Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 48
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 1 0 3 0 3 0 1 0 0 8 11 2
Cleveland Indians 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 6 11 0
Bonilla's Two-Run Hit Caps Fifth-Inning Rally; Florida Takes Game 3
For four innings at Jacobs Field the lead belonged to whoever had batted last. It changed hands three times — Florida, Cleveland, Florida, Cleveland — and each time the new owners looked uncertain what to do with it. Edgar Renteria put Florida up in the first with a solo home run off Charles Nagy's first pitch. Cleveland answered in the second on a Renteria error, a Bip Roberts single, and gritty baserunning — two runs on two hits and a double-play grounder that still brought a man home. Sandy Alomar Jr hit one out in the third to make it 4-3, and Marquis Grissom's two-run shot in the fourth — 382 feet to left, Williams aboard by hit-by-pitch — gave Cleveland a 5-4 lead that felt, even as it happened, provisional.

It was. In the fifth, the Marlins took the game apart. Alou singled, Sheffield worked a full count and doubled to right-center, and Bobby Bonilla — down 0-2, fouling off two pitches like a man refusing to leave a burning building — drove one to right field at 104 miles per hour. Two runs scored. Devon White singled behind him and Bonilla came around to make it 7-5. Nagy's night was already over; the damage told the whole miserable story.

Eric Plunk and Alvin Morman limited the further damage to a single run in the seventh, but 8-5 was no better than 7-5 for Cleveland's purposes. In the ninth, Robb Nen came in to close it and David Justice greeted him with a full-count double to right-center. Alomar flied out. Then Thome, also on a full count, doubled to right-center to bring Justice home — 8-6 now, the tying run at the plate. But Ramirez flied to left and Fernandez flied to center, and the forty-eighth iteration of this evening belonged to Florida. Some nights the Indians cannot hold what they take, and the rain keeps falling anyway.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 5 1 1 1 0 2 4 .200 1 1
J. Eisenreich LF 5 1 2 0 0 1 0 .400 0 0
M. Alou DH 3 2 1 0 2 1 1 .333 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 5 2 2 0 0 1 2 .400 0 0
a- K. Abbott 3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
B. Bonilla 3B, RF 5 1 2 3 0 1 1 .400 0 3
D. Daulton 1B 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 .333 0 1
C. Johnson C 2 0 0 1 2 0 2 .000 0 1
D. White CF 4 0 2 2 0 1 3 .500 0 2
C. Counsell 2B 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 .000 0 0
Totals 36 8 11 8 5 10 21
a - K. Abbott substituted for G. Sheffield in the 9th

BATTING
Doubles: G. Sheffield (1, 5th Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 0 outs) B. Bonilla (1, 5th Inning off C. Nagy, 2 on, 0 outs)
Home Runs: E. Renteria (1, 1st Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: D. White 2 , G. Sheffield 3 , E. Renteria 4 , J. Eisenreich 2 , D. Daulton , B. Bonilla 3 , M. Alou
2-out RBI: D. White
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , E. Renteria 2 , C. Counsell , B. Bonilla
Sac Fly: C. Johnson , D. Daulton
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
SB: D. White (1) , G. Sheffield (1)

FIELDING
Errors: D. White , E. Renteria
Double Plays: 1 (Renteria-Counsell-Daulton)
PB: C. Johnson
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 5 0 4 0 0 0 2 .800 0 0
B. Roberts LF 5 0 1 1 0 0 4 .200 0 1
D. Justice DH 5 1 1 0 0 0 4 .200 0 0
S. Alomar Jr C 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 .400 1 1
J. Thome 1B 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 .333 0 1
M. Ramirez RF 4 0 0 0 1 1 4 .000 0 0
T. Fernandez 2B 5 1 1 0 0 1 3 .200 0 0
M. Williams 3B 2 2 0 0 1 1 2 .000 0 0
M. Grissom CF 4 1 1 2 0 1 4 .250 1 2
Totals 38 6 11 5 4 4 26
BATTING
Doubles: S. Alomar Jr (1, 1st Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 2 outs) J. Thome (1, 9th Inning off R. Nen, 1 on, 1 out) D. Justice (1, 9th Inning off R. Nen, 0 on, 0 outs)
Home Runs: S. Alomar Jr (1, 3rd Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs) M. Grissom (1, 4th Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr 6 , O. Vizquel 4 , J. Thome 2 , B. Roberts , D. Justice 2 , M. Grissom 4 , T. Fernandez
2-out RBI: B. Roberts
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , S. Alomar Jr 2 , B. Roberts , M. Ramirez , M. Grissom , T. Fernandez
GIDP: O. Vizquel
Hit by Pitch: M. Williams
Team LOB: 10

BASERUNNING
SB: O. Vizquel (1)
FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
A. Leiter 4.0 7 5 3 2 0 2 90 49 6.75
F. Heredia W (1-0) 1.0 1 0 0 2 1 0 29 15 0.00
J. Powell H (1) 2.2 1 0 0 0 3 0 37 26 0.00
R. Nen SV (1) 1.1 2 1 1 0 0 0 22 15 6.75
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 30
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 22, F. Heredia 6, J. Powell 9, R. Nen 6
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 3-8, F. Heredia 0-2, J. Powell 3-2, R. Nen 0-4
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 90-49, F. Heredia 29-15, J. Powell 37-26, R. Nen 22-15
Inherited Runners - Scored: J. Powell 1-0 , R. Nen 1-0
Hit Batsmen: A. Leiter
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy L (0-1) 4.0 7 7 7 4 2 1 104 62 15.75
E. Plunk 2.1 3 1 1 0 6 0 46 30 3.86
A. Morman 2.2 1 0 0 1 2 0 36 23 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 18
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 23, E. Plunk 10, A. Morman 10
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 2-8, E. Plunk 0-1, A. Morman 0-6
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 104-62, E. Plunk 46-30, A. Morman 36-23
Inherited Runners - Scored: E. Plunk 1-1 , A. Morman 1-1
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Bobby Bonilla
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 4:09
Attendance: 44,880