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Message #: 27360
Despite a massive talent advantage over the rest of the division, the Blue Jays will obviously not be making the playoffs this year. Good thing too, because the Mariners would be the probable opponent and we'd just have to endure another series like this one, which (despite being just 2 games) may have set the all-time record for "Least amount of luck, one team".... ================================= Game 1: Jimmy Key vs. Les Lancaster doesn't sound like a recipe for good pitching, but it was until the Jays made a fatal mistake -- they scored some runs. The contest was 0-0 after 3 innings, but Kelly Gruber's single plated John Olerud with 1 out in the 4th to get the ball rolling. With runners at 2nd & 3rd a timely fielders choice caused a Jays' runner to be gunned at the plate -- and not for the last time -- but 2-out hits by Manny Lee and Robbie Alomar made the score 3-0. So what was the fatal mistake? We knocked Lancaster out of the game. Arriving on the scene much earlier than usual was one Dennis Eckersley. He brought with him the sharpest scalpel HAL has ever wielded. All Eck did was merely toss 4.1 innings in which he struck out *10* Blue Jays, including an almost-certain league record of EIGHT IN A ROW. All told, the Jays would fan EIGHTEEN times today, though it did require 13 innings. Key remained effective for a little while and held the 3-0 lead through 6 innings. When Julio Franco gophered him leading off the 7th, Key was quickly yanked in favor of Mike Timlin. Precisely-timed gophers would rapidly become the theme of the series for the luckless visitors. Timlin required 5 pitches to achieve the 'Perfect Sambito' when Griffey Junior went deep -- and not for the last time. If an effort to win the game in the 8th, the M's made a few offensive substitutions and wound up with some interesting defensive subs, such as an infield consisting of this in the 9th: 3B: 5e65 SS: 3e31 2B: 5e61 1B: 4e30 The Jays hit 3 infield grounders in the 9th, judiciously avoiding any 4s or 5s, but still took a 1-run lead into the bottom of the 9th and closer Duane Ward replaced Timlin on the mound. Bad move. With Seattle down to their final out, Ward choked up (of course!) an RBI double to tie the game. Moments later, Alomar opened the TOA 10th with a walk, stole second and was bunted to third. So the infield came in. THAT infield. With about a 90% chance of a hit on any grounder, Ivan Calderon stepped in and provided that certain RBI grounder. But he didn't hit it to any of those weak fielders, he tapped it to the pitcher -- a 3e38 -- who made the Gold Glove play and nailed the lead-footed Alomar at the plate. The Jays finally accepted the fact that it was pointless to get any more baserunners after that time, and it was left to Ward to choke up one more gopher to lose it, which he did with 2 outs in the 13th. Final score: 5-3. ================================================ Game 2: Toronto's Todd Stottlemyre had the best game of his life, pitching more than 9 innings and permitting JUST ONE HIT. So, naturally, he lost. Facing noted wildman Randy Johnson (who issued only 3 free passes in 10 IP), Stottlemyre was the one who had a bit of trouble finding home plate, as he walked 9 Mariners. But only the 9th one scored. The Jays opened the scoring in the second when Dave Winfield led off with a double and one pitch later raced to third when Johnson's toss went awry. With a runner on 3rd and 0 outs, Kelly Gruber hit an infield grounder -- uh oh -- but the out was recorded at first base instead of home plate for a refreshing change. Stottlemyre's one and only hit that he permitted was a leadoff single by Luis Rivera in the 5th. A pair of very useful walks quickly followed and a sac fly tied the contest with one out. And so it remained, with neither side even thinking about scoring until the gopher tide turned -- briefly -- and Toronto's Ed Sprague homered leading off the 10th to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Could the Jays get a split by somehow coming up with just 3 more outs? Dream on. Stott got out #1 in the bottom of the 10th but then issued walk #9 to Eddie Martinez on what became his last 4 pitches of the day. With lefty slugger Sam Horn due up, lefty Mike Flanagan was summoned even though he would certainly face a right-handed pinch hitter. A reliever was selected based on the fact that, unlike Stottlemyre, he had NOT already thrown 132 pitches today. Flanagan would need only 2: in stepped Glenn Davis, and out went 'Perfect Sambito' #2 of the series. Final score: 3-2. In 10 innings, Toronto pitchers allowed a total of 2 hits, which turned out to be exactly 2 too many. Alan |
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