Indians Stumble Onto Win Botched Squeeze Bunt, Passed Ball Give Tribe Wild Victory In 12 Innings

Just when it seemed as if the game couldn’t get any wackier, it did.

One of baseball’s strangest post-season games had one of the most bizarre endings in playoff history as the thrill-a-minute Cleveland Indians surged ahead in the A.L. Championship Series with a 2-1 victory over Baltimore on Saturday.

On an afternoon and evening of numerous missed chances, Marquis Grissom scored on Lenny Webster’s passed ball as Omar Vizquel botched a squeeze bunt in the 12th inning.

“He tipped it,” Webster said. “I saw contact. I heard contact.”

The Indians, who took a 2-1 lead in the series, overcame a record-setting 15-strikeout performance by Mike Mussina and a variety of miscues in the field and on the basepaths. The teams used a league championship record 13 pitchers, and the game lasted 4 hours, 51 minutes - the longest by time in league championship history.

But few seats were empty when the winning run crossed the plate.

Grissom led off the 12th with a walk off losing pitcher Randy Myers and took third base on a single by Tony Fernandez. Vizquel tried to bunt on a 2-1 count, but missed, and the ball bounced off Webster’s glove as Grissom scooted home.

Orioles manager Davey Johnson argued with plate umpire John Hirschbeck, the same umpire who was spit upon by Baltimore’s Roberto Alomar last year. Johnson wanted Hirschbeck to ask the second-base umpire for his opinion, but Hirschbeck declined.

“If any of the umps saw anything, they would have let me know,” Hirschbeck said.

Long after the crowd at raucous Jacobs Field had filed out, the players and managers still were arguing about the final play.

“It looked to me like he fouled it off. Webby didn’t even go after it,” Johnson said.

“In defense of John, it was pretty loud,” said Webster.

Vizquel, meanwhile, said, “I just missed the ball. I was getting ready to kill myself because I missed it.”

Long, long before Grissom scored, Mussina was mowing down the Indians with a variety of fastballs and knuckle-curves. His strikeout total set an LCS record and was the most in the postseason since Bob Gibson struck out 17 in the opener of the 1968 World Series.

Mussina allowed three hits and a run in seven innings. He pitched well enough to win most games, but Eric Plunk got the victory by retiring the final two batters in the top of the 12th.

Down 1-0, the Orioles used two inconceivable breaks to pull even in the ninth. After Chris Hoiles led off with a single, pinch-runner Jeff Reboulet appeared doomed when pinch-hitter Jeffrey Hammonds hit a grounder to second.

Tony Fernandez fielded the slow roller and opted to throw out the speedy Hammonds as Reboulet hit the ground at the second baseman’s feet. Reboulet reached second when the return throw from first baseman Jim Thome hit his outstretched left arm.

Brady Anderson, who earlier misread a looper to center field, hit a routine fly to center that Grissom couldn’t locate. The ball fell behind him for a double and Reboulet came in with the tying run.

“I simply lost it,” Grissom said.

Grissom, who won Game 2 with a three-run homer, also struck out four times before his walk in the 12th.

In the bottom of the ninth, Manny Ramirez got picked off first base and the Indians followed with a walk and a single. But with two outs Sandy Alomar was called out at first by umpire Durwood Merrill on a grounder, although replays seemed to indicate Alomar beat the throw.

The Orioles loaded the bases with two outs in the 11th before Alvin Morman came in to strike out Rafael Palmeiro, who stranded six and struck out four times.

In their half, the Indians got a runner on third with no outs, but Myers struck out Alomar with the bases loaded and two outs.

The Indians, held to one hit while being struck out 14 times by Mussina in the first six innings, got an RBI single from Matt Williams in the seventh to go up 1-0.

That appeared to be enough offense on a day when pitching ruled. But the wacky ninth inning changed that.

Mussina broke the LCS strikeout record of 14, held by four pitchers, when he got Ramirez to open the seventh. After that, though, things unraveled quickly for the right-hander.

Thome walked and David Justice hit a blooper to center that Anderson got a late jump on and had to field on one hop. Williams then scored Thome on a single up the middle.

Cleveland starter Orel Hirshiser couldn’t keep pace with Mussina’s strikeout total, but he put up enough zeros to keep the Indians in the game, striking out seven in seven scoreless innings.

Hershiser allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in the third through sixth innings, but the Indians got a double play on each occasion. The four double plays in a game tied an ALCS record.

Notes

Mussina has 31 strikeouts this postseason, breaking the franchise mark of 24 set by Dave McNally in 1969… . The O’s are 6-16 at Jacobs Field, 2-4 this year.

MEMO: Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK A partial list of playoff records tied or broken Saturday in Game 3 of the A.L. championship series between the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians:

Strikeouts Most by two teams, postseason: 33, ties record set in division series between Baltimore and Cleveland on Oct. 5, 1996. Most by two teams, LCS: 33, Cleveland (21), Baltimore (12) breaks old mark of 21 set by Pittsburgh (12) and Cincinnati (9) on Oct. 4, 1990; Philadelphia (15) and Atlanta (6) on Oct. 10, 1993. Most by two teams in extra innings: 33, breaks old mark of 23 set by Cincinnati (15) and Pittsburgh (8) on Oct. 7, 1975 (10 innings). Most by one pitcher, LCS: 15, Mike Mussina, breaks old mark of 14 last set by Houston’s Mike Scott on Oct. 8, 1986 against the New York Mets. Most consecutive, one pitcher, LCS: 5, Mussina, ties mark set by Philadelphia’s Curt Schilling on Oct. 6, 1993 against Atlanta.

Others Longest game, time, LCS: 4 hours, 51 minutes, breaks old mark of 4:42 set by New York Mets and Houston Astros on Oct. 15, 1986 (16 innings). Double plays, one team, ALCS: 4, Cleveland, ties marks set by Oakland vs. Boston on Oct. 5, 1975. Most pitchers, two teams, LCS: 13, Cleveland (7), Baltimore (6), breaks old mark of 12 set by Pittsburgh (7) and Atlanta (5) on Oct. 7, 1992. Most pitchers, one team, LCS: 7, Cleveland, ties mark set by Minnesota on Oct. 6, 1969 against Baltimore.

2. Indians 2, Orioles 1 (12) Baltimore AB R H BI BB SO Avg. ByAnderson cf 4 0 2 1 1 0 .333 RAlomar 2b 3 0 1 0 2 0 .182 EDavis rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .111 Webster c 1 0 1 0 0 0 .250 RPalmeiro 1b 5 0 1 0 0 4 .231 Surhoff lf 5 0 0 0 0 1 .182 CRipken 3b 5 0 0 0 0 2 .250 Baines dh 1 0 1 0 1 0 .375 a-Berroa dh 3 0 1 0 0 0 .143 Hoiles c 3 0 1 0 0 1 .167 1-Reboulet ss 2 1 0 0 0 1 .000 Bordick ss 2 0 0 0 0 1 .125 b-Hammonds rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Totals 40 1 8 1 4 12

Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Roberts 2b 3 0 0 0 0 3 .083 TFernandez 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1 .200 Vizquel ss 4 0 0 0 1 3 .000 Ramirez rf 4 0 2 0 1 2 .273 Thome 1b 1 1 0 0 3 1 .000 c-Seitzer 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Justice dh 5 0 1 0 0 2 .300 MaWilliams 3b 4 0 2 1 1 1 .333 SAlomar c 5 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Giles lf 5 0 0 0 0 3 .000 Grissom cf 4 1 0 0 1 4 .364 Totals 39 2 6 1 7 21

Baltimore 000 000 001 000 1 Cleveland 000 000 100 001 2 One out when winning run scored. a-flied out for Baines in the 8th. b-grounded out for Bordick in the 9th. c-grounded out for Thome in the 11th. 1-ran for Hoiles in the 9th. E-RAlomar (2). LOB-Baltimore 7, Cleveland 10. 2B-ByAnderson (2), Berroa (1). RBIs-ByAnderson (2), MaWilliams (1). SB-ByAnderson (1). CS-Baines (1). GIDP-RAlomar, Surhoff, Hoiles. Runners left in scoring position-Baltimore 4 (RPalmeiro 3, Reboulet); Cleveland 6 (SAlomar 4, Giles 2). Runners moved up-Hammonds, Seitzer, SAlomar. DP-Cleveland 4 (SAlomar and Vizquel), (Roberts, Vizquel and Thome), (Vizquel, Roberts and Thome), (MaWilliams, Roberts and Thome).

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Mussina 7 3 1 1 2 15 120 1.29 ABenitez 1 0 0 0 1 1 15 13.50 Orosco 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 11 0.00 Mills 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 7 0.00 Rhodes 1 1 0 0 1 2 28 0.00 RaMyers L,0-1 1-1/3 1 1 0 2 2 35 0.00

Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Hershiser 7 4 0 0 1 7 86 0.00 Assenmacher 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 10 0.00 MJackson 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.00 Mesa 2 2 1 1 1 1 26 3.00 Juden 2/3 1 0 0 2 2 19 0.00 Morman 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 8 0.00 Plunk W,1-0 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 13 0.00 ABenitez pitched to 1 batter in the 9th, Rhodes pitched to 2 batters in the 11th. Inherited runners-scored-Orosco 1-0, Mills 1-0, RaMyers 2-0, Morman 3-0. IBB-off Juden (RAlomar) 1, off Mesa (RAlomar) 1. WP-Rhodes. PB- Webster. T-4:51. A-45,047 (43,863).