It should be noted before we get to WPL's favorite game for this date that there is a definite honorable mention selection: Reds 2, Cardinals 1, in which Mario Soto came within one out of a no-hitter only to give up a game-tying home run to George Hendrick. The Reds won in walkoff fashion in the bottom of the ninth. I will not argue strenuously against a preference for this game over Cubs 5, Astros 4, which is the system's selection. This game pitted Chicago's Chuck Rainey, a 30-year-old in his last major league season (and appropriately so), against Joe Niekro of Houston, who was 9 years older and still significantly better.
Both pitchers got off to promising starts, with Niekro recording a spotless top of the first and Rainey allowing a Craig Reynolds single, then inducing a Jose Cruz double play. Chicago opened the scoring in the top of the second on a Mel Hall double, a Ron Cey walk, and a Larry Bowa infield single that drew a throwing error, allowing Hall to score. Jerry Mumphrey led off the bottom of the inning with a single, but Enos Cabell then produced a delayed double play, hitting into a force and getting caught stealing afterward.
The Cubs picked up another unearned run in the third when Bob Dernier singled, Ryne Sandberg walked, Gary Matthews moved Dernier to third on a double play ball, and a passed ball brought him home. Houston answered that tally with one of their own, as Phil Garner walked, Niekro bunted him to second, and Terry Puhl singled him in. Puhl then moved to third on an errant pickoff throw, but his teammates failed to score him.
The starters kept things considerably calmer for most of the middle third of the game, with Niekro throwing three consecutive perfect innings and Rainey allowing only a Ray Knight walk in the fourth, then setting Houston down 1-2-3 in the fifth. The tranquility came to an abrupt end in the bottom of the sixth when Cruz, Jerry Mumphrey, and Knight all singled to tie the game at 2. Niekro finally allowed another baserunner in the seventh, but it was only a two-out walk to Bowa, and his teammates struck again in the bottom of the inning. Garner led off with a single, and Niekro bunted him to second. Puhl walked, Reynolds flied out, and Cruz walked as well to load the bases. Mumphrey then drew the third walk of the inning, forcing in the go-ahead run and chasing Rainey from the mound; Dickie Noles retired Cabell to end the inning.
Niekro and Noles allowed a lone walk each in the eighth, keeping the score at 3-2 entering the ninth. Niekro remained on the mound to start the inning and recorded a quick out, then walked Cey; he was then replaced by Frank DiPino. Pinch hitter Bill Buckner singled, pinch hitter Keith Moreland flied out to move the tying run to third, and pinch hitter Jody Davis launched a go-ahead 3-run homer. Dernier then singled, and Sandberg singled as well; the inning ended on that play when Dernier was thrown out 9-5-2-5, apparently getting caught in a rundown between third and home.
Lee Smith took the mound for the bottom of the ninth and struck out Puhl to start the inning. Reynolds followed with a double, and Cruz singled him home to pull Houston within a run, then stole second to put the tying run in scoring position. But Smith recovered to strike out Mumphrey and coax a flyout from Cabell, ending the game with the Cubs in front.
The top of the ninth played out in a way you'd virtually never see in 2014, as the Cubs used three consecutive pinch hitters. It was a move that required five bench players at once, as two of the pinch hitters were then replaced in the field in the next half-inning, and present-day rosters tend not to support that level of lineup maneuvering. It certainly worked for the '84 Cubs in this game, however, as Jody Davis, the third of the three pinch hitters hit the game-winning homer and established a career high in WPA at +.778.
There's probably a lesson about lineup construction in there somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure what it is. Source of greater truth or no, it was at least a highly exciting ninth inning, and the finale to a very good game of baseball.
No comments:
Post a Comment