Infinite Cleveland

1997 World Series: Game 3
FLORIDA MARLINS @ CLEVELAND INDIANS
OCTOBER 21, 1997
TIMELINE 62
GAME LOG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida Marlins 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 7 15 2
Cleveland Indians 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 5 9 1
Mesa Blows Three-Run Lead in Eighth; Renteria Triple Dooms Cleveland
Charles Nagy did what starters dream of doing in October — seven innings, two runs allowed, the kind of outing that earns a man the right to sit in the dugout and watch his closer finish what he started. In sixty-two renderings of this particular Tuesday night, the handoff from starter to bullpen has been the hinge where games either hold their shape or fall apart. Tonight, Jose Mesa walked to the mound in the eighth with a three-run lead. He would face seven batters and retire two.

It unraveled quickly. Sheffield singled on a 1-2 pitch he had no business reaching. Bonilla lined another hit. Daulton worked a walk to load the bases, and though Charles Johnson managed a fly out, Devon White crushed the very next pitch — a line drive into right field at 100 miles per hour — to score two and close the margin to one. Then, with two outs, Edgar Renteria drove a 2-1 fastball to deep right at 111 off the bat, a triple that scored both remaining runners and put Florida ahead 6-5. Eisenreich singled off the hastily summoned Assenmacher to bring Renteria home. Five runs. One inning. Seven innings of Nagy's careful work, gone.

This is what October does — it finds the fault line and presses. Nagy had been everything Cleveland needed. Tony Fernandez had gone 3-for-4 with two driven in. Grissom had doubled twice. The Indians built their lead the patient way, run by run, inning by inning, the way teams do when they believe the game will reward their discipline. It did not. Renteria finished 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and was named series MVP, accepting the honor with the quiet certainty of a man who has stood on this field before — or who carries, without knowing why, the strange conviction that he has.
FLORIDA 1997 BATTING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Renteria SS 5 1 3 3 0 2 2 .600 0 3
J. Eisenreich LF 5 0 2 2 0 0 3 .400 0 2
M. Alou DH 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 .200 0 0
G. Sheffield RF 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 .200 0 0
a- K. Abbott 3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
B. Bonilla 3B, RF 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 .200 0 0
D. Daulton 1B 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 .250 0 0
C. Johnson C 5 1 2 0 0 0 3 .400 0 0
D. White CF 4 1 2 2 0 0 3 .500 0 2
C. Counsell 2B 4 1 2 0 0 1 3 .500 0 0
Totals 42 7 15 7 1 7 22
a - K. Abbott substituted for G. Sheffield in the 9th

BATTING
Doubles: D. White (1, 8th Inning off J. Mesa, 3 on, 1 out) C. Johnson (1, 7th Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 0 outs) C. Counsell (1, 3rd Inning off C. Nagy, 0 on, 0 outs)
Triples: E. Renteria (1, 8th Inning off J. Mesa, 2 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: D. White 3 , G. Sheffield , E. Renteria 5 , C. Johnson 3 , J. Eisenreich 2 , D. Daulton , C. Counsell 3 , B. Bonilla , M. Alou
2-out RBI: E. Renteria , J. Eisenreich 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: D. White , G. Sheffield 2 , M. Alou 2
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
SB: D. White (1)

FIELDING
Errors: A. Leiter , D. White
Double Plays: 2 (Renteria-Counsell-Daulton, Renteria-Counsell-Daulton)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
O. Vizquel SS 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 0 0
B. Roberts LF 4 2 1 0 0 1 1 .250 0 0
D. Justice DH 4 0 2 0 1 1 0 .500 0 0
S. Alomar Jr C 5 1 0 0 0 3 5 .000 0 0
J. Thome 1B 4 0 1 1 1 2 1 .250 0 1
M. Ramirez RF 3 1 0 1 0 1 4 .000 0 1
T. Fernandez 2B 4 1 3 2 0 0 2 .750 0 2
M. Williams 3B 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000 0 0
M. Grissom CF 3 0 2 1 1 1 0 .667 0 1
Totals 35 5 9 5 4 10 20
BATTING
Doubles: M. Grissom 2 (2, 6th Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 2 outs; 8th Inning off J. Powell, 0 on, 1 out) T. Fernandez (1, 2nd Inning off A. Leiter, 1 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: J. Thome , B. Roberts , D. Justice 2 , M. Grissom 4 , T. Fernandez 4
2-out RBI: J. Thome , M. Grissom , T. Fernandez
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , O. Vizquel 2 , B. Roberts , T. Fernandez
GIDP: S. Alomar Jr , M. Williams
Sac Fly: M. Ramirez
Hit by Pitch: B. Roberts
Team LOB: 9

FIELDING
Errors: B. Roberts
FLORIDA 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE CLEVELAND 1997 PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
A. Leiter 6.0 7 4 1 3 6 0 104 65 1.50
F. Heredia 0.1 1 1 1 1 1 0 21 13 27.00
J. Powell W (1-0) 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 24 15 0.00
R. Nen SV (1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 10 8 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Leiter 51
Batters Faced: A. Leiter 28, F. Heredia 4, J. Powell 6, R. Nen 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Leiter 5-5, F. Heredia 0-0, J. Powell 2-2, R. Nen 1-0
Pitches - Strikes: A. Leiter 104-65, F. Heredia 21-13, J. Powell 24-15, R. Nen 10-8
Inherited Runners - Scored: J. Powell 3-1
Hit Batsmen: F. Heredia
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
C. Nagy 7.0 9 2 2 0 7 0 105 72 2.57
J. Mesa L (0-1), BS (1) 0.2 4 5 5 1 0 0 20 13 67.50
P. Assenmacher 1.1 2 0 0 0 0 0 27 19 0.00
PITCHING
Game Score: C. Nagy 58
Batters Faced: C. Nagy 30, J. Mesa 7, P. Assenmacher 6
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: C. Nagy 4-10, J. Mesa 1-1, P. Assenmacher 0-4
Pitches - Strikes: C. Nagy 105-72, J. Mesa 20-13, P. Assenmacher 27-19
Inherited Runners - Scored: P. Assenmacher 1-1
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Edgar Renteria
Ballpark: Jacobs Field
Weather: Rainy (47 degrees F), 25 MPH wind (left to right)
Start Time: 8:24 PM EST
Time: 3:34
Attendance: 44,880