Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 11
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 4 9 0
Cleveland Indians 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 X 5 9 1
Indians Score Three in First, Grind Out 5-4 Game 3 Win
Bip Roberts' triple to left-center opened the first inning's account — a line drive that split the gap at 104 miles per hour — but after that the damage was all small ball: a walk, a full-count single from Alomar, an infield chopper from Fernandez, a passed ball that let a third run score without anyone swinging. Cleveland put up three in the first and then spent the remaining eight innings protecting that early work with the kind of measured, inch-by-inch vigilance that October demands. The final score, 5-4, suggests a closer contest than the evening's shape truly warranted, though the Marlins, as they have a way of doing in these particular retellings of this particular Tuesday, refused to go quietly.

Tony Fernandez was the evening's quiet architect, going three for four with a pair of infield singles that seemed to find the precise gap between Renteria and the second-base bag — ground balls at sixty-nine and seventy miles per hour that had no business being hits and yet were, the first one driving in a run. Sandy Alomar Jr's full-count single to right in the first plated Roberts, Fernandez's chopper brought Justice home, and then Charles Johnson's passed ball allowed Alomar to score from third without anyone swinging a bat at all. Manny Ramirez added a solo home run in the sixth off Dennis Cook — 397 feet into the left-center gap, the ball disappearing into the wet October darkness beyond the fence — and for a time the lead sat at a comfortable four.

But Devon White's two-run shot in the seventh, 382 feet on a 1-1 count, reminded the crowd that comfort is provisional in this ballpark on this night. Bobby Bonilla doubled to open the eighth and scored on a wild pitch from Assenmacher, pulling Florida within one, and when Cliff Floyd singled off Michael Jackson with one out in the ninth the forty-four thousand drew a collective breath against the cold. Renteria bunted Floyd to second — the tying run in scoring position — but Eisenreich grounded out to first, and the night ended as it began: with Cleveland holding something fragile, and holding it just long enough.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 3 0 1 1 0 1 2 .333 0 1
J. Eisenreich DH 5 0 1 0 0 1 3 .200 0 0
B. Bonilla 3B 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .500 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .000 0 0
D. Daulton 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 0 0
a- M. Alou PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0
b- J. Conine 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
C. Johnson C 4 1 1 0 0 3 2 .250 0 0
D. White CF 4 1 1 2 0 2 2 .250 1 2
C. Counsell 2B 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 .500 0 0
C. Floyd LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .250 0 0
Totals 35 4 9 3 1 10 17
a - M. Alou pinch hit for D. Daulton in the 8th
b - J. Conine substituted for M. Alou in the 8th

BATTING
Doubles: E. Renteria (1, 5th Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 2 outs) J. Eisenreich (1, 3rd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 2 outs) B. Bonilla (1, 8th Inning off P. Assenmacher, 0 on, 0 outs)
Triples: C. Counsell (1, 3rd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 0 outs)
Home Runs: D. White (1, 7th Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: D. White 4 , E. Renteria 2 , C. Johnson , C. Floyd , J. Eisenreich 2 , C. Counsell 4 , B. Bonilla 3
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: D. White , J. Eisenreich 3 , B. Bonilla
Sac Bunt: E. Renteria
Sac Fly: E. Renteria
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
SB: C. Floyd (1)

FIELDING
PB: C. Johnson
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .250 0 0
B. Roberts LF 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .333 0 1
D. Justice DH 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 .000 0 0
S. Alomar Jr C 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 .250 0 1
J. Thome 1B 4 0 1 0 0 3 3 .250 0 0
M. Ramirez RF 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 .333 1 1
T. Fernandez 2B 4 0 3 1 0 0 1 .750 0 1
M. Williams 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 0 0
M. Grissom CF 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 .250 0 0
Totals 33 5 9 4 2 10 18
BATTING
Triples: B. Roberts (1, 1st Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 1 out)
Home Runs: M. Ramirez (1, 6th Inning off D. Cook, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr , O. Vizquel , J. Thome , B. Roberts 3 , M. Ramirez 4 , M. Grissom , T. Fernandez 3
2-out RBI: T. Fernandez
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: S. Alomar Jr , M. Williams , J. Thome
Hit by Pitch: B. Roberts
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
SB: B. Roberts (1)

FIELDING
Errors: T. Fernandez
FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
A. Leiter L (0-1) 5.0 6 4 3 2 4 0 102 61 5.40
D. Cook 1.0 2 1 1 0 2 1 22 13 9.00
F. Heredia 1.1 1 0 0 0 3 0 30 20 0.00
L. Hernandez 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 5 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 43
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 23, D. Cook 6, F. Heredia 5, L. Hernandez 2
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 6-5, D. Cook 1-0, F. Heredia 0-1, L. Hernandez 0-1
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 102-61, D. Cook 22-13, F. Heredia 30-20, L. Hernandez 6-5
Inherited Runners - Scored: F. Heredia 1-0 , L. Hernandez 1-0
Hit Batsmen: D. Cook
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy W (1-0) 6.1 7 3 3 1 7 1 101 70 4.26
P. Assenmacher H (1) 1.2 1 1 1 0 3 0 23 16 5.40
M. Jackson SV (1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 6 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 53
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 27, P. Assenmacher 7, M. Jackson 4
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 3-9, P. Assenmacher 0-2, M. Jackson 3-0
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 101-70, P. Assenmacher 23-16, M. Jackson 10-6
Inherited Runners - Scored: P. Assenmacher 1-0
WP: P. Assenmacher
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Charles Nagy
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 3:36
Attendance: 44,880