On paper this looked unfair, as ace Dennis Eckersley was going up against subpar pitcher Marty Bystrom. But as I've typed on this blog...THAT'S WHY YOU PLAY THE GAME!
It was actually scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when backup catcher Steve Lake doubled home Keith Moreland. Keith Moreland went to high school with my aunt. That has nothing to do with this game, I just like to slip that into conversations from time to time. Chicago added a second run in the fifth when Bob Dernier and Ryne Sandberg hit back to back doubles.
Eckersley cruised through the first five innings but the wheels fell off in the top of the sixth. The bases were loaded with Mike Schmidt at the plate, and the FAC indicated a "clutch batting." Schmidt knocked a bases-clearing double to give the Phillies the 3-2 lead! Len Matuszek and Joe Lefebvre added RBI doubles to make the score 5-2 and send Eck to the showers.
It remained that way until the bottom of the eighth. Bill Campbell got into trouble and loaded the bases before giving way to Larry Andersen. Andersen gave up consecutive singles to Thad Bosley and Richie Hebner to bring Chicago within one! Andersen got lifted in the top of the ninth for a pinch hitter, so the less reliable Don Carman had to try and close it out. Dernier led of with a single, but Von Hayes bobbled it in center to allow Dernier to advance to second on the error. Jody Davis came in as a pinch-hitter on his off day...and plated Dernier to tie the game! Extra innings!!!
Warren Brusstar worked his second inning of relief and escaped a jam when he allowed two runners to reach base. In the bottom of the tenth Carman was still on the hill since he was due up first in the top of the eleventh. Steve Lake singled and the Larry Bowa walked. Brusstar was due up but nobody was left on the Chicago bench. George Frazier, the last available reliever in the pen, was a .286 hitter in the real 1984 so he got the call! And he singled to load the bases!!! That brought up Dernier, who punched a dribbler into an open spot within the drawn-in infield to plate Lake! Cubs win!!!
Winning Pitcher - Warren Brusstar
Losing Pitcher - Don Carman
Player of the Game - Bob Dernier, 3-6, 3R's, 2B, GWRBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Mike Schmidt, Ryne Sandberg, Dennis Eckersley
Happy Trails...Don Carman
Carman was a rookie back in 1984, making eleven relief appearances. I've already used him up in the Statis Pro season. Let's compare the two Carmans!
The Real 1984: 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 16 K's, 3.67 FIP, 1.50 WHIP
Statis Pro 1984: 1-1, 4.97 ERA, 16 K's, 5.45 FIP, 1.97 WHIP
Don't be fooled by the ERA, Carman surrendered quite a few unearned runs. Based on FIP and WHIP the real Carman did a bit better. He threw smoke in both seasons, though, as he pitched 13 innings in the real 1984 and 12.2 in Statis Pro. With Carman done, Philadelphia called up...Jim Kern! Did you remember Kern spent part of 1984 with the Phillies? I sure didn't...
No comments:
Post a Comment