER
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BB
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K
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HR
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PI
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PS
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ERA
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C. Nagy
W (1-0)
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5.0
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6
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3
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3
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3
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5
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0
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102
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61
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5.40
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E. Plunk
H (1)
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3.0
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2
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1
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1
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1
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2
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0
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37
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22
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3.00
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P. Assenmacher
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1.0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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12
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7
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0.00
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PITCHING
Game Score:
C. Nagy
45
Batters Faced:
C. Nagy
24,
E. Plunk
12,
P. Assenmacher
3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs:
C. Nagy
2-8,
E. Plunk
4-3,
P. Assenmacher
0-2
Pitches - Strikes:
C. Nagy
102-61,
E. Plunk
37-22,
P. Assenmacher
12-7
Inherited Runners - Scored:
P. Assenmacher
1-0
WP:
P. Assenmacher
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GAME NOTES
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Player of the Game:
David Justice
Ballpark:
Jacobs Field
Weather:
Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time:
8:24 PM EST
Time:
3:53
Attendance:
44,880
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