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Posted on 10/15/2003 7:27:39 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
CHICAGO - They were down to their final five outs. Five more outs and their season would be over. Five more outs and they would go home, kick back for the winter, and daydream about the glorious summer that was.
And then, as a stunned Wrigley Field crowd of 39,577 sat in dumbfounded silence, it happened. The Marlins found their magic. They whipped out their wand in the waning, desperate moments Tuesday and produced one of their most dramatic victories in a summer full of them.
Down 3-0 and facing elimination with a loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, the Marlins -- with an unexpected assist from a Cubs fan, of all people -- rallied for eight runs and a shocking 8-3 victory.
They will play Game 7 tonight to decide which team advances to the World Series.
''It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen,'' said pitcher Carl Pavano, who watched from the dugout in disbelief as the Marlins -- with one out in the eighth -- went wild. ``We just have a lot of heart on this team, and I knew we weren't going down without a fight.''
The Marlins, who had managed only three hits off Cubs pitching ace Mark Prior going into the eighth, had five in that one miraculous inning alone.
''We got one foot in the door and then we kicked it open,'' said Marlins left fielder Jeff Conine. ``It was the quietest I've ever heard this place.''
It all started when, with one out, Juan Pierre doubled.
What happened next will be talked about for decades. Luis Castillo fouled a 3-2 pitch down the line in left. Moises Alou raced over from his outfield position to make the catch, but a fan seated in the front row reached out with his hand and deflected the ball before Alou could wrap his glove around it for the second out.
Alou was irate. Cubs fans booed.
''He probably would have caught it,'' Conine said.
Given a new lease, Castillo walked and the Marlins were off to the races. Ivan Rodriguez singled to score Pierre. Miguel Cabrera bounced a routine ground ball to Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez, but the normally sure-handed fielder couldn't hold on to the ball and every Marlins runner was safe.
Derrek Lee, who was in a 3-for-25 slump in the NLCS, lashed a two-run double to left that tied the score at 3-3. After Mike Lowell was walked intentionally, Conine hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Cabrera from third with the go-ahead run.
If the fan had not reached out to prevent Alou from making the catch, ''that would have been out No. 2 and my sacrifice fly is not a sacrifice anymore,'' Conine said. ``It's a tie ballgame.''
But the Marlins kept on adding runs. After Todd Hollandsworth was walked intentionally, Mike Mordecai -- inserted in a late-inning double switch -- doubled to deep left-center, clearing the bases and making it 7-3. Pierre finished off the scoring barrage with a RBI single.
The Marlins have won so many games in dramatic style this season, but Game 6 topped them all. Could there be any more like it to come?
''Five more, I hope,'' said Conine, counting the number of victories it would take the Marlins to win the World Series.
But first they have to get there. They have to beat the Cubs tonight.
''Anything can happen in Game 7,'' Lee said. ``How can you not like the Marlins. You've got to like the Marlins just for the entertainment factor.''
The game started much as the others, with the Cubs scoring early and the Marlins struggling to get going.
That pattern continued Tuesday when the Marlins had two runners on base with one out in the first, yet failed to score. Once again, however, the Cubs got on top quickly when Kenny Lofton scored from second on Sammy Sosa's double.
The Marlins squandered another scoring chance in the third when Pierre reached on Mark Grudzielanek's throwing error. Pierre went to second on a wild pitch. But Castillo fouled out on a bunt attempt to advance Pierre to third, and Prior closed out the frame by retiring Rodriguez and Cabrera.
The Marlins had runners in each of the first five innings. But they stranded a total of five in the first four innings.
Pavano held the Cubs at bay in every inning but the first. He gave up just two singles from the second through the fourth and struck out the side in the fifth.
But he ran into trouble when Sosa beat out a broken-bat ground ball to lead off the sixth and Alou singled to left. After Aramis Ramirez grounded into a double play, manager Jack McKeon brought in Dontrelle Willis to face the left-handed hitting Randall Simon. Cubs manager Dusty Baker countered by sending up Eric Karros, who swings right, to pinch-hit.
Willis, who walked five in his shaky Game 4 loss to the Cubs, fell behind 3-1 to Karros. His fifth pitch -- a ball -- got past Rodriguez and enabled Sosa to race in from third to make it 2-0.
''He probably would have caught it,'' Conine [Marlins left fielder] said.
Conine gives credit where credit is due.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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I wouldn't want to be that guy this morning.
They still got an out after that, and then they loaded the bases. Catching the ball would not have made a diffewrence, although from what I saw, he wasn't gfoing to catch it anyway.
And then the cubs choked repeatedly.
Cubs fans should be used to that by now. It was hilarious watching grown adults bawling in the stands.
He looks on in horror as his buddy reaches out for the ball!
He's doing the right thing - pulling his hands back to allow the fielder a chance at the ball.
He’s afraid he’s going to hate his fingers. What a fairy!
If you got a chance at a free baseball, you HAVE to go for it. You don't cringe like a schoolgirl on national television.
Maybe she is a cringing schoolgirl! :-)
Right now, if I were in Chicago, I would rather be thought of as a cringing schoolgirl than that fan who grabbed the ball.
But let's face it, it's part of the game and always has been. otherwise, put up a fence.
To Reegs - I love the tourist guy - thanks for the pic.
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