Tuesday, September 29, 2015

World Series: Did You Know?

The 1993 Toronto Blue Jays knocked out the Philadelphia Phillies starter in the seventh inning or earlier in five of the six games. Only in game five, a complete game gem by Curt Schilling, did the Jays not get to the Phillies' hill-taker. The Jays had hit .279 in the regular season, and were tough to set down.

Schilling actually took game the mound in game one, and Toronto went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first. Good start. But then Joe Carter and John Olerud delivered back-to-back singles to get it going. Schilling then threw one in the dirt to Paul Molitor, and both runners were in scoring position. Philadelphia, up 2-0 at this point, was about to see their lead evaporate. Molitor got an infield single, 2-1. A fielder's choice by Tony Fernandez tied it.

Philly took leads of 3-2 and 4-3, but the Jays were not about to let the visitors win. Devon White's mammoth home run in the bottom of the fourth tied it. Olerud delivered a home run to put the home side up for good. Schilling was gone after just 6 1/3 innings and six earned runs. To be fair, Juan Guzman, the Toronto starter, did not fair much better, as he was gone after five. But the Jays would gladly take that trade-off, as they won the ballgame 8-5.

In game two, Philly sent Terry Mulholland, a left-hander. This seemed to work to the Phillies advantage. They got to Toronto starter Dave Stewart early, scoring five runs in the top of the fifth. That, however, proved to be the only offence Philadelphia got off Stewart, who settled down and left after six innings. Mulholland was not so lucky, as he was unable to finish the sixth inning.

Toronto's offence took a little bit to get going, but once it did, look out. Joe Carter's two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth got the Jays to within three runs, 5-2. Toronto kept coming at Terry. White hit a double the next inning with two down, and was stranded. But Fernandez hit a double of his own the next inning, again with two down. But this time, it scored Roberto Alomar, who'd kept the inning alive with a single before that. 5-3. Mulholland was gone after 5 2/3 innings, three (earned) runs and seven hits allowed. The good news for the Phillies is they went on to win, but could anyone stop the Toronto offence?

Not in game three at Veterans Stadium. It was Danny Jackson's turn to try. He'd beaten Toronto in game five of the 1985 ALCS with Kansas. Here, no such luck. Toronto had to bench John Olerud with Paul Molitor playing first and no DH, but it didn't matter. The Blue Jays scored three times before Philadelphia even got to bat, with two of them scoring on a Molitor triple. A home run from Paul in the top of the third made it 4-0. Then, Toronto loaded the bases. To his credit, Danny settled down and got out of that, and retired the Jays 1-2-3 in the next two innings. Philadelphia, however, was totally handcuffed by Pat Hentgen, the Toronto starter. He left after six innings himself, but had the game in the bag, up 5-1. Toronto went on to an easy 10-3 lead.

That wild game four? Well, Tommy Greene started for Philly, and Toronto again put up a "3" on the scoreboard before they could even pick up a bat. The Phillies actually seemed to thrive on Toronto's pitching for a while, scoring four times themselves in the bottom of the first off Todd Stottlemyre. Another two runs in the bottom of the second made it 6-3, and finished Todd. Toronto, however, put up a "4" of their own in the top of the third. Greene was out of there. 2 1/3, 7 earned runs. Toronto was later down 12-7 and 14-9, but rallied to win, 15-14.

Curt Schilling then went out and delivered for Philly in game five. Big time! Toronto managed just five hits and were shutout, 2-0. Guzman, too, improved from his game one performance. In trouble all night but showing a lot of pride, only one of the two runs the Phillies scored was earned. He left after seven, allowing just five hits himself. Danny Cox came in, walked two and fanned the side. What hurt Toronto was all those walks. Guzman walked six to give the Jays eight for the game. In eight innings. So it was back to the SkyDome for game six.

It was another rematch. This time Stewart and Mulholland. Stew picked up where he left off in game two. Mulholland did as well, with the Jays hitting him hard and often. Toronto scored three runs again in their first at-bats. Philly got a run off Stewart in the top of the fourth, but the Jays matched that. A solo home run from Paul Molitor in the fifth made it 5-1, and Mulholland was gone after that inning. Philly, however, showed tremendous fighting spirit, scoring five runs in the top of the seventh to knock Stewart out of the game. Philly, leading 6-5, lost the ballgame in the bottom of the ninth, when Joe Carter's dramatic three-run walk-off gave Toronto their second straight Fall Classic win!

It was hard to be a pitcher and face the Toronto Blue Jays of 1993. No lead was safe. The number nine hitter, Pat Borders, had nine home runs and 55 RBIs in only 138 games (Plus, he was always clutch in the postseason...And he was hitting in the last spot, go figure). Every hitter, with the exception of Tony Fernandez, seemed capable of hitting a long ball. With the lineup so stacked, you couldn't really pitch around any batter. Philly was in over their heads. And while Mitch Williams, who was the losing pitcher in games four and six, usually takes the rap, the truth is, he was always coming in facing the Jays on a night where no pitcher could stop them. Kind of like the situation which all pitchers in 2015 are in when their facing the Blue Jays and their big bats! Night in, night out. Asking the starter to go seven...Asking a lot!


References


1993 World Series. Performance by Len Cariou, Major League Baseball Productions, 1993. DVD.

Bingley, Phil, et al. Another World: the Toronto Stars Tribute To The’ 93 Blue Jays. Toronto Star for Doubleday Canada, 1993. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Retrosheet. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.  www.retrosheet.org

Youtube. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com> 

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