Down 2-0 in the series against the New York Yankees, the Oakland Athletics needed to win. Dave Stewart and a great bullpen run gave them that chance. Stewart allowed solo home runs to Tino Martinez and Chuck Knoblauch, but was otherwise great. He gave up just 5 hits and struck out 6 in 8 innings. Meanwhile, the Oakland offense struggled against David Cone. Rickey Henderson walked and stole a base, later scoring on a groundout for a run in the 1st. Mark McGwire drove in another in the 6th with a single after a pair of two-out walks. New York threatened to pull ahead in the 9th when Paul O’Neill and Bernie Williams led off with back-to-back singles, but Joe Klink struck out two of the next three batters to get out of the inning. Oakland relievers have struggled, but Klink and Gene Nelson combined to allow just 1 hit over 3 innings. Willie McGee, in his 1st game back from injury, led off the 11th with a double. Jeff Nelson struck out José Canseco and got McGwire to ground out to 1st. Jamie Quirk, starting in place of the injured Dave Henderson, laced a single up the middle to walk it off, giving Oakland a 3-2 win and closing the gap in the series.

’98 Yankees @ ’90 Athletics – 10/9/24

The Oakland Athletics wasted no time against Yankees starter David Wells, scoring two runs in the 1st thanks to José Canseco’s 5th home run of the Tournament. In the bottom of the 1st, Carney Lansford’s misplay put Chuck Knoblauch on. That was followed by three straight hits against Scott Sanderson, capped by a 2-run homer by Bernie Williams. The New York Yankees carried a 4-2 lead into the 4th. After Canseco led off with a triple, Mark McGwire walked. Wells fielded one grounder, but couldn’t get a hold of a 2nd one, scoring Canseco. Later, Wells walked in a run to tie the game. Tino Martinez’s two-out solo shot put New York back on top. In what has become common in the Tournament, Mariano Rivera quickly retired two batters in the 9th before Lance Blankenship tripled and Rickey Henderson drove him in with a double. It was Rivera’s 4th blown save. Gene Nelson entered to pitch the bottom of the 9th, but loaded the bases with walks to Chad Curtis and Knoblauch, and a single by Scott Brosius. Derek Jeter flew out to shallow center for the 2nd out, but Paul O’Neill followed with a walk-off single. It was New York’s 2nd straight walk-off win. O’Neill finished 4 for 5 in the 6-5 win. Canseco homered, tripled, and doubled in the game. He struck out in his only other at-bat.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 10/7/24

Yet again, the 1998 New York Yankees found themselves playing from behind. Thanks to some key base hits, the 1990 Oakland Athletics took a 4-2 lead into the 7th. Paul O’Neill’s RBI single cut the lead, but Andy Pettitte tired in the 8th, allowing back-to-back hits to lead off the inning. Both runners would score to push the Oakland lead to 6-3. Jorge Posada hit a solo home run to get one run closer in the bottom of the inning. Dennis Eckersley came in to close things out in the 9th, but gave up a leadoff homer to Derek Jeter. He quickly retired O’Neill on a groundout and struck out Bernie Williams. Down to their last out, Tino Martinez singled. Shane Spencer came in to pinch-hit for a struggling Darryl Strawberry. Spencer drilled the next pitch into the gap to tie the game. The Yankees got two perfect innings of relief from Hideki Irabu. Jeter opened the bottom of the 11th with a double off Rick Honeycutt. O’Neill grounded out, and Bernie Williams was intentionally walked to set up a double-play. Martinez came through again with a liner for the walk-off hit, giving the Yankees a 7-6 win to start off the Best-of-7 series. Martinez finished 4 for 5 with 3 RBI. Terry Steinbach was 3 for 4 and drove in 4 of Oakland’s 6 runs. Irabu is now 2-1 with a 0.96 ERA in relief during the Tournament.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 10/6/24

Facing a must-win game to keep their tournament hopes alive, the Yankees did what they had to do. Orlando Hernández scattered 8 hits, allowing 2 runs while striking out 9 to give New York the chance they needed. Oakland scored 1st with a sacrifice fly by Carney Lansford in the 3rd. After Scott Brosius singled, and Chuck Knoblauch walked to start the Yankee 3rd against Bob Welch, Derek Jeter struck out. Paul O’Neill followed with a liner into the gap that Lance Blankenship misread, leading to a bases-clearing triple to give New York the lead. A two-out single by José Canseco tied the game back up in the 5th. But Derek Jeter led off the bottom of the inning with a triple, scoring on O’Neill’s flyout. El Duque allowed a Mark McGwire single and a Walt Weiss double in between strikeouts, and walked Willie Randolph to load the bases. Mariano Rivera came in and struck out Terry Steinbach to end the inning. With 2 outs in the 9th, Rivera hit Lansford and walked Canseco to put the tying run in scoring position. McGwire bounced one back to the mound to end the game, giving the Yankees a 3-2 win. The teams will now face off in a Best-of-7 series to determine who will advance to face the 1998 Atlanta Braves in the 1990s World Series. Oakland will continue to be without Dave Henderson until late in the series. Blankenship’s defense in CF likely cost them a few runs today.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 10/5/24

The 1998 Atlanta Braves and the 1994 Montreal Expos scored 11 runs in the 1st 3 innings, but it wasn’t until the 9th that all of the excitement happened. Tom Glavine allowed 3 runs in back-to-back innings, including a 2-run home run to Moisés Alou. But Pedro Martínez wasn’t sharp either. Javy López hit a 2-run double in the 3rd to cut the Montreal lead to 6-5, and then hit a 2-run homer to give Atlanta a lead in the 5th. Kevin Millwood pitched 4 strong 2-hit innings of relief. Tim Scott and Mel Rojas combined for 3 scoreless relief innings for the Expos. Kerry Ligtenberg came in to close out the 9th, but Lou Frazier walked and stole 2nd. Marquis Grissom dribbled one back to the mound for the 2nd out. Juan Bell, who was hitting below .200 in the Tournament, hit a single up the middle to tie the game. In the bottom of the 9th, Rojas got two quick outs before Chipper Jones hit a homer to walk it off. With the 8-7 win, the Braves took the last 3 games of the series after losing the 1st two. They now advance to the Best of the 1990s World Series. Montreal heads home after the heart-breaking loss. Alou finished the Tournament with a .440 average.

’94 Expos @ ’98 Braves – 10/5/24

Ken Hill did everything he could to give the 1994 Montreal Expos a win and send things to a best-of-7 series. Hill allowed an RBI single to Chipper Jones in the 3rd inning, scattering 9 hits and striking out 9 in 8 innings. It wasn’t enough. Greg Maddux put on a masterclass, holding the Expos to 2 hits, while striking out 5 for his 2nd 2-hit shutout of the Tournament. The win evens the series after Montreal had a 2-0 lead. The series heads back to Atlanta for Game 5. If the Braves win that one, they’ll advance to the Best of the 1990s World Series. Ryan Klesko went 4 for 4 and is hitting over .500 in 21 at-bats.

’98 Braves @ ’94 Expos – 10/3/24

A couple of injuries and an ejection didn’t stop the 1990 Oakland Athletics from taking Game 4 against the 1998 New York Yankees. Dave Stewart made sure of that. Stewart held the Yankees to just 4 hits in his 1st shutout of the Tournament. Dave Henderson hit a bases-loaded single, and Scott Brosius committed his 6th error, leading to a 3-run 1st inning for Oakland. Mark McGwire added a solo home run in the 8th as Oakland topped New York 4-0 to force Game 5. Oakland lost Willie McGee in that 1st inning when he sprained his lower back swinging. McGee is expected to miss the rest of the Tournament. Henderson left in the 6th after dislocating his toe while running. Rickey Henderson was booted in the 5th when he argued a strike 3 call. The Yankees head back home, but it’s a must-win game for them. If they win, they force a Best-of-7 for the AL Championship. If they lose, they go home as another top-seeded Yankees team that failed to live up to the hype.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 10/3/24

The 1998 Atlanta Braves combined a great pitching performance from John Smoltz, some timely hitting, and some luck to top the 1994 Montreal Expos 4-3 and keep the series going. Neither team had a baserunner until the 4th. Smoltz allowed just 5 hits and a walk, all in the 4th and 5th innings, allowing 2 runs while striking out 10 over 8 innings. Butch Henry kept pace, allowing a home run to Danny Bautista and just two other hits before the 7th inning. That’s when Andrés Galarraga singled and Javy López hit a 2-run shot to put the Braves in the lead 3-2. The Braves took a 4-2 lead into the 9th, turning things over to Kerry Ligtenberg. Moisés Alou hit a leadoff triple, and Larry Walker singled to cut the lead to 4-3. Then, Wil Cordero and Juan Bell walked to load the bases with no outs. With the infield drawn in, Walker was thrown out at the plate on a grounder right to Walt Weiss. Mike Lansing then struck out. Sean Berry, who had homered earlier in the game, grounded out to end the game, and Ligtenberg escaped a bases-loaded no-out jam to pick up his 4th save. Montreal still holds a 2-1 series lead.

’98 Braves @ ’94 Expos – 10/2/24

Rickey Henderson hit leadoff home runs in the 1st and 5th innings against David Wells, and Scott Sanderson allowed just one run in 7 innings, but the 1998 New York Yankees came back big in the 8th to pull ahead and top the 1990 Oakland Athletics 7-3, pulling ahead 2-1 in the best-of-5 series. Oakland added a run in the 4th to go with Henderson’s two RBI to take a 3-0 lead into the 6th. Sanderson had kept the Yankees off-balance all day. They stranded the bases loaded in the 1st. Paul O’Neill doubled to lead off the 6th, and scored on Bernie Williams’ single. Tino Martinez and Darryl Strawberry walked to load the bases. But Sanderson struck out Chad Curtis, and got Jorge Posada to ground into a double play to end the inning, leaving New York down 3-1. Rick Honeycutt came on in relief in the 8th, but didn’t have as much luck. Williams and Martinez led off with singles, and Curtis added another to cut the lead to 3-2. That’s when Posada drilled one to the gap, clearing the bases and putting New York on top. Gene Nelson struck out Scott Brosius, but walked Chuck Knoblauch. Derek Jeter followed with a 3-run homer. Darren Holmes pitched a perfect 9th to give the Yankees a 7-3 win. Jeter finished 4 for 5. Posada’s 2 RBI give him 20 in the Tournament.

’98 Yankees @ ’90 Athletics – 10/2/24

The 1998 New York Yankees came close to being down 2-0 in the series with the 1990 Oakland Athletics. Despite the 3rd blown save by Mariano Rivera, they won Game 2 9-8 on a walk-off single by Luis Sojo. Yankee starter Orlando Hernández ran into trouble in the 2nd inning as Oakland batted around, scoring 4 runs on 5 hits, capped by Willie McGee’s 2-run single with 2 outs. Down 4-0, the Yankees turned the tables against Bob Welch, who walked in 2 runs and gave up 4 hits in a 6-run inning. Derek Jeter’s 2-run single gave New York a 6-4 lead. Oakland came right back in the 5th, helped by Jorge Posada’s throwing error. When the dust settled, the Athletics were back up 7-6. Bernie Williams tied it with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 5th, and Posada added another to lead off the 6th. Things got tense in he 8th when the benches cleared after Gene Nelson hit Derek Jeter with a pitch. Ordre was restored, and both were ejected. Carrying an 8-7 lead into the 9th, New York turned it over to Rivera. With one out, Dave Henderson took him deep to tie the game and hand Rivera his 3rd blown save of the Tournament, and 2nd in two games. Reggie Harris walked Darryl Strawberry to lead off the bottom of the 9th, so Oakland brought in Dennis Eckersley to get them to extra. But Chad Curtis singled to put the winning run on 3rd. Posada was intentionally walked, and the infield and outfield came in. Eckersley struck out Scott Brosius, and got Chuck Knoblauch to fly out to shallow left. With two outs, up stepped Sojo. Sojo tagged one right over the infield to walk it off, giving the Yankees a 9-8 win and tying the series 1-1 heading to Oakland.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 9/30/24