IN THE NEWS: Lee Smith of the Cardinals sets an National League record with his 46th save of the year in a 3-1 victory over the Expos. He'll finish the year with 47.
At Fenway, the Tigers outhit the Red Sox to win, 8–5. Frank Tanana (12–12) evens his record. Wade Boggs has a pair of doubles to top the 40 mark for the 7th straight year. Only Joe Medwick has done this in ML history.
IN THE NEWS: In the 2nd game of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins, Chicago C Carlton Fisk smashes two home runs to lead the White Sox to a 13-12 victory. In doing so, just nine months shy of his 44th birthday, Fisk becomes the oldest 20th century player to hit a pair of 4-baggers in the same game. His 7th inning grand slam off Steve Bedrosian also makes him the oldest major leaguer ever to hit a bases loaded homer. Cap Anson, at 45, clubbed two homers on this date in 1897: he's the oldest to hit a pair.
IN THE NEWS: Trailing 3–2 in the 9th, Cleveland's Jim Thome hits a two-out, two-run homer, his first in the majors, to give the Tribe the lead over the Yankees. Steve Olin pitches the 9th to save the win for reliever Eric Bell. With four wins over the past month, Bell (4-0) ends the year with the most wins for an undefeated pitcher on a team losing a hundred games (as noted by Greg Crouse).
IN THE NEWS: Greg Maddux and the Cubs beat the Cards, 7-3, with Omar Olivares the loser. The Cards are thwarted in their attempt to become the first team since the 1912 Washington Senators to have 10 players with 10 or more stolen bases. In the 9th inning, Joe Torre inserts Tom Pagnozzi, with nine steals, into the game as a pinch runner, but Hector Villanueva throws him out. Yesterday, Pagnozzi reached base twice and both times the burly Villanueva gunned him down.
It's Fan Appreciation Day as David Cone of the Mets ties an National League record by striking out 19 Phillies in a 7–0 Mets win. The total gives Cone 241 for the year, as he leads the league for the 2nd straight season. Teammate Howard Johnson ends the season with 117 RBIs to lead the NL, the first Mets player to do so. He's also the first NL switch-hitter to lead in ribbies.
IN THE NEWS: Steve Avery's brilliant pitching helps the Braves even the NLCS at a game apiece. Avery holds the Pirates scoreless for eight 1/3 innings, allowing just six hits. Atlanta scores the game's only run on a double by Mark Lemke in the 6th inning. In attendance are Bill Craib and Sue Easler, who visited ever major and minor-league ball park—all 178 of them—during the year. They began their tour on April 9th at Oakland and ended it October 6th at Yankee Stadium.
IN THE NEWS: Mike Pagliarulo strokes a pinch 2-run homer in the 10th inning to power the Twins to a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays in Game three of the ALCS.
The Mets hire Jeff Torborg as manager. Torborg resigned as manager of the White Sox to take the position with NY.
IN THE NEWS: The Twins take a three games to one lead in the ALCS with a 9-3 win behind Jack Morris. OF Dan Gladden drives in three runs for the victors, and Kirby Puckett homers.
Catcher Greg Olson's 2-run homer caps a 4-run Brave 1st as Atlanta goes on to a 10-3 victory over Pittsburgh in Game three of the NLCS. Ron Gant and Sid Bream homer for the Braves, who take a two games to one lead.
IN THE NEWS: Minnesota advances to the World Series for the 2nd time in three years with a come-from-behind 8-5 win over Toronto. ALCS MVP Kirby Puckett leads the way with a homer in the 1st and a single to break a 5-5 tie in the 8th. Rick Aguilera gains his 3rd save of the series as reliever David West notches the win.
Mike LaValliere's 2-out pinch single in the 10th inning drives home the go-ahead run as the Pirates even the NLCS. Steve Buechele's three hits give him five straight over two games to tie an NLCS record.
IN THE NEWS: OF David Justice of the Braves fails to touch 3B while running home, costing Atlanta a run in an eventual 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh in Game five of the NLCS. Jose Lind's single in the 5th accounts for the game's only run.
IN THE NEWS: Greg Olson's 9th inning double scores the only run of the game as the Braves, behind another magnificent performance by Steve Avery, shut out the Pirates, 1-0, to force a 7th game. Atlanta's Ron Gant steals his 6th base of the series in the 9th for a new playoff record.
IN THE NEWS: The Braves advance to the World Series with John Smoltz leading the way as he hurls a 6-hit, 4-0 shutout. The Pirates fail to score in the last 22 innings of the series. Steve Avery is named the MVP of the NLCS.
IN THE NEWS: The Twins defeat the Braves 5-2 in Game one of the World Series. SS Greg Gagne's 3-run home run off Charlie Leibrandt in the 5th inning helps support the strong effort of winning pitcher Jack Morris.
IN THE NEWS: The Twins take a 2-0 lead in the Series with a 3-2 victory over the Braves. The deciding blow is a leadoff home run in the 8th inning by rookie Scott Leius. Chili Davis also homers for Minnesota.
IN THE NEWS: 2B Mark Lemke's 2-out single in the 12th inning gives the Braves a 5-4 win in Game Three of the Series. Lemke had made a potentially crucial error in the top half of the inning. The contest is the longest night game in Series history at four hours and four minutes, and the second longest by innings. The Twins use a World Series-record 23 players in the game.
IN THE NEWS: The Braves even the Series at two games apiece with a 3-2 win in Game 4. Journeyman catcher Jerry Willard's sac fly in the bottom of the 9th is the deciding blow. Terry Pendleton and Lonnie Smith stroke solo homers for the NLers, while Mike Pagliarulo does the same for the Twins.
IN THE NEWS: The Braves win their 3rd game in a row, 14-5, to take the Series lead. Lonnie Smith, David Justice, and Brian Hunter pound out home runs, with Smith becoming the 1st player to homer in three consecutive Series games since Reggie Jackson in 1977. Smith became Atlanta's starting LF when Otis Nixon was suspended for failing a drug test in September.
IN THE NEWS: The Twins become World Champions with a 1-0 victory in 10 innings behind Jack Morris's masterful pitching. Gene Larkin's single off Alejandro Pena scores Dan Gladden with the game's only run. The game is the first Game seven to go into extra innings since the Senators-Giants Series in 1924. Morris is named the Series MVP for the Twins, who win all four games in the Metrodome while losing all three in Atlanta. Four of the seven games are decided on the final pitch, while five are decided by a single run, and three in extra innings. All are Series records.
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