You have a point, Nivek, so since I have extra time tonight, I'll do Game 4 of the NLCS. Here are the umpires:
Home Plate: Terry Tata
First Base: Harry Wendelstedt
Second Base: Randy Marsh
Third Base: Eric Gregg
Left Field: Steve Rippley
Right Field: Jeff Kellogg
It's time for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series! Yesterday afternoon, the Cincinnati Reds came within one win of locking up the National League pennant by defeating the Montreal Expos 9-5. So the Spos are fighting to stay alive, and they send Kirk Rueter to the mound against the Reds' John Roper. Roper hasn't pitched so far in the postseason, but Rueter was the losing pitcher in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Padres last Sunday.
As far as lineup changes go, Deion Sanders is once again absent from the Reds, and it has to do with the 49ers. Down to five healthy defensive backs due to injuries going into their game with the Falcons, the Niners asked permission for Prime Time to fly to Atlanta and be on the roster for their game today against the Falcons. As luck would have it, he not only played, but returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown in the Niners' 42-3 victory. He's on his way to Olympic Stadium via private plane, but Jacob Brumfield will take his place in the starting lineup. Also, Hal Morris isn't feeling well, so Lenny Harris will start at first base in his place. For the Spos, Darrin Fletcher still isn't back, so Lenny Webster remains behind the plate. Mike Lansing is feeling much better and should last the whole game at second. Most importantly, Larry Walker's back, although he's starting at his "safe" position of first base due to his bad back. Cliff Floyd's knee continues to limit him to pinch-hitting duty. Can the Reds pull off the sweep? Will the young Spos live to fight another day? Will Deion show up? Let's start answering these and other questions right now!
The Big Red Machine starts up right away in the top of the first. After one out, Bret Boone walks and is forced by Barry Larkin. Rueter decides to pitch around the big bat of Kevin Mitchell and walks him too, which brings up Harris. Lenny lashes Rueter's first pitch down the right field line to score Larkin and Mitchell, and the Reds are up 2-0 right off the bat. Reggie's groundout ends the inning, but the Reds' supersub has already made his presence felt in a big way by staking them to a 2-0 lead. Now it's the Expos' turn.
Roper gets Marquis Grissom to fly out on the first pitch, but White doubles to left, and after Alou strikes out, Walker grounds one through the middle to plate Rondell and cut the Cincinnati lead to 2-1. Suddenly, Roper can't find the plate, walking Wil Cordero and Webster to load the bases. But Sean Berry grounds to Fernandez at third to end the inning. Still, the home team has answered with a run of its own, and might be starting to wear down the nervous youngster Roper already.
The Reds go down in order in the top of the second, and Rueter's single in the bottom of the inning is wiped out by a force play from Grissom and a fly to left center from White. The Reds extend their lead in the top of the third when Brumfield singles, then Berry muffs a simple grounder from Boone. Larkin's line drive into right scores the speedy Brumfield, and the Reds are up 3-1. With two still on, the pressure's on Rueter, who gets Mitchell on a fly pop into shallow left, gets Harris to pop to Walker, and strikes out Reggie.
Alou's leadoff double does nothing for the Spos in the bottom of the third, and the Reds go in order in the top of the fourth, with Brian Hunter batting for Fernandez. In the bottom of the fourth, Hunter, whose lone appearance in the playoffs came as a defensive replacement for Reggie in right field in the ninth inning of the Game 2 blowout in Atlanta, takes over at first, and Harris shifts to third. In the midst of all of this, the Spos tie the game. Berry pops one onto the warning track and over the left field wall for a ground-rule double and scores on Lansing's hard single to left. Needing offense in a hurry, Felipe decides to lift Reuter, but he wants to save Floyd for later, so he calls on Juan Bell. Bell takes one deep to left that Mitchell catches against the fence, and Lansing holds at first. But Grissom gets the job done by lofting one over Brumfield's head in center to score Mike and tie things at three. Roper gets White and Moises to ground out to end the inning, but The Big O has come back to life thanks to some big hits from its Spos, and we're tied at three after four.
New pitcher Butch Henry sets the Reds down in order in the top of the fifth, and Cordero's infield hit against Pete Schourek in the Montreal fifth is harmless. In the Cincy sixth, Harris singles with one out and steals second, but henry strikes out Reggie, and after walking Hunter gets Dorsett to pop to Lansing to end the inning. Lansing brings hope to Spos fans when he doubles leading off the bottom of the sixth, and home plate umpire Terry Tata calls a balk on Schourek to advance Lansing to third with two out, but White grounds to Larkin to kill the threat. Morris's pinch-hit single leading off the top of the seventh is wasted by a Brumfield force play. This paves the way for the home team to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh against new Reds pitcher Johnny Ruffin. Alou grounds his first pitch to short, but Larkin's throw to first pulls Hunter off the base, and Moises is on. Ruffin then walks Walker on five pitches, but cleans up the mess for the moment when Cordero hits into a double play. Webster works another walk, however. and Berry drops one into left for a base hit to score Alou and give the Expos a 4-3 lead. Lansing's fielder's choice ends the inning, but the Spos have a rare lead in this series at the end of seven.
That lead is short-lived, as the Reds vault back in front against a tired Mel Rojas, who's making his sixth postseason appearance in nine games. With one out, Harris singles to right center, then steals second. Reggie is frozen by a Rojas slider for strike three and out number two, but Hunter walks on four straight pitches to put two on. Dorsett then grounds one between third and short to score Harris and tie the game at four, and then the moment America has been waiting for, as Deion comes out to bat for Ruffin:
Bob Costas: "For those of you who may be wondering, today's double-dip wasn't Deion's idea; the 49ers called the Reds after yesterday's game and asked permission to use Deion as insurance for the game against the Falcons due to injuries in the secondary. Well, he was insurance all right, running back an interception 93 yards for a touchdown. Now he can put his team ahead here in the eighth, down a strike. Rojas gets the sign from Webster, and here's the 0-1.......line drive, base hit right field! Hunter scores, the Reds lead 5-4, and the legend of Prime Time is bigger than ever!"
Joe Garagiola: "I'm sorry, Deion. I officially eat my words right here and now. Just incredible!"
Costas: "He got here about an hour and a half ago, and wore his Niners jersey to the stadium because he was in such a hurry to leave Atlanta that he hadn't changed."
Jerome Walton comes up to bat for Brumfield in order to get the Reds some insurance, but he grounds one to Berry, who steps on third to force Dorsett and end the inning. Still, thanks to a dose of Neon, the Reds hold a 5-4 lead, and are just six outs from the World Series.
The Man of the Hour replaces Brumfield in center in the bottom of the eighth, but the Spos steal the spotlight quickly. With one out, Grissom bloops one between Mitchell and Deion for a hit. New pitcher Chuck McElroy strikes out White, but Grissom takes second base on strike three. McElroy then gets wild, walking Alou and Walker to load the bases. This would be a perfect spot for Floyd, but there's no one to replace Cordero at short, so it's up to Wil, and he grounds to Harris at third to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded. New pitcher Jeff Shaw gets the first out of the Cincinnati ninth quickly, but Larkin lines the first pitch he sees into right center for a double. Mitchell then drops one in front of Grissom to score Barry, and it's 6-4 Cincy. Harris's groundball snakes into left for another hit that brings home Mitchel lto make it 7-4, and Reggie drops one pretty as you please in front of White to bring Harris home and make it 8-4. Hunter's liner finds Walker's glove just before it creases his head for out number two, but Dorsett's dying bloop finds a home in left center to bring Reggie home with a 9-4 Cincy lead. Deion has a chance to deliver another big hit, but instead grounds to Berry, ending the inning. Still, the Reds have scored four insurance runs, and are now just three outs from the National League pennant with a 9-4 lead.
Hector Carrasco has a chance to be the pennant clincher for the Reds, and he starts in fine style when Webster lines to Hunter for out number one. But Hector walks Berry, and Lansing's base hit puts runners on first and second. Floyd now bats for Shaw, and he scorches one into the corner in left. By the time Mitchell can dig it out and throw anywhere, Berry and Lansing have both scored to trim the lead to 9-6, and the Big O is going wild. With no time to fool around, skipper Davey Johnson summons closer Jeff Brantley to end the threat and wrap up the National League pennant for the visitors. It doesn't start out so well, as Brantley walks Grissom and falls behind White 3-0. But he comes back to strike out Rondell for out number two, and then it's up to Alou:
"Alou can tie it with one swing, but he might be wiser trying for a hit to keep the inning going if he can get it. One and one, with Floyd at second and Grissom at first. Grissom can fly; Floyd has trouble walking, let alone running, with his bad knee, but Felipe Alou is almost out of players. Floyd trying his best to take a lead off second, and here's the one-one pitch........to Larkin, he's got it........THE REDS ARE THE NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS IN FOUR STRAIGHT!!!!!!!!!!...........They're running to center field to mob the hero, who just nine hours ago helped the 49ers crush the Falcons. Now, tonight, he gets the game-winning hit to send the Reds to the World Series. Ruffin gets the win, Brantley the save, his third of the series, Rojas takes the loss. As for the MVP, it's probably between Deion and Jose Rijo, who struck out fifteen in Game 1. We'll all find out together in just a few moments. The Reds beat the Expos 9-6 and sweep the NLCS, and we'll be back to the victorious clubhouse right after these messages and a word from your local station."
It's Rijo who gets the MVP, but it's Harris who does the interview. "What a night and what a team. I'm sorry Hal couldn't play tonight, but I'm thrilled that I was able to contribute." He ends up four for five, with two runs scored and three runs batted in. Talk about Deion; what does his presence mean to the club? "Aw, man, what is he made of? I know I'd like some. We were watching him today, and how he could play as well as he did for Frisco and then come here and do what he did for us? I've never seen anything like it, or this guy (Rijo) either." Any preference for the World Series? "Nope. Just happy to be going and, hopefully, winning."
"This was a shock," Felipe Alou tells Hannah Storm. "We never expected to be beaten four in a row, I know this club is better than that, but we never showed it." What about the injuries to Walker, Fletcher, and others? "Injuries are never an excuse. We had twenty-five guys just like they did, and theirs were better." How about the talk that this team will be broken up in the offseason? "We'll compete with those we have. If this is our one and only run, we did the best we could. Whether we stay as is or not is for management to decide."
And that'll do it from Olympic Stadium. The Reds sweep the Expos in four games to win the National League pennant, Best of luck to Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, and the rest of the ABC crew throughout the remainder of the postseason. We'll be back next year, and it'll be our turn to focus on the American League. Our thanks to everyone at Major League Baseball, particularly National League President Leonard Coleman's office, for all their help this year. Coming up next, Greg and the crew in New York run down all the scores from both baseball and football on the Prudential Postgame Report, followed by your late local news. For Tony Kubek, Joe Garagiola, Jim Gray, Hannah Storm, and all the hard-working people at NBC Sports, I'm Bob Costas saying good night from Olympic Stadium. The final score again: the Cincinnati Reds 9, the Montreal Expos 6, and the Reds win the National League pennant four games to none. As we leave you, here's how Marty Brennaman called the last out and told the Ohio Valley that, in his immortal words, this one belongs to the Reds. So long, everybody!
"Stretch by Brantley, here's the one-one..........down to Larkin, throw to first..........THE REDS HAVE DONE IT! THEY'VE SWEPT THE EXPOS!!!!!!!...............No one gave them a ghost of a chance against the young turks of the National League, but they did it in four straight, and the series-winning hit was provided by someone who was scoring a touchdown in Atlanta just a few hours before! What a scene it'll be at the airport! By the way, if you see someone in a 49ers football jersey, it's not a fan, it's Deion; he hasn't got any other clothes! The Reds beat the Expos 9-6 here in Game 4, and before I forget: THIS PENNANT BELONGS TO THE REDS!!!!!!!"
Finally, Vin Scully:
"One-one pitch grounded to Larkin, over to Hunter.......in time, and the Reds get the sweep!.............And in true Hollywood fashion, the hero rides into town and saves the day in the last act, from Atlanta no less! Touchdowns, game-winning hits, if he could shoot a puck or dribble a basketball, he'd have the market cornered! At any rate, the Refs move on to the World Series as they defeat the Expos 9-6."
W- Ruffin (1-0)
S- Brantley (3)
L- Rojas (0-1)
MVP: Jose Rijo, Cincinnati Reds
Next: More American League makeup games.
Thoughts?