| 1997 - FLORIDA MARLINS (4) vs. CLEVELAND INDIANS (3) |
|
Game |
Date |
Winning Team |
Losing Team |
| 1 |
Oct. 18 |
FLORIDA (Hernandez) 7 |
Cleveland (Hershiser) 4 |
| 2 |
Oct. 19 |
Cleveland (Ogea) 6 |
FLORIDA (Brown) 1 |
| 3 |
Oct. 21 |
Florida (Cook) 14 |
CLEVELAND (Plunk) 11 |
| 4 |
Oct. 22 |
CLEVELAND (Wright) 10 |
Florida (Saunders) 3 |
| 5 |
Oct. 23 |
Florida (Hernandez) 8 |
CLEVELAND (Hershiser) 7 |
| 6 |
Oct. 25 |
Cleveland (Ogea) 4 |
FLORIDA (Brown) 1 |
| 7 |
Oct. 26 |
FLORIDA (Powell) 3 |
Cleveland (Nagy) 2 |
11 innings (Night Games: All)
Managers - Jim Leyland, Marlins; Mike Hargrove, Indians
NOTES: The Florida Marlins won their first World Series in their fifth season, which is the fastest for any expansion team in history...This was the first World Series to go the full seven games since 1991...Series MVP Livan Hernandez was 2-0 after being named the MVP of the NLCS...The Marlins won the Series when Edgar Renteria singled home the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh inning...The Indians, who were making their second World Series appearance in the last three years, were two outs away from the title in the bottom of the ninth before rookie Craig Counsell tied the game with a sacrifice fly. |
In Game 1, the Marlins grabbed a 5-1 in the fourth when Moises Alou and Charles Johnson hit back-to-back homers, Alou's coming with two runners aboard. Florida scored two more in the fifth, and hung on for a 7-4 triumph. Both clubs opened Game 2 with single runs in the first inning, but that was all the Marlins could manage against Tribe starter Chad Ogea and a trio of relievers. Meanwhile, the Indians scored four in the fifth on four singles, two more in the sixth on Sandy Alomar's two-run homer, and evened the Series, 6-1.
Game 3 was slated for Cleveland, where wind-chill readings in the 20s figured to make things tough for the hitters. Instead it was the pitchers who had problems, and the score was 7-7 after eight frames. And in the top of the ninth, the Marlins scored seven runs, thanks in part to three Cleveland errors, three walks and a wild pitch. The Indians made things interesting with four runs off closer Robb Nen in the bottom of the ninth, resulting in a 14-11 final. Right fielder Gary Sheffield led the Marlin attack with three hits and five RBI.
Game 4 witnessed the first World Series Championship snowfall since 1979. Cleveland rookie Jaret Wright pitched six strong innings, Manny Ramirez and Matt Williams both chipped in with two-run home runs, and the Tribe cruised, 10-3. In Game 5, Orel Hershiser was roughed up again, allowing six runs in five-plus innings. Marlin starter Livan Hernandez, who beat Hershiser in Game 1, picked up his second Series victory, 8-7, despite allowing seven hits and eight walks in eight-plus innings. Once again the Indians mounted a furious ninth-inning rally, scoring three runs only to fall short.
Just as Game 5 mirrored Game 1, Game 6 matched Game 2. Chad Ogea and three relievers permitted but one run, and the Indians captured a 4-1 decision. In Game 7, Tribe second baseman Tony Fernandez opened the scoring with a two-run single in the third inning. The Marlins scored a run in the seventh, then one more in the ninth on Craig Counsell's sacrifice fly to force extra innings. And in the bottom of the eleventh, Florida won the World Series Championship when Edgar Renteria's two-out single plated Counsell, who had reached base on a Fernandez error. Just four years after their birth, the Marlins ruled the Major League Baseball world.