These two teams are smack dab in the middle of the overall rankings in the tournament, and match-up almost identical in all major statistics:
- Toronto: .615 winning pct, .269 AVG, (.334 OBP / .425 SLG) .759 OPS, 158 HR & 144 SB's, with a 3.31 ERA & +171 run differential.
- San Fran: .636 winning pct, .276 AVG, (.343 OBP / .427 SLG) .770 OPS, 168 HR & 125 SB's, with a 3.61 ERA & +172 run differential.
GAME 1
at Toronto / Exhibition Stadium
Dave Stieb took the mound for the Jays, facing off against Bill Swift who had a surprising season with teammate John Burkett for the Giants in 1993. Stieb won 14 games while striking out 167 batters, with a 2.48 ERA; Swift went 21-8 with a 2.82 ERA, with 157 K's.
 |
| Swift was durable for S.F. through six. |
Top of the 1st
Second Baseman of the Giants, Robby Thompson (batting second) got it started early with a solo Home Run to left off Stieb. Giants 1, Blue Jays 0
Bottom of the 3rd
After a lead-off double by Catcher Ernie Whitt, Rance Mulliniks singles in the tying run.
Giants 1, Blue Jays 1
Top of the 7th
Stieb appeared to be on cruise control after allowing the solo HR to Thompson in the first, the only hit he allowed in the game entering the 7th, then things got shaky. Barry Bonds led the inning off with a single to right, and followed that up by stealing second base; which Willie McGee drove him home on a single two batters later. Which brought up Designated Hitter Mark Carreon up to the plate with one out, in which he hit a clutch 2-run HR ending Stieb's night on a bad note. Carreon, had a productive bat in 1993 in limited play (.327, 7 HR & 33 RBI with a .913 OPS) of 150 at-bats! Giants 4, Blue Jays 1
 |
| Carreon hits clutch HR in the seventh. |
Bottom of the 7th
Dave Burba and Trevor Wilson would come in and put on back-to-back base runners for the Jays in relief (with a single and walk) at the beginning of the bottom of the seventh; which led to the Giants to go back to the bullpen and plug-in Mike Jackson, who then gives up a walk to load the bases for weak-slugging Second Baseman Damaso Garcia -- with no outs. Damaso will do the job by driving in a run on a sac fly, but Toronto would fail to capitalize off the Giants any further in the inning.
Giants 4, Blue Jays 2
Bottom of the 8th
Willie Upshaw, who already had a single and double in three trips to the plate would hit a solo Home Run off of Giants reliever Kevin Rogers. Giants 4, Blue Jays 3
Top of the 9th
The Jays hoping to stay within striking distance keep Dennis Lamp out there for another inning, after a successful 8th inning -- hoping to come up unscathed in the 9th, that would not happen as Lamp gave up a solo blast to Barry Bonds, a much-needed insurance run. Giants 5, Blue Jays 3
Bottom of the 9th
The Giants bring in their closer Rod Beck, who gets the job done with his second K of the inning against Jesse Barfield. Giants win Game 1.
FINAL SCORE:
93' GIANTS 5
85' BLUE JAYS 3
WP - Swift (SF) / LP - Stieb (TOR) / SV - Beck (SF)
POST-GAME:
- Bill Swift (SF) allowed only one run during his 6 innings of 6-hit ball (with only 1 K).
- Barry Bonds (SF) went 2-for-4, HR, RBI & SB.
- Mark Carreon (SF) was the Player of the Game with his clutch 2-run shot in the 7th inning, going 1-for-4.
- Willie Upshaw (TOR) was a Triple short of the Cycle (Going 3-for-4, RBI)
- Ernie Whitt (TOR) went 2-for-3, reaching base 3 times (BB) with a double & single.
GAME 2
at Toronto / Exhibition Stadium
The Blue Jays hope that Jimmy Key (14-6 & 3.00 ERA) can even up the series against John Burkett (22-7, 3.65 ERA & 145 K's), before having to head off to San Francisco. The Jays' George Bell & Jesse Barfield went a combined 1-for-9 in Game 1.
Top of the 2nd
Matt Williams hits a solo blast off of Key for first blood in Game 2. Giants 1, Blue Jays 0
Top of the 3rd
With Royce Clayton (Shortstop) on second base, Robby Thompson gets his second hit of the game, by knocking in Clayton with an RBI single. Two batters later, Barry Bonds would hit a triple into the right field corner; Thompson scores. Giants 3, Blue Jays 0
 |
| Thompson had a mammoth Game 2. |
Top of the 4th
Leading off the 4th, Willie McGee gets on with a single, which is followed up by an RBI double by the catcher Kirk Manwaring (his first hit in 5 series at-bats). The wheels continue to fall off for Key & the Jays in the fourth, as Royce Clayton would smack a double to left-center driving in Manwaring; which ended Key's night (a quick 3.1 innings!). Bill Caudill would come in to relieve as he would get Darren Lewis to fly out for the second out of the inning; with 2 outs and Clayton still on second, Thompson would get his 3rd hit of the game & second RBI of the game with an RBI double. Jays would get Will Clark to ground out to stop the bleeding.
Giants 6, Blue Jays 0
Top of the 5th
Barry Bonds leads off the fifth with his 2nd HR of the series (4 hits & 3 RBI in his last 7 at-bats!), already the Giants' 10th hit of the ballgame. Giants 7, Blue Jays 0
Top of the 6th
With 2 outs, and Dave Martinez on third base; Robby Thompson belts a 2-run homer (for his 2nd HR of the series), he is now 4-for-4, with 2 doubles & 4 RBI during the game! Both Thompson's HR and Bonds HR in the 5th, came off of Jim Clancy in relief. Giants 9, Blue Jays 0
Top of the 7th
Matt Williams who led the inning off with a double, would score off of Kirk Manwaring's single.
Giants 10, Blue Jays 0
 |
| Upshaw has been the only Jay to show up in the series. |
Bottom of the 8th
The Blue Jays finally get some runs on the scoreboard. Shortstop Tony Fernandez got things started by getting his first hit of the series (in 8 at-bats) with a two-out triple, Jeff Brantley (who started the inning in relief) then walked Jesse Barfield. George Bell followed with a 2-run double; which was then Willie Upshaw smacked a triple into the left field corner to score in Bell. Upshaw is now 4-for-8, 2 RBI's against the Giants during the first two games.
Giants 10, Blue Jays 3
FINAL SCORE:
93' GIANTS 10
85' BLUE JAYS 3
WP - Burkett (SF) / LP - Key (TOR)
POST-GAME:
- Robby Thompson (SF) was the Player of the Game, going 4-for-5, HR, 2 2B's, 2 runs & 4 RBI's!
- John Burkett (SF) pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hits.
- The Giants had 18 hits, while also getting on base due to 4 Bases-on-Balls.
- Matt Williams (SF): 3-for-5, HR & 2B, RBI.
- Barry Bonds (SF): 2-for-4, HR, BB & 2 RBI (.556 OBP during first 2 games).
- Royce Clayton (SF): 3-for-5, 2B, RBI.
GAME 3
at San Francisco / Candlestick Park
The Blue Jays need to win the last three games, or they go home. For two teams, that matched up beautifully coming into this series, it's been all Giants as the series shifted back to San Francisco. Toronto will send Doyle Alexander (17-10, 3.45 ERA & 142 K's) to the mound against Scott Sanderson (11-13, 4.21 ERA & 101 K's) of the Giants.
Top of the 2nd
Jesse Barfield led off the second with a double, Ernie Whitt would drive him in with a single. Tony Fernandez with no outs, would hit an RBI double, and pitcher Doyle Alexander would help his own cause with an RBI single. Damaso Garcia would get the fifth consecutive hit in the inning, while the Jays still had no outs. Rance Mulliniks would hit into a double-play, and Lloyd Moseby would fly out to end the inning. The Blue Jays already have 7 hits, one more than they had in all of Game 2! The inning could have been a lot worse for the Giants, are the Jays' bats finally waking up? Blue Jays 3, Giants 0
 |
| D.Alexander (TOR) |
Bottom of the 2nd
A solo Home Run for Matt Williams (his 2nd HR) off of Alexander. Blue Jays 3, Giants 1
Top of the 8th
Blue Jays bats went quiet after 2nd inning outburst, first hit since would be during this inning by Outfielder George Bell, as a single; Jays fail to score.
Bottom of the 9th
Matt Williams strikes again with solo HR off Jays closer Tom Henke, with no outs. Henke & the Jays would survive by getting McGee, Clayton & catcher Jeff Reed all to ground out.
FINAL SCORE:
85' BLUE JAYS 3
93' GIANTS 2
WP - D.Alexander (TOR) / LP - Sanderson (SF) / SV - Henke (TOR)
POST-GAME:
- Doyle Alexander (TOR): 7 IP, 4 H, ER, 6 K & 2 BB's; 1-for-3, RBI.
- Matt Williams (SF): 2-for-4, 2 solo HR's (3 solo HR's for series).
- Barry Bonds (SF): 1-for-2, 2B, 2 intentional walks.
 |
| Matt Williams has 3 of the Giants' 8 long-balls so far -- during the series. |
GAME 4
at San Francisco / Candlestick Park
It's a Game 1 rematch between the Jays' Dave Stieb and the Giants' Bill Swift. Stieb hopes to fare better, in hopes of bringing this series finale back to Toronto.
Top of the 2nd
Willie Upshaw, who actually was quiet in Game 3, leads off the inning with a solo HR off of Swift. The 2nd HR & 3rd RBI for Upshaw in the series. Blue Jays 1, Giants 0
Top of the 5th
Rance Mullinks smacks an RBI double to score in Tony Fernandez from first (who reached on a single).
Blue Jays 2, Giants 0
Top of the 7th
Rance Mullinks strikes again with an RBI single, this time off of relief pitcher Bryan Hickerson. Tony Fernandez once again scores for the Blue Jays. Blue Jays 3, Giants 0
 |
| Stieb pitched great in Game 4 for Jays. |
Bottom of the 7th
The Giants have actually gone quiet, scoring only 2 runs in their last 17 innings -- entering this inning. That all changed with Matt Williams scoring from 3rd on a sac fly from Kirk Manwaring. Blue Jays 3, Giants 1
Bottom of the 8th
Dave Martinez gets a lead-off single pinch-hitting for pitcher Bud Black. Mark Carreon comes in and pinch-hits for Royce Clayton, and once again comes up clutch by hitting an RBI double off of Dennis Lamp. Blue Jays 3, Giants 2
Bottom of the 9th
The Blue Jays bring in their closer Tom Henke, who survived Game 3. Willie McGee leads off the bottom of the inning with a double, Henke strikes out Manwaring. Darren Lewis steps up to the plate, who was placed 8th in the lineup for Game 4 due to his .083 AVG in 12 at-bats, and currently was 0-for-3 & facing off against Henke. Lewis ends up lacing an RBI double to left, driving in McGee -- the game is tied! The Jays would eventually get out of the inning. Blue Jays 3, Giants 3
Bottom of the 10th
After the Jays went down 1-2-3 in the 10th, The Jays keep Henke in & Todd Benzinger flies out to start the bottom half. Stepping up to the plate is Barry Bonds (batting .417 in 12 at-bats, 2 HR, 3 RBI), who has been intentionally walked three times this series (including once this game) -- the Jays have a conference at the mound, and the manager Billy Cox decides to let Henke pitch to Bonds. Big Mistake! Bonds drills the ball to the left-field stands as Candlestick erupts! A Series walk-off for a player that in real life always came up short in the post-season! THE GIANTS ARE MOVING ON!
The Jays were up 3-0 during the "7th Inning Stetch", and the Giants bullpen came up big as the lineup clawed it's way back with a dramatic ending!
 |
| Bonds watches the series winner go into the stands. |
FINAL SCORE:
93' GIANTS 4
85' BLUE JAYS 3 (10 Innings)
POST-GAME:
- Dave Stieb (TOR): 6 Innings of 2-hit, scoreless pitching (4 K's & 1 BB).
- Rance Mulliniks (TOR): 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI.
- Willie Upshaw (TOR): 2-for-4, HR, 2 SB's.
- Willie McGee (SF): 2-for-4, R, 2B
- Bill Swift (SF): 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K & 3 BB.
- Darren Lewis (SF): 1-for-15 (.067 BA) entering clutch 9th Inning at-bat (RBI Double)
- Barry Bonds (SF): Walk-off HR, 2 BB's.
SERIES RECAP: 93' GIANTS defeat 85' BLUE JAYS, 3-1!
- Barry Bonds (SF): 6-for-13 (.462 AVG, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB's, 2B, SB). His On-Base Percentage was .611 & his Slugging Percentage was 1.385; which made his OPS of 1.996 off the charts!
- Matt Williams (SF): .375 AVG (6-for-16), 3 solo HR's, 2B.
- The Giants' bullpen during last 2 games: 1 ER, 5 hits allowed 8 Innings.
- Tom Henke (TOR): 3 ER, 4 H & BB allowed in 2.2 IP; a lousy 10.13 ERA (1 SV, 1 BS & Loss)
- Bill Swift (SF): 1-0 record, 2.25 ERA, 9 H, 3 ER & 4 K's in 12 IP.
- Willie Upshaw (TOR): .400 AVG, 2 HR, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI & 2 SB's & 6 hits.
- Mark Carreon (SF): 2 clutch hits in Game 1 & Game 4 (3 RBI).
- Blue Jays Outfielders (Bell, Moseby & Barfield): 7-for-43 (.163 BA), only 2 RBI!
NEXT OPPONENT: The Winner of the 37' New York (A) (1) / 14' Boston (N) (16) series.
 |
| Barry Bonds was off the charts against the Blue Jays. |
No comments:
Post a Comment