REGIONAL #137:  With no pennant winners in this group, there weren’t too many teams that jumped out at me as likely to be dominating.  The most attention-grabbing was the 1964 Dodgers, who won the NL in both the year before and after, and they had to be in the midst of those Koufax/Drysdale killer rotations.   I did know that the 1965 Red Sox would win the pennant two years later, but I also remembered that the pennant was a huge surprise because the team had been terrible in prior seasons, so I didn’t think much of their chances.  Instead, my hunch was that the ‘92 Expos would be competitive, and that maybe one of the two Pirates entries could put together a run.  However, my money was on the Dodgers, as I picked them over the Expos in the finals.   For a change, the ELO ranks aligned very well with my memory, although those ranks gave the Expos a slight edge over the Dodgers in the final.

First round action

The 75-87 1984 Pirates were a very different team than the one that excelled in the 70s–gone were the big home run hitters, and the team tried to offset an anemic offense and porous defense with a solid pitching staff, with a rotation headed by Rick Rhoden (14-9, 2.72).  They faced a team with a mirror image record, the 87-75 1992 Expos, who seemed a bit better in all respects–hitting, pitching, and defense–including the starter Dennis Martinez (16-11, 2.47).  The Expos take a 1-0 lead in the 3rd on back-to-back doubles–both on missed HR splits–by Larry Walker and Moises Alou, but Tony Pena scores on a Marvell Wynne grounder in the top of the 4th and the Pirates quickly tie it up.  They then take the lead in the 5th as they keep finding Martinez’ 5-6 DO 1-8/SI** result, leading to an RBI for Pena, but the Expos respond immediately in the bottom of the inning with a two out rally, involving clutch RBI singles from Alou and Marquis Grissom, and Montreal takes a 4-2 lead.  Another two out rally in the 6th for the Expos, with an RBI single for Spike Owen, and the Pirates call on Kent Tekulve to try to restore order.  In the 7th, Pirates RF Doug Frobel finds one of his oddly-placed homers for a solo shot that narrows the gap, but Tim Wallach matches that in the 8th by converting a HR 1-3 split and the Expos hand Martinez a three-run lead entering the 9th.  He sets the Pirates down in order and the Expos move on to the semifinals with a 6-3 win.

For a recent expansion team, the 1973 Brewers had made significant steps towards respectability, going 74-88 and even sporting a 20-game winner in Jim Colborn (20-12, 3.18), a feat that placed him 6th in the Cy Young voting.  The 2002 Royals did not have expansion as an excuse, losing 100 games although they had some weapons such as Carlos Beltran and one decent starter in Paul Byrd (17-11, 3.90).  The Brewers start out hot, with the top of the 1st seeing runs scoring on a George Scott single, a Dave May double, and a Darrell Porter triple, and a May sac fly in the 3rd extends the lead to 4-0.  An RBI single from Brent Mayne gets the Royals on the board in the 4th, but John Briggs matches that in the 7th and Byrd is yanked for Scott Mullen.  But Mullen allows four hits off his card in the 9th and Colborn enters the bottom of the 9th with an 8-1 lead and he sets the bottom of the order down in order to finish up the complete game 7-hitter, sending the Brewers to the semifinal in pursuit of only their second regional title.

The 1948 Pirates had a middling ELO ranking, but had a winning record (83-71) courtesy of Ralph Kiner and a solid if unspectacular rotation fronted by Bob Chesnes (14-6, 3.57).  They faced an 84-77 2008 Marlins team with a similar ranking but a very different build, with eight guys in the lineup with double digit homers but gaping holes on defense and a gopher ball-prone pitching staff, with Ricky Nolasco (15-8, 3.52) pulling the first round start.  Kiner misses a HR 1-11/flyB split in the bottom of the 1st, and in the 2nd the appropriately named Clyde Kluttz allows a wild pitch in the top of the inning, and then leaves the bases loaded while getting injured in the bottom of the inning, so the game remains scoreless.   That ends when Jorge Cantu nails a 2-out solo HR in the top of the 4th and the Marlins draw first blood.  In the 6th, Dan Uggla nails a leadoff double and scores on a Cody Ross sac fly to make it 2-0, while in the 7th Pirates injury replacement catcher Ed Fitzgerald himself gets injured, and it’s just not looking like Pittsburgh’s day.  The Pirates get men on 1st and 3rd with one out in the 8th, courtesy of an ugly error by Marlin 2B-4 Uggla, but Florida decides to stick with Nolasco, who has been pitching out of jams all game.  Dixie Walker makes them regret that with an RBI single off Nolasco’s card, and the Marlins bring in both the infield and closer Kevin Gregg to try to retain the lead.  Gregg walks Johnny Hopp to load the bases, but a Gustine grounder and Hopp is nailed at home to make it two outs with the bases still loaded.  Up comes emergency catcher Max West and his .178 average, and he grounds out so the game heads to the 9th with the Marlins still clinging to a one run lead.  In the top of the inning, Marlins defensive replacement Alfredo Amezaga hits a two out single with Cantu on 2nd, but Cantu (1-14) is cut down at the plate and we head to the bottom of the 9th with the Pirates needing a run to stay alive and the top of their order up.  Gregg makes a fine play on a Stan Rojek grounder, Murtaugh flies out, andup comes Ralph Kiner; a cautious Gregg walks Kiner and gets Westlake to ground out and the Marlins eke out the 2-1 win, holding the Pirates to 6 hits.  

The last game of the first round featured two teams from the Beatlemania era, the 1964 Dodgers and the 1965 Red Sox, and both squads had important flaws but had major parts of pennant winners already assembled.  For the 100-loss Red Sox, there was Yaz, Petrocelli, and Tony C. making contributions, but they would have to face the ace of the 80-82 Dodgers, Sandy Koufax (19-5, 1.74), finishing 3rd in the Cy Young vote.  The Red Sox countered with workhorse Earl Wilson (13-14, 3.97), but the Dodgers figure out Wilson early in the 1st when big Frank Howard doubles off Wilson’s card with two out, and then DH Derrell Griffith finds Wilson’s HR result for a 2-0 LA lead.  Meanwhile, the Red Sox don’t get a baserunner against Koufax until Yaz walks in the 4th.  In the 6th, Willie Davis singles for the Dodgers, but is nailed trying to steal second; Howard follows that with what turns into a solo HR, and the Dodgers lead 3-0 and Boston still doesn’t have a hit.  That finally changes with two out in the 8th, as Dalton Jones pokes a single to break up the no-no, but in the bottom of the inning Maury Wills singles, steals second, and scores on a Willie Davis single and Koufax isn’t giving up anything in the 9th, closing out the 4-0 one-hitter in which he struck out six but walked five (three by Yaz).   

The survivors

The first semifinal matched the #1 seed 1992 Expos, with Ken Hill (16-9, 2.68) on the mound (PS:  I watched Hill’s son play QB in college), and the #6 seeded 1973 Brewers and Jerry Bell (9-9, 3.97).  The Brewers start fast in the bottom of the 1st when leadoff hitter Ollie Brown goes downtown, but a two-base error in the 3rd by Montreal 3B-2 Don Money sets up an RBI single for Delino Deshields that ties the game with the Expos’ first hit.  Money atones in the bottom of the inning with a 2-out double and he’s driven in on a Dave May single and the Brewers regain the lead, and a John Briggs homer to lead off the 4th pushes the Milwaukee lead to 3-1.  However, Bell issues two walks to lead off the 6th and a Larry Walker single (only their second hit of the game) and a Moises Alou fielder’s choice tie things back up, and things get worse for the Brewers when George Scott gets injured for two games leading off the bottom of the inning.  Doubles from Walker and Ivan Calderon give the Expos their first lead in the top of the 8th, but Tim Wallach gets cut down trying to score with two out in the top of the 9th so the Brewers have their last chance looking at a one-run deficit.  A one-out single from Darrell Porter and the Expos bring in Mel Rojas to try to lock things down; he whiffs Briggs but walks Coluccio and the tying run is on second in the form of pinch-runner Bob Mitchell.  Rojas delivers to Pedro Garcia; SI* 1-4, split roll unlucky 13, and the top seeded Expos escape to the finals with a hard-fought 4-3 comeback win.    

A semifinal between two very different teams, the 1964 Dodgers with Don Drysdale on the mound (18-16, 2.19), and the 2008 Marlins and Scott Olson (8-11, 4.20), who had more HR chances on his card than nearly all of the Dodgers’ hitters.  However, it looks like the dice are going the Marlins’ way when Luis Gonzalez converts Drysdale’s HR 1-2/flyB result with a 1 roll, and a rattled Drysdale then allows a double to Jeremy Hermida who scores on a Matt Treanor single.  Some Olson wildness enables the Dodgers to load the bases in the bottom of the 4th, but Jim Gilliam fails to come through in the clutch and the score remains 2-0.  However, Nate Oliver and Willie Davis both find Olson’s solid 5-9 HR result in the 5th for solo shots that tie the game.  When Ron Fairly singles to lead off the 6th, Olson is pulled in favor of Arthur Rhodes, but Rhodes issues two straight walks to set up an Oliver sac fly that gives the Dodgers their first lead.  From there, Drysdale hangs tough despite some challenges from LA’s uneven defense, and the Dodgers head to the finals with a 3-2 win, although the next starter in their rotation is unlikely to be anywhere near the caliber of their first two.

The regional final was as ELO predicted, with the #1 seed 1992 Expos and the #2 seed 1964 Dodgers having both survived serious scares to reach this faceoff.   Entering the back half of their rotations, both teams opted for swingmen, the Expos with Brian Barnes (6-6, 2.97) and LA trying Bob Miller (7-7, 2.61) as a follow-up act to Koufax and Drysdale. It’s a rough start for the Dodgers when DH Derrell Griffith gets injured for 6 games in the first inning to weaken an already feeble offense, and when Maury Wills also goes down for 6 games in the 3rd there seems to be more Dodgers in the hospital than on the bench.  But Miller is still hanging in there, bailed out when Tim Wallach is gunned down trying to score on a Deshields single to end the 4th.  The Expos return the favor in the 5th, nailing Ron Fairly at the plate trying to score on a John Roseboro double, but Nate Oliver contributes a clutch 2-out single that scores Roseboro and LA takes a slim lead.  It doesn’t last long, as Les Expos open the 7th with two straight singles, and then a Larry Walker double drives in two for a Montreal lead.  The Dodgers get men on 1st and 3rd in the bottom of the inning, but can’t get them across the plate, and Spike Owen homers to lead off the 8th and the Expos lead 3-1.  When Frank Howard doubles to lead off the bottom of the 8th, Montreal brings in John Wetteland to try to maintain order, but Wes Parker advances him to 3rd on a groundout and Tommy Davis brings him home with a sac fly to make it a one-run game entering the 9th.  Miller holds serve despite a Jim Gilliam error, so it’s the bottom of the 9th and the Expos turn to Mel Rojas to close things out.  He blows through the bottom of the LA order, in order, and the Expos close out the 3-2 win to take the third regional title for the franchise, joining the 1976 and 1991 teams.  

Interesting card of Regional #137:  In the four seasons between 1963 and 1966, Sandy Koufax won three Cy Young Award in three of them.   This card represents the season in which he DIDN’T win, although he still led the league in winning percentage, ERA, WHIP, shutouts, and SO/9, so maybe the voters wanted to spread the laurels around a bit.  Nonetheless, this card was good enough for a one-hitter in this regional, only losing the no-no with two out in the 8th.  It is particularly worth noting that it was this season when Koufax’s arthritis had seriously set in; in early August, Koufax dove back to the bag on a pickoff attempt and injured his elbow, and the resulting assessment revealed how serious his arthritis had become so he was shut down for the ‘64 season on August 19.  As is widely known, he managed to hang on for two more seasons, winning the Cy Young while leading the Dodgers to the pennant in both of them–marking perhaps the greatest culmination of a pitching career in the history of baseball.