Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 36
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 5 12 2
Cleveland Indians 0 0 1 1 4 0 1 0 X 7 14 1
Indians Claw Back From Three-Run Hole, Take Game 3
The game proceeded for four innings as a series of small negotiations — Florida scoring one run in the second, one in the third, one in the fourth, each time through a walk or a single with runners already in motion, and Cleveland answering just often enough to keep the gap at one. It was 3-2 Marlins entering the fifth, the kind of score that feels temporary, that belongs to neither team yet.

Then Thome hit a home run on a 1-0 pitch, 347 feet to left, and before Leiter could finish processing that fact Manny Ramirez followed with another on the very next at-bat — 338 feet, same direction, as though the ball had memorized the route. Back-to-back home runs have a particular violence to them, not in their distance but in their proximity, the way they turn a pitcher's mound into the loneliest place in Ohio. Leiter departed after the next batter singled. By the time the inning ended Cleveland led 6-3 on four runs and six hits, and the game's careful equilibrium had been shattered by two swings separated by ninety seconds.

The final was 7-5, and Florida made the ninth interesting enough — Daulton's RBI double off Jackson brought the tying run to the plate with one out — but Jackson struck out Johnson and White in succession, and the game ended with the same decisive click it always does in these iterations, the sound of a door closing on one more version of this October night.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 5 0 2 1 0 0 1 .400 0 1
J. Eisenreich LF 5 1 2 0 0 0 3 .400 0 0
M. Alou DH 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 .200 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 3 2 2 0 2 0 0 .667 0 0
B. Bonilla 3B 3 0 0 0 2 2 4 .000 0 0
D. Daulton 1B 3 0 1 2 2 1 2 .333 0 2
C. Johnson C 5 0 1 1 0 3 7 .200 0 1
D. White CF 5 1 1 0 0 2 6 .200 0 0
C. Counsell 2B 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .500 0 0
a- K. Abbott 2B 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .500 0 1
Totals 38 5 12 5 6 8 27
a - K. Abbott substituted for C. Counsell in the 4th

BATTING
Doubles: D. White (1, 8th Inning off E. Plunk, 0 on, 1 out) D. Daulton (1, 9th Inning off M. Jackson, 2 on, 1 out) C. Counsell (1, 4th Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 1 out) K. Abbott (1, 8th Inning off P. Assenmacher, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: D. White 2 , G. Sheffield 2 , E. Renteria 2 , C. Johnson , J. Eisenreich 2 , D. Daulton 2 , C. Counsell 2 , M. Alou , K. Abbott 2
2-out RBI: D. Daulton
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , D. White 2 , C. Johnson , C. Counsell , M. Alou
GIDP: J. Eisenreich
Team LOB: 11

BASERUNNING
SB: E. Renteria (1)
CS: E. Renteria (1)

FIELDING
Errors: B. Bonilla , K. Abbott
Double Plays: 1 (Abbott-Renteria-Daulton)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 4 1 2 0 2 0 3 .500 0 0
B. Roberts LF 4 1 4 2 1 0 0 1.000 0 2
D. Justice DH 5 0 1 0 0 1 8 .200 0 0
S. Alomar Jr C 3 0 1 2 1 1 6 .333 0 2
J. Thome 1B 4 1 1 1 1 3 4 .250 1 1
M. Ramirez RF 5 1 1 1 0 2 7 .200 1 1
T. Fernandez 2B 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .500 0 0
M. Williams 3B 5 1 2 0 0 1 3 .400 0 0
M. Grissom CF 3 1 0 1 1 0 3 .000 0 1
Totals 37 7 14 7 7 8 34
BATTING
Doubles: T. Fernandez (1, 6th Inning off F. Heredia, 0 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: J. Thome (1, 5th Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs) M. Ramirez (1, 5th Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr , M. Williams 2 , O. Vizquel 2 , J. Thome 4 , B. Roberts 4 , M. Ramirez 4 , D. Justice , T. Fernandez 3
2-out RBI: S. Alomar Jr , B. Roberts
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , S. Alomar Jr 2 , M. Williams , M. Ramirez 2 , D. Justice
GIDP: O. Vizquel
Sac Fly: S. Alomar Jr , M. Grissom
Team LOB: 14

FIELDING
Errors: M. Grissom
Double Plays: 1 (Fernandez-Vizquel-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) 4.0 7 5 4 4 5 2 99 56 9.00
F. Heredia 2.1 4 2 2 1 3 0 45 27 7.71
J. Powell 1.0 3 0 0 1 0 0 31 20 0.00
D. Cook 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 10 4 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 31
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 25, F. Heredia 12, J. Powell 7, D. Cook 2
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 2-5, F. Heredia 2-2, J. Powell 1-2, D. Cook 1-0
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 99-56, F. Heredia 45-27, J. Powell 31-20, D. Cook 10-4
Inherited Runners - Scored: F. Heredia 1-1 , J. Powell 1-1 , D. Cook 1-0
WP: F. Heredia
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy W (1-0) 5.0 7 3 3 5 5 0 111 62 5.40
E. Plunk H (1) 2.1 2 1 1 0 1 0 28 17 3.86
P. Assenmacher 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 7 0.00
M. Jackson SV (1) 1.0 2 1 1 1 2 0 22 13 9.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 41
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 26, E. Plunk 9, P. Assenmacher 3, M. Jackson 6
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 3-6, E. Plunk 2-4, P. Assenmacher 1-0, M. Jackson 0-1
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 111-62, E. Plunk 28-17, P. Assenmacher 11-7, M. Jackson 22-13
Inherited Runners - Scored: P. Assenmacher 1-1
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Bip Roberts
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 4:08
Attendance: 44,880
Special Notes: 2B Craig Counsell was injured while running the bases.