Posted Messages

Message #: 29438
Message from: Charlie Steinhice
Sent: Nov 12, 2013
Subject: BAA @ TOA Week 16 (plus Week 17 CM)

Just how bad was this four-game sweep by the Blue Jays? This should tell you a lot: The Orioles led exactly three times in the series, for a half inning each time… and were outscored 14-7 in those innings alone.

Game 1: TOA 6, BAA 0

Paul Molitor’s double in the bottom of the first scored Devon White to give the Blue Jays an early lead against Curt Schilling. The Jays added a run in the second on a sac fly by Greg Myers, and Joe Carter hit a two-run shot in the 3^rd to make it 4-0. Schilling stayed around long enough to throw a wild pitch in the 7^th that set up Toronto’s fifth run. Meanwhile, either Pat Hentgen got better or the Orioles got worse as the game progressed. The O’s had two runners on in the 1^st and 2^nd, one each in the 3^rd and 4^th, and then none until the 9^th, when Hengten made an error and gave up a walk before sealing a three-hit complete game shutout. The Blue Jays tacked on their last run on an 8^th inning double play.

Game 2: TOA 4, BAA 1

Carter took Greg Swindell deep in the 2^nd for a 1-0 Toronto lead. The Orioles had plenty of hits against Juan Guzman but couldn’t buy a run, even when they loaded the bases with one out in the 4^th. Also in the 4^th, Carter doubled and Ed Sprague singled him home to make it 2-0. The Orioles finally rediscovered home plate in the 5^th, thanks to an errant throw on a steal attempt by Mike Devereaux that set up an RBI single by Harold Baines. Buoyed by this run support, Swindell promptly served up a two-run gopherball to Roberto Alomar. Guzman gave up 10 hits but just one run in 7 1/3 inning, departing shortly before the Orioles ended a bases-loaded rally by hitting into their 3^rd double play of the game.

Game 3: TOA 14, BAA 7

The Jays took a two-run lead in the 2^nd on back-to-back homers by Molitor and (again!) Carter. The lead grew to 4-0 in the 3^rd, after a well-executed hit-and-run set up RBI singles by Olerud and (of course) Carter. But in the 4^th inning, the Orioles’ bats finally woke up, as Jack Voigt hit a solo homer, Chris Hoiles doubled in a run, and Todd Benzinger drew a 1 on a split for an improbable 3-run HR that chased Jim Abbott and gave Baltimore a 5-4 lead. (In fairness, a 2-20 would have produced a game-tying triple.) Alas, then came the bottom of the fourth. Mike Mussina gave up, in order, two singles, a two-run double by White, an RBI single by Alomar, a walk, and eventually the inevitable two-out, three-run homer by… say it with me… Carter. To preserve a tired bullpen, Mussina stayed in to face two more singles, I mean batters, before giving way to Bill Krueger; Pat Borders greeted him with a two-run double. Score after four: Toronto 12, Baltimore 5. Craig Biggio hit a two-run homer in the top of the 5^th, cancelled out almost immediately by an RBI single by Molitor and an RBI double by (sigh) Carter.

Game 4: TOA 9, BAA 4

The Orioles turned to stopper Ben McDonald to avert a sweep as he squared off against Toronto’s anchorman, Brian Williams. It didn’t start well, as Devon White tripled in the first and scored on a groundout, but at least McDonald retired Carter with a runner in scoring position. The O’s tied it in the 2^nd, also on an RBI groundout, and a Biggio steal and a wild pitch gave the O’s a 2-1 lead in the 3^rd. Again, it didn’t last; in the bottom of the inning, after striking out the first two batters, McDonald gave up two singles and two walks for a 2-2 tie. (Given the events of the series, since it was Joe Carter batting with the bases loaded, maybe a walk wasn’t such a bad thing.) Chris Hoiles’ homer put Baltimore back on top 3-2 in the 5^th. Naturally was followed by a five-run Jays outburst in the bottom of the frame, featuring a three-run homer by (WHY DID WE PITCH TO HIM?!?) Carter. In the 6^th, Brady Anderson homered, but Toronto got that run back on triples by White and Molitor to make it 8-4. The Blue Jays added another run in the 7^th on an RBI single by Jose Vizcaino.

By my math, Joe Carter ended this series with the line 16 6 11 13, five homers, a double, two walks, and an OPS of 2.410. He was hitting like a guy who could hit a walkoff homer to end a World Series. Oh, wait, this *is* 1993…


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