Second Round, Day Two (Tournament III Action)

Machine Derailed

Who would have thought we would have a heavyweight match during the 2nd Round, between the 1975 Cincinnati Reds and the 1998 New York Yankees?

The Reds attacked early with a two-run homer by Johnny Bench in the 1st (off of David Wells), while tacking on another run in the 4th (George Foster sac fly) & in the 6th (Bench - RBI single) to give the Reds a comfortable 5-0 lead entering the bottom of the 6th inning.

The Yankees were quiet during the first 5 innings, with only 3 hits off of Gary Nolan, but then came the 6th...

With two outs & runners on second and third, Darryl Strawberry launches a two-run homer to

over the centerfield fence at old Yankee Stadium, to help put the Yankees back in the ballgame.

Trailing 5-3, bottom of the 7th, the Yankees end up derailing machine...

Starting with a lead-off walk to Chuck Knoblauch (his 3rd BB of the game) ... followed by...

• Derek Jeter's RBI double (Knoblauch scores)
• Tim Raines: RBI single (Jeter scores), game tied 5-5...
• Reds go to the pen & call on Will McEnaney.
• Bernie Williams singles to right, Raines to 3rd.
• Two-Run double by Paul O'Neill (Raines & Williams scores), Yankees lead 7-5.
• Tino Martinez scores in O'Neill on a double.
• Scott Brosius flys out, out number one.
• Darryl Strawberry draws a walk, runners on 1st & 2nd
• Jorge Posada hits a three-run jack, Yankees extend lead to 6 runs.
• Chuck Knoblauch hits a solo HR (back-to-back for Yankees), Yankees 12-5.
• Sparky Anderson calls on Clay Carroll, stops the bleeding.

The Reds would score 3 runs during the top of the 8th, thanks to a two-run HR by Tony Perez, but the damage was done, Reds blow a 5-0 lead to lose the game,12-7.

Ramiro Mendoza gets the win (came in to pitch in the 7th), while Gary Nolan gets the loss.

'Cardiac Cards' Knock off Yankees

Another team with a comfortable lead through 6 innings (4-1), the 1937 New York Yankees' Red Ruffing came off his hinges, allowing a lead-off triple in the 7th Inning to Matt Carpenter (Allen Craig would knock him in on a sac fly). Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran follow with back-to-back doubles (scoring in Holliday), while reliever Spud Chandler would allow a RBI double to Jon Jay, tying the game at 4-4.

The Cardinals would take the lead, thanks to Matt Holliday's three-run HR in the 8th inning. The Yankees still kept up the pressure though with a solo HR by Bill Dickey in the 8th (cutting the lead down to 7-5), while Red Rolfe's RBI double had the Yankees trailing only by a run in the 9th. With runners on 1st & 2nd & two outs, (Cards intentionally walked Lou Gehrig to face DiMaggio) Joe DiMaggio flied out to right to finish the game... Cardinals pull off the upset, 7-6.

Cardinals played millennial postseason ball, by scratching their starter after 3 innings (Shelby Miller allowed 2 runs), then going to the pen in Joe Kelly (2 IP), Michael Wacha (1.1 IP), Edwin Mujica (1 IP & Win), Seth Maness (0.2 IP) & Trevor Rosenthal (1 IP & Save).

Christenson Crushes Two

Starting pitcher Larry Christenson of the 1977 Philadelphia Phillies helped his cause by hitting home runs during his first two at-bats (both off Herb Pennock, 3rd & 4th Inning). The Phillies' Ron Reed momentarily gave the lead back (blown save), but would earn the win, while the Phillies knocked off a giant in the 1927 New York Yankees.

Both the 1937 & 1927 Yankees fail to get past the 2nd Round (What are the odds?!), as the Phillies out-slug the Yankees -- including a clutch three-run pinch-hit HR by Jay Johnstone in the 8th, to give the Phillies the 8-5 win; Bob Boone homered in 4th inning (two-run HR). 

Other games during Day Two of the 2nd Round....

• 2012 Los Angeles Angels at 1909 Detroit Tigers: The Tigers' Sam Crawford (3-for-4, RBI, 2 runs) & George Moriarty (2-for-4, 4 RBI, SB & run) was too much for Zack Greinke of the Angels... Not a great round for Greinke, as his 2013 version lost for the Dodgers as well. The Tigers' Ed Summers pitches a 6-hit shutout, to go along with 7 strikeouts. Tigers win 7-0

• 1934 St. Louis Cardinals at 1948 Cleveland Indians: An exciting back-and-forth game, as the Indians come up short, 7-5, with bases juiced in the 9th... Jesse Haines (Grade C (B*)-RZ) completes the 2.2 inning scoreless save, although he made it interesting with his 3 walks. Both teams combined for 23 hits, while the Cardinals' Rip Collins (3-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI & 2 runs), Pepper Martin (3-for-5, 2B, RBI, SB & 2 runs), and Jack Rothrock (1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB & run) were heavy contributors towards their success.

• 1929 Chicago Cubs at 1946 Boston Red Sox: Last year's Runner-Up (Red Sox) defeat the Cubbies (3-2) thanks to a complete game victory by Mickey Harris & Ted Williams' 2nd HR of the tournament.

• 1940 Detroit Tigers at 1904 New York Giants: Joe McGinnity allows 9 hits, 3 walks & 8 runs in 6.2 innings of work [Grade Reduction from A&C-YZ to B-YZ], while the Detroit Tigers win 9-6 on the backs of three homers total by Pinky Higgins, Rudy York & Dick Bartell. York has 2 HR in the tournament. 'Schoolboy' Rowe records a 2.2 inning save for the 40' Tigers.

• 1993 Philadelphia Phillies at 1901 Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates' Jesse Tannehill holds the Phillies to three hits & a run, while the Pirates win 5-1 -- including an RBI triple by Tommy Leach and 2 RBI from Claude Ritchey.