Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3

FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS

OCTOBER 21, 1997

TIMELINE 15

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Florida Marlins	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	4	0
Cleveland Indians	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	X	3	8	1

Cleveland Edges Florida 3-2 in Game 3 After Late Comeback

For four and a half innings the fifteenth iteration of this night belonged to Al Leiter and Devon White — Leiter working economically through a Cleveland lineup that could not square him up, White manufacturing both Florida runs with the sort of individual brilliance that makes a team sport feel briefly like a solo performance. He doubled home Charles Johnson in the second, then singled, advanced on a wild pitch, stole third, and tagged up on a fly ball to left in the fifth, scoring on a Cliff Floyd sacrifice fly. It was 2-0 and the 44,880 at Jacobs Field had grown quiet in that particular way a crowd goes quiet when it senses the evening slipping away.

Then the bottom of the fifth, two outs, nobody on after Vizquel grounded into a double play. Bip Roberts walked on seven pitches — the at-bat that unlocked everything. David Justice, even in the count at 2-2, fouled off a pitch, then drove a full-count fastball 345 feet into the right-field seats for a two-run homer. Sandy Alomar Jr. followed immediately with a solo shot to left, 359 feet, on a 1-1 count. Three runs, two swings, and the game had inverted itself entirely. Cleveland 3, Florida 2.

In the seventh inning the rain that had been misting all evening thickened into something the umpires could no longer ignore, and play stopped for nineteen minutes. When it resumed, whatever thread of momentum Florida might have gathered in the interim had been severed — Leiter was gone, replaced by relievers who would hold Cleveland scoreless but could not conjure a run of their own. The delay acted as a door closing: the Marlins managed nothing off Paul Assenmacher through the seventh and eighth, and Michael Jackson struck out two in a perfect ninth. The final was 3-2, decided once in the fifth inning and then confirmed again by the rain, as though the weather itself had chosen sides in this particular deal of the cards.

FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE		CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
E. Renteria SS	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.250	0	0
J. Eisenreich DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	0	0
B. Bonilla 3B	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	.000	0	0
G. Sheffield RF	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	0	0
D. Daulton 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	0	0
C. Johnson C	3	1	1	0	0	0	2	.333	0	0
D. White CF	3	1	2	1	0	0	1	.667	0	1
C. Counsell 2B	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	0	0
C. Floyd LF	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	.000	0	1
Totals	30	2	4	2	1	6	9

BATTING
Doubles: D. White (1, 2nd Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 2 outs) C. Johnson (1, 2nd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 2 outs)
Triples: E. Renteria (1, 3rd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: D. White 3 , E. Renteria 3 , C. Johnson 2
2-out RBI: D. White
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , C. Counsell 2 , B. Bonilla
GIDP: C. Johnson
Sac Fly: C. Floyd
Team LOB: 1

BASERUNNING
SB: D. White (1)

FIELDING
Double Plays: 2 (Counsell-Renteria-Daulton, Renteria-Counsell-Daulton)

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
O. Vizquel SS	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.250	0	0
B. Roberts LF	3	1	2	0	1	0	1	.667	0	0
D. Justice DH	4	1	1	2	0	0	4	.250	1	2
S. Alomar Jr C	4	1	1	1	0	1	3	.250	1	1
J. Thome 1B	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000	0	0
M. Ramirez RF	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	.000	0	0
T. Fernandez 2B	3	0	1	0	1	0	2	.333	0	0
M. Williams 3B	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	.250	0	0
M. Grissom CF	3	0	1	0	1	1	3	.333	0	0
Totals	30	3	8	3	5	4	20

BATTING
Doubles: M. Williams (1, 6th Inning off D. Cook, 0 on, 2 outs) T. Fernandez (1, 2nd Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: S. Alomar Jr (1, 5th Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 2 outs) D. Justice (1, 5th Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr 4 , M. Williams 2 , O. Vizquel , B. Roberts 2 , D. Justice 4 , M. Grissom , T. Fernandez 2
2-out RBI: S. Alomar Jr , D. Justice
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , M. Williams 2 , M. Grissom 2
GIDP: S. Alomar Jr , O. Vizquel
Hit by Pitch: J. Thome
Team LOB: 8

FIELDING
Errors: T. Fernandez
Double Plays: 1 (Vizquel-Fernandez-Thome)

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	5	3	3	3	2	2	96	54	5.40
D. Cook	1.0	3	0	0	0	0	0	22	15	0.00
F. Heredia	1.1	0	0	0	2	1	0	22	12	0.00
L. Hernandez	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	6	4	0.00

PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 44
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 23, D. Cook 6, F. Heredia 5, L. Hernandez 2
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 2-10, D. Cook 0-3, F. Heredia 1-1, L. Hernandez 0-1
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 96-54, D. Cook 22-15, F. Heredia 22-12, L. Hernandez 6-4
Inherited Runners - Scored: F. Heredia 2-0 , L. Hernandez 2-0
Hit Batsmen: A. Leiter

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	PI	PS	ERA
C. Nagy W (1-0)	6.0	4	2	2	1	4	101	59	3.00
P. Assenmacher H (1)	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	20	15	0.00
M. Jackson SV (1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	18	9	0.00

PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 59
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 22, P. Assenmacher 7, M. Jackson 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 3-10, P. Assenmacher 3-3, M. Jackson 1-0
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 101-59, P. Assenmacher 20-15, M. Jackson 18-9
WP: C. Nagy , 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: 3:47
Attendance: 44,880
Special Notes: Rain delay of 19 minutes in the 7th inning.