Hey Hershiser, You’re History Marlins Turn Back The Clock While Stopping Tribe In Game 1

The Florida Marlins played like rambunctious 5-year-olds, and picked on a familiar foe.

The Marlins made child’s play of Game 1 in the World Series, getting back-to-back home runs by Moises Alou and Charles Johnson and a nice effort by rookie Livan Hernandez to beat the Cleveland Indians 7-4 Saturday night.

In doing so, they again got to Orel Hershiser.

It was Hershiser whom the Marlins beat in their very first game as an expansion team, back on April 5, 1993, when he pitched for Los Angeles. And in the biggest game in franchise history, they chased him this time, too.

“To get the first game is awesome,” Alou said. “Now we need to keep playing the same way. We are playing a team that never gave up. They battled and kept coming back.”

The 22-year-old Hernandez became the youngest pitcher to win a Series opener. And a Marlins’ record crowd of 67,245 dressed in teal let out a squeal when Robb Nen’s 102 mph fastball finished off the Indians, leaving the potential tying run in the batter’s box.

A neat start for the first wild-card team to reach the World Series and, in its fifth season, the youngest club to make it.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of luck involved,” Marlins manager Jim Leyland said after his first Series game. “Most of the time, you get what you deserve.”

The excitable crowd got what it wanted in the fourth inning. Alou hit a shot off the left-field foul pole for a three-run homer and Johnson topped that with a drive into the upper deck.

An inning after Alou and Johnson became the 11th set of teammates to hit consecutive homers - and first since 1986 - Jeff Conine finished the 39-year-old Hershiser with an RBI single. In that 1993 opener, Conine went 4 for 4 in the win over the October ace.

“Even after I let them down, I was proud of the way they came back,” Hershiser said. “I wasn’t tired at all. I felt great.”

While Hershiser was tagged for a Series record-tying seven earned runs, Hernandez stayed in control. He became only the fifth rookie starter to win a Series opener - Philadelphia’s Bob Walk did it last in 1980 - and showed the poise that enabled him to strike out 15 in Game 5 against Atlanta in becoming MVP of the NLCS.

“When I was a child, I didn’t even think of this because it was not something that was passing through my mind,” Hernandez said through a translator.

Nen, the fourth Marlins pitcher, struck out Jim Thome and Sandy Alomar Jr. with runners on first and second to earn a save.

Florida followed its pattern of quick starts this year. The Marlins won their first 11 spring training games, won three in a row to begin the regular season and won four straight to start the N.L. playoffs.

The Indians, despite home runs by Manny Ramirez and Thome, lost the opener of a postseason series for the sixth straight time. Cleveland closed to 7-4 in the eighth on Brian Giles’ RBI double, but Jay Powell struck out Omar Vizquel with two runners on base to end the inning.

In Game 2 tonight, Florida’s Kevin Brown will pitch against Chad Ogea.

Hernandez allowed three runs and eight hits in 5-2/3 innings and improved to 3-0 this October. Without umpire Eric Gregg’s enlarged strike zone, he managed to fan five.

Hershiser, meanwhile, lasted just 4-1/3 innings. With sweat creeping out on his cap bill in the 76-degree heat, he wilted. He twice bumped his head on the low dugout overhang, and may have tired himself trying to beat out a bunt to end the top of the fourth.

The score was 1-all when Hershiser began his own downfall with a leadoff walk to Bobby Bonilla in the bottom half. Darren Daulton followed with an infield single.

Up stepped Alou, whose sore left wrist contributed to him hitting only .067 in the NLCS. He homered for his third big hit of the postseason, just what the Marlins wanted when they signed him to a rich, free-agent contract in the off-season.

Alou had a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth against San Francisco in the division series and hit a three-run double off Greg Maddux in a Game 1 victory in the NLCS.

The crowd was still buzzing when Johnson gave them even more reason to let loose. He launched a drive into the upper deck in left and was estimated at 438 feet, electrifying the neon-dressed fans.

Marlins 7, Indians 4

Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Roberts 2b 4 1 2 0 1 0 .500 Vizquel ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 .000 Ramirez rf 3 1 1 1 2 0 .333 Justice lf 4 0 2 1 1 0 .500 MaWilliams 3b 5 0 1 0 0 1 .200 Thome 1b 5 1 1 1 0 2 .200 SAlomar c 5 0 1 0 0 2 .200 Grissom cf 3 1 2 0 1 1 .667 Hershiser p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Juden p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — a-Branson ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Plunk p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — b-Giles ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 1.000 Assenmacher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — Totals 37 4 11 4 5 10

Florida AB R H BI BB SO Avg. DWhite cf 4 0 0 0 1 1 .000 Renteria ss 4 0 0 1 0 0 .000 Sheffield rf 2 1 0 0 2 1 .000 Bonilla 3b 3 2 2 0 1 1 .667 Daulton 1b 2 1 1 0 0 0 .500 Conine 1b 2 0 1 1 0 0 .500 Alou lf 3 1 1 3 1 1 .333 CJohnson c 3 1 1 1 1 0 .333 Counsell 2b 3 1 1 0 1 0 .333 LHernandez p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Cook p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — Powell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — c-Cangelosi ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Nen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 — Totals 29 7 7 6 7 5

Cleveland 100 011 010 - 4

Florida 001 420 00x - 7

a-struck out for Juden in the 6th. b-doubled for Plunk in the 8th. c-struck out for Powell in the 8th.

E-Sheffield (1). LOB-Cleveland 12, Florida 6. 2B-Roberts 2 (2), Grissom (1), Giles (1), Counsell (1). HR-Thome (1) off LHernandez; Ramirez (1) off LHernandez; CJohnson (1) off Hershiser; Alou (1) off Hershiser. RBIs-Ramirez (1), Justice (1), Thome (1), Giles (1), Renteria (1), Conine (1), Alou 3 (3), CJohnson (1). S-Vizquel, LHernandez. GIDP-Conine.

Runners left in scoring position-Cleveland 6 (Roberts, Vizquel, MaWilliams, Thome, SAlomar, Hershiser); Florida 3 (Sheffield, LHernandez 2).

Runners moved up-Vizquel, Renteria.

DP-Cleveland 1 (Roberts, Vizquel and Thome).

Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Hershiser L,0-1 4-1/3 6 7 7 4 2 83 14.54 Juden 2/3 0 0 0 2 0 16 0.00 Plunk 2 1 0 0 1 1 22 0.00 Assenmacher 1 0 0 0 0 2 12 0.00

Florida IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA LHernandez W,1-0 5-2/3 8 3 3 2 5 101 4.76 Cook 1-2/3 0 0 0 1 2 26 0.00 Powell 2/3 1 1 1 2 1 28 13.50 Nen S,1 1 2 0 0 0 2 19 0.00

Inherited runners-scored-Juden 2-1, Cook 2-0.

WP-Juden.

T-3:19. A-67,245 (41,855).

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Associated Press By Ben Walker Associated Press