The Jays are giving out a lot of "High Fives" after game five of this postseason. But there was very little of that in their history prior to 2015. Toronto was 1-6 in game five's all-time. And the very first one was one they sort of needed.
Toronto was ahead 3-1 in the 1985 ALCS vs. Kansas. Oh wait, wasn't Kansas ahead at one time this year by that score? Sure. But in '85, Toronto had taken game four, 3-1, and could wrap it all up with a win the next game, right there in KC. The pitcher was Jimmy Key.
But in an all-lefty duel with Danny Jackson, it was Toronto being shutout, 2-0. Key gave up single tallies in the first and second inning, but other than that, he was good. The Royals got eight hits off him in 5 1/3 innings, but Jim Acker came in and slammed the door on KC after that. No hits allowed. Toronto also got eight hits, but didn't score a run. 0-1 in game 5's.
In 1989, it was "Do, Or Die!" in game five, as Toronto faced Oakland. It was 3-1 in the ALCS, but it was the A's up. Toronto had put up a tremendous fight in game four, only to lose 6-5. The Blue Jays had routed the Athletics 7-3 in game three behind Key, and were looking for more.
Oakland took a 4-0 lead after seven. The A's, however, had just four hits off Dave Stieb in six innings. Acker came in, and again did the job. The A's didn't get a hit off him. Toronto scored once in the bottom of the eighth, and refused to surrender. Tom Henke came in to pitch the top of the ninth, and Oakland was completely over matched. 1-2-3. George Bell led off the bottom of the ninth for Toronto. And he took Dave Stewart out of the park to make it 4-2. Dennis Eckersley came in, but even he was in for a rough ride. The Blue Jays scored again to make it 4-3, before Junior Felix fanned to end that.
0-2 in game five's.
The Jays of 1991 were awesome, with Roberto Alomar, Devon White and Joe Carter as new arrivals. I was so sure, with that and a team ERA of 3.50, that the Minnesota Twins were doomed. But going into game five, Toronto needed a win.
Sure enough, they took a 5-2 lead after five. I was so happy. But Minnesota had no intentions of going back home to wrap it up. The top of the sixth inning doomed Tom Candiotti and the Jays. Dan Gladden, who'd later drive in the winning run in game seven of the World Series that year, got a run back with a fielder's choice. When Chuck Knoblauch doubled, it was all tied.
Minny scored three more times off Duane Ward in the top of the eighth, and Toronto's bats were silenced. Minnesota won 8-5, taking it in five.
0-3.
Toronto was up 3-1 in the 1992 ALCS vs. Oakland, as they looked to conquer their demons. However, Dave Stewart did them in again. David Cone struggled, and Jimmy Key was needed again. But by the time he got in there, it was too late. The A's won it easily, 6-2.
0-4.
The next round, saw Toronto up 3-1 in the World Series vs. Atlanta. And game five was at home. The teams traded runs through four innings, but the Braves put a "5" on the board in the top of the fifth, four of those runs on a Lonnie Smith grand slam. The Jays hit the ball well against Braves' starter John Smoltz, who went deep into the count again and again. Many of the Jays hard hit balls just found the outfielder's gloves, however. Smoltz was gone after just six innings (He walked Manuel Lee to start the seventh), but got some help from Mike Stanton to preserve a 7-2 win.
0-5. Oh, this is getting ugly!
Toronto actually won their next game five, which was the 1993 ALCS. Good thing they did. The Chicago White Sox took two straight right there at the SkyDome to tie the series at two. An overpowering performance by Juan Guzman in the third tilt at home ended any hopes of a White Sox comeback, however. Guzman retired the first thirteen men to face him. By the time Chicago woke up, it was already 4-0, Jays. Two more runs off Duane Ward in the top of the ninth made it 5-3, but Toronto won.
Finally! 1-5!
They did not, however, win game five that year in the World Series. How did we get to game six and Joe Carter's home run? Two words. Curt Schilling. With his team, the Philadelphia Phillies, down 3-1, he went out and stopped the Toronto Blue Jays cold on just five hits. Juan Guzman, again pitching game five, was pretty good too, sans the six walks. He also allowed just five hits, but took a tough 2-0 loss.
1-6.
So, Toronto had a bad history, eh? This year, they faced elimination in each of the fifth tilts. But this team has found a way, twice.
3-6.
Okay, not that good still. But getting better...
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. (23 Oct., 2015).
Retrosheet www.retrosheet.org. Web. (23 Oct., 2015).
Toronto was ahead 3-1 in the 1985 ALCS vs. Kansas. Oh wait, wasn't Kansas ahead at one time this year by that score? Sure. But in '85, Toronto had taken game four, 3-1, and could wrap it all up with a win the next game, right there in KC. The pitcher was Jimmy Key.
But in an all-lefty duel with Danny Jackson, it was Toronto being shutout, 2-0. Key gave up single tallies in the first and second inning, but other than that, he was good. The Royals got eight hits off him in 5 1/3 innings, but Jim Acker came in and slammed the door on KC after that. No hits allowed. Toronto also got eight hits, but didn't score a run. 0-1 in game 5's.
In 1989, it was "Do, Or Die!" in game five, as Toronto faced Oakland. It was 3-1 in the ALCS, but it was the A's up. Toronto had put up a tremendous fight in game four, only to lose 6-5. The Blue Jays had routed the Athletics 7-3 in game three behind Key, and were looking for more.
Oakland took a 4-0 lead after seven. The A's, however, had just four hits off Dave Stieb in six innings. Acker came in, and again did the job. The A's didn't get a hit off him. Toronto scored once in the bottom of the eighth, and refused to surrender. Tom Henke came in to pitch the top of the ninth, and Oakland was completely over matched. 1-2-3. George Bell led off the bottom of the ninth for Toronto. And he took Dave Stewart out of the park to make it 4-2. Dennis Eckersley came in, but even he was in for a rough ride. The Blue Jays scored again to make it 4-3, before Junior Felix fanned to end that.
0-2 in game five's.
The Jays of 1991 were awesome, with Roberto Alomar, Devon White and Joe Carter as new arrivals. I was so sure, with that and a team ERA of 3.50, that the Minnesota Twins were doomed. But going into game five, Toronto needed a win.
Sure enough, they took a 5-2 lead after five. I was so happy. But Minnesota had no intentions of going back home to wrap it up. The top of the sixth inning doomed Tom Candiotti and the Jays. Dan Gladden, who'd later drive in the winning run in game seven of the World Series that year, got a run back with a fielder's choice. When Chuck Knoblauch doubled, it was all tied.
Minny scored three more times off Duane Ward in the top of the eighth, and Toronto's bats were silenced. Minnesota won 8-5, taking it in five.
0-3.
Toronto was up 3-1 in the 1992 ALCS vs. Oakland, as they looked to conquer their demons. However, Dave Stewart did them in again. David Cone struggled, and Jimmy Key was needed again. But by the time he got in there, it was too late. The A's won it easily, 6-2.
0-4.
The next round, saw Toronto up 3-1 in the World Series vs. Atlanta. And game five was at home. The teams traded runs through four innings, but the Braves put a "5" on the board in the top of the fifth, four of those runs on a Lonnie Smith grand slam. The Jays hit the ball well against Braves' starter John Smoltz, who went deep into the count again and again. Many of the Jays hard hit balls just found the outfielder's gloves, however. Smoltz was gone after just six innings (He walked Manuel Lee to start the seventh), but got some help from Mike Stanton to preserve a 7-2 win.
0-5. Oh, this is getting ugly!
Toronto actually won their next game five, which was the 1993 ALCS. Good thing they did. The Chicago White Sox took two straight right there at the SkyDome to tie the series at two. An overpowering performance by Juan Guzman in the third tilt at home ended any hopes of a White Sox comeback, however. Guzman retired the first thirteen men to face him. By the time Chicago woke up, it was already 4-0, Jays. Two more runs off Duane Ward in the top of the ninth made it 5-3, but Toronto won.
Finally! 1-5!
They did not, however, win game five that year in the World Series. How did we get to game six and Joe Carter's home run? Two words. Curt Schilling. With his team, the Philadelphia Phillies, down 3-1, he went out and stopped the Toronto Blue Jays cold on just five hits. Juan Guzman, again pitching game five, was pretty good too, sans the six walks. He also allowed just five hits, but took a tough 2-0 loss.
1-6.
So, Toronto had a bad history, eh? This year, they faced elimination in each of the fifth tilts. But this team has found a way, twice.
3-6.
Okay, not that good still. But getting better...
References
Gamester,
George, and Gerald Hall. On Top Of The World: The Toronto Star’s Tribute To
The ‘92 Blue Jays. Doubleday Canada, 1992. Print.
Neft,
David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia:
Baseball, 1992. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1992. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. (23 Oct., 2015).
Retrosheet www.retrosheet.org. Web. (23 Oct., 2015).
No comments:
Post a Comment