Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 60
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 7 16 3
Cleveland Indians 0 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 6 10 2
Lead Changes Five Times Before Sheffield Single Lifts Florida in Game 3
The lead changed hands five times. It never seemed to belong to anyone for long — passed back and forth like a borrowed coat on a night too cold for either club to keep it zipped.

Moises Alou hit a two-run homer 354 feet to left in the first inning, and by the third Cleveland had answered with David Justice's own two-run shot, a 400-foot drive into the rain on a 1-0 pitch that tied the game at three. From there the arithmetic was relentless: Florida 4-3 after the fourth on Jim Eisenreich's single through the hole, Cleveland 4-4 on a Vizquel fielder's choice, Florida 5-4 in the fifth, Cleveland 6-5 in the sixth when Bip Roberts legged out an infield single on a 3-1 count to score Matt Williams and Justice singled home Grissom behind him. Five errors between two clubs playing in 47-degree rain, the ball slick as a bar of soap, and yet neither side would yield.

Charles Johnson's two-out double off Paul Assenmacher in the seventh tied it at six. In the eighth, Craig Counsell singled off Assenmacher to start the inning, Edgar Renteria coaxed a full-count walk from Mesa, and Gary Sheffield delivered the run that would stand — a single through the left side, Counsell scoring without a play. Robb Nen came on for the ninth, struck out Justice, allowed a single to Sandy Alomar fighting off an 0-2 pitch, then induced Jim Thome to ground into a 3-6-3 double play. Florida won 7-6, and once more this particular October night proved that a one-run margin feels like a canyon when the last ground ball finds the first baseman's glove.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 3 0 0 0 2 0 3 .000 0 0
J. Eisenreich LF 5 1 3 2 0 1 2 .600 0 2
M. Alou DH 5 1 2 2 0 2 4 .400 1 2
G. Sheffield RF 4 1 2 1 1 0 2 .500 0 1
a- K. Abbott 3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
B. Bonilla 3B, RF 5 1 2 0 0 2 4 .400 0 0
D. Daulton 1B 4 0 0 0 1 1 4 .000 0 0
C. Johnson C 5 0 3 1 0 1 2 .600 0 1
D. White CF 5 2 2 1 0 0 3 .400 0 1
C. Counsell 2B 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .500 0 0
Totals 40 7 16 7 4 7 26
a - K. Abbott substituted for G. Sheffield in the 9th

BATTING
Doubles: C. Johnson (1, 7th Inning off P. Assenmacher, 1 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: M. Alou (1, 1st Inning off C. Nagy, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: D. White 2 , G. Sheffield 2 , C. Johnson 4 , J. Eisenreich 3 , C. Counsell 2 , B. Bonilla 2 , M. Alou 5
2-out RBI: D. White , G. Sheffield , C. Johnson , J. Eisenreich 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: D. White , G. Sheffield , C. Counsell , B. Bonilla , M. Alou
GIDP: D. White
Team LOB: 8

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

FIELDING
Errors: E. Renteria , C. Johnson , J. Eisenreich
Double Plays: 2 (Renteria-Counsell-Daulton, Daulton-Renteria-Daulton)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 .400 0 1
B. Roberts LF 5 1 3 2 0 0 2 .600 0 2
D. Justice DH 5 1 2 3 0 2 3 .400 1 3
S. Alomar Jr C 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 .200 0 0
J. Thome 1B 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 .000 0 0
M. Ramirez RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 0 0
T. Fernandez 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250 0 0
M. Williams 3B 2 2 0 0 1 1 1 .000 0 0
M. Grissom CF 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .333 0 0
Totals 37 6 10 6 3 6 18
BATTING
Doubles: O. Vizquel (1, 1st Inning off A. Leiter, 0 on, 0 outs) B. Roberts (1, 3rd Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 1 out)
Home Runs: D. Justice (1, 3rd Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: S. Alomar Jr , O. Vizquel 3 , B. Roberts 4 , D. Justice 5 , M. Grissom , T. Fernandez
2-out RBI: B. Roberts , D. Justice
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: S. Alomar Jr , T. Fernandez
GIDP: S. Alomar Jr , J. Thome
Hit by Pitch: M. Williams
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Errors: E. Plunk , B. Roberts
Double Plays: 1 (Fernandez-Vizquel-Thome)
OF assists: 1 (Grissom (Bonilla at 3rd base))
FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
A. Leiter 5.2 7 6 5 3 3 1 105 63 7.94
F. Heredia W (1-0) 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 31 20 0.00
J. Powell H (1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 0.00
R. Nen SV (1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 12 9 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 33
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 29, F. Heredia 8, J. Powell 1, R. Nen 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 9-4, F. Heredia 3-1, J. Powell 1-0, R. Nen 1-0
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 105-63, F. Heredia 31-20, J. Powell 5-4, R. Nen 12-9
Inherited Runners - Scored: F. Heredia 2-1 , J. Powell 1-0
Hit Batsmen: A. Leiter
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy 4.2 12 5 5 1 2 1 98 59 9.64
E. Plunk 1.2 1 1 1 1 1 0 31 19 5.40
P. Assenmacher L (0-1), BS (1) 0.2 2 1 1 0 1 0 21 12 13.50
J. Mesa 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 21 15 0.00
M. Jackson 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 13 7 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 21
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 26, E. Plunk 6, P. Assenmacher 4, J. Mesa 5, M. Jackson 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 7-4, E. Plunk 2-1, P. Assenmacher 0-1, J. Mesa 0-1, M. Jackson 1-0
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 98-59, E. Plunk 31-19, P. Assenmacher 21-12, J. Mesa 21-15, M. Jackson 13-7
Inherited Runners - Scored: E. Plunk 1-0 , P. Assenmacher 1-1 , J. Mesa 1-1
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Jim Eisenreich
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 4:01
Attendance: 44,880