For 7 innings, David Cone and Scott Sanderson fought to a 1-1 tie at Yankee Stadium. In the 8th inning, Willie McGee singled and stole 2nd and moved to 3rd on José Canseco’s groundout. Then Mark McGwire did it again. McGwire blasted Cone’s fastball 471′ to center to give the 1990 Oakland Athletics a 3-1 lead. Chuck Knoblauch’s throwing error in the 9th led to 2 more unearned runs to put Oakland up 5-1. Meanwhile, the 1998 New York Yankees continued to struggle at the plate. One day after being held to two hits, Yankees bats only mustered 4 hits. Sanderson allowed just 3 hits in 7 1/3 innings before exiting with a pulled back. Gene Nelson pitched the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the save. The Yankees now face a 2-0 series deficit as the series heads to Oakland. New York hopes to figure out Athletics pitching in Game 3.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 9/16/24

The 1998 Houston Astros scored one run in each of the 1st four innings against Randy Johnson, two on Derek Bell sacrifice flies. Jay Bell’s 2-run home run and Andy Fox’s RBI single kept the game close at 4-3 into the 7th. That’s when Craig Biggio bobbled the 3rd out, leading to 4 unearned runs and a 7-4 Arizona lead against José Lima. In the bottom of the 7th, Johnson walked Bell with 2 outs, and Jeff Bagwell took the 1st pitch he saw deep for a grand slam to give Houston an 8-7 lead. Billy Wagner retired one batter in the 9th before leaving with a pulled hip. Jay Powell walked Bernard Gilkey, but got Matt Williams to ground into a double-play to end the game. Houston now has a 2-0 series lead against Arizona. Arizona will need to win 3 straight games to avoid elimination. They came back to win 3 straight against the 1990 New York Mets in the Elimination Round. The Astros will be without Moisés Alou for a few days after he collided with the wall in the 6th inning.

’99 Diamondbacks @ ’98 Astros – 9/16/24

The 1995 Cleveland Indians faced more injury woes, as Omar Vizquel was injured sliding into 2nd base on a game-tying double in the 7th inning against the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. Vizquel joins Álvaro Espinoza and Eddie Murray on the injured list just as Jim Thome returns to the lineup from his injury. Wayne Kirby had never played shortstop but was forced to fill in for Vizquel today. Cleveland took a 3-0 lead early against Pat Hentgen, but couldn’t keep it. Orel Hershiser pitched well into the 6th when Joe Carter and Paul Molitor had back-to-back RBI base hits. Eric Plunk got Cleveland out of that inning with a one-run lead, but lost it in the 7th after Paul Sorrento’s error led to 2 unearned runs to give Toronto a 5-4 lead. That’s when Vizquel tied things up in the bottom of the inning 5-5. John Olerud nearly leads the American League with a .459 average, but his 8th-inning bases-loaded sacrifice fly put the Blue Jays ahead. Herbert Perry led off the 9th with a double off Jays closer Duane Ward, and moved to 3rd on a long fly ball to right. But Sandy Alomar popped up to 3rd and Kenny Lofton struck out to end the game. Cleveland has now lost 5 straight games, One more, and they’ll be eliminated from the Tournament. Kirby had just one ball hit his way at short and made a clean play.

’93 Blue Jays @ ’95 Indians – 9/16/24

Andy Benes lasted just 3 innings for the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks, and all 3 relievers also gave up runs as the 1998 Houston Astros scored 15 runs on 19 hits to take Game 1 of the series. Sean Berry and Moisés Alou hit 2-run homers off Benes, who allowed 7 runs on 8 hits in his short start. Brian Anderson nearly got out of the 4th, but walked Carl Everett to load the bases with 2 outs and then gave up a 2-run single to Richard Hidalgo and a 2-run double to Ricky Gutiérrez. The Astros scored 2 more runs off Todd Stottlemyre in the 8th, and another 2 runs off Darren Holmes in the 9th. Seven Houston hitters had 2 or more hits, led by Gutiérrez, who went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and was a home run short of the cycle. Houston’s Shane Reynolds wasn’t sharp, but did enough, allowing 5 runs on 12 hits in 6 innings to pick up the win. The teams face off in the Astrodome again tomorrow. Arizona will be without slugger Luis Gonzalez, who collided with the wall in the 9th inning.

’99 Diamondbacks @ ’98 Astros – 9/15/24

The 1993 Toronto Blue Jays took advantage of 2 errors, pulling ahead late and barely hanging on to top the 1994 Cleveland Indians 8-7 to take a 1-0 series lead in the Loser’s Bracket of the Best of the 1990s Tournament. A throwing error in the 2nd inning by Omar Vizquel led to two unearned runs. Roberto Alomar’s solo home run in the 5th helped Toronto to a 4-1 lead. Toronto starter Juan Guzmán left in the 1st inning after being struck by line drive. Carlos Baerga’s home run was the only run given up by Al Leiter over the next 3 innings. But Cleveland scored 3 runs off Mark Eichhorn in the bottom of the 5th, and another off Danny Cox in the 6th to take back a 5-4 lead. Paul Sorrento misplayed a ball to start the 8th, leading to another unearned run, as the Blue Jays scored 3 runs off a tiring Dennis Martínez to retake the lead, adding an insurance run off Eric Plunk in the 9th. They needed it. Baerga singled, and Albert Belle tripled to lead off the 9th against closer Duane Ward. Belle scored on a groundout by Wayne Kirby after Eddie Murray was injured batting. The Indians then loaded the bases with a Herbert Perry single sandwiched between walks to Manny Ramírez and Sorrento. With the infield in, Sandy Alomar grounded a shot right at Ed Sprague, who started a 5-2-3 double play to end the game. It was Cleveland’s 4th straight loss. Pat Borders was productive in the #9 spot for Toronto, going 2 for 5 with 3 RBI. He also threw out two baserunners. The teams combined for 31 hits.

’93 Blue Jays @ ’94 Indians – 9/15/24

Ryan Klesko and Michael Tucker hit solo home runs off 1994 Montreal Expos starter Pedro Martínez, and Andrés Galarraga added an RBI double to give the 1998 Atlanta Braves an early 3-0 lead. Tom Glavine couldn’t hold the lead. Sean Berry led off the 5th inning with a triple and scored. Rondell White led off the 6th with a single and moved to 3rd on a Moises Alou double. Larry Walker hit a sac fly, and Wil Cordero singled in Alou to tie the game up. Rudy Seánez shut down the Expos in relief, striking out 4 and retiring 6 straight batters. Meanwhile, Andruw Jones doubled with 2 outs in the 7th off Martínez, and scored on a clutch single by Tucker. Keith Lockhart drove in another run off reliever Mel Rojas to give the Braves a 5-3 lead. Kerry Ligtenberg shut the door with a perfect 9th, earning his 1st save of the tournament as Atlanta took a 1-0 series lead.

’94 Expos @ ’98 Braves – 9/15/24

1990 Oakland Athletics starter Bob Welch was amazing today against the 1998 New York Yankees. Welch gave up just two hits in 9 innings. Both hits were solo home runs, one by Derek Jeter and one by Bernie Williams. The only other Yankees baserunner was Chuck Knoblauch, who leaned in and was hit by a pitch in the 9th. Andy Pettitte escaped a rough 1st inning, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits. But Mark McGwire connected with a 2-run home run in the 6th inning to put the Athletics in the lead. Pettitte allowed 4 runs in 6 2/3 innings. The 4-2 win gives Oakland a great start to the series. The teams will face off at Yankee Stadium again tomorrow.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 9/15/24

After winning the first two games against the 1990 Oakland Athletics, the 1995 Cleveland Indians were already looking forward to a Winner’s Bracket advance. But Oakland won the next two games, and it only took one inning of Game 5 to shatter Cleveland’s hopes. Indian ace Charles Nagy walked three, and Carlos Baerga misplayed a grounder to lead to 5 Oakland runs in the 1st. Mark McGwire hit a 3-run home run in the 2nd to add the exclamation mark. Nagy lasted just two innings, but Chad Ogea allowed 2 more runs in 4 innings of relief, and Oakland added 3 more against Julián Tavárez in the 8th. Dave Stewart held Cleveland to just 2 runs on 7 hits in a complete game 13-2 victory. Oakland will face the 1998 New York Yankees in the next round as the Indians face elimination against the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. Rickey Henderson continued his hot start in the tournament, going 3 for 4 with 2 walks, stealing 2 bases and scoring 3 times. Rickey is hitting .524 so far.

’90 Athletics @ ’95 Indians – 9/14/24

Ken Hill allowed just 1 run, scattering 9 hits over 8 innings to win against the 1998 Houston Astros and send the 1994 Montreal Expos to the next round of the Winner’s Bracket in the Best of the 90s Tournament. Craig Biggio and Sean Berry led off against Hill with base hits before Derek Bell flew out. Then Jeff Bagwell took one deep to left, but it was caught at the warning track. Hill did allow a run in the 2nd inning, but settled in after that. Randy Johnson struck out 11 in 7 innings for the Astros, but Houston’s Sean Berry broke a 1-1 tie with a 2-run double, giving the Expos a 3-1 lead in the 7th. Reliever Doug Henry gave up 2 more runs on 3 doubles in the 8th, and Trevor Miller allowed another run in the 9th. The 1st two Houston hitters reached in the 9th, ending Hill’s night. Jeff Shaw stuck out Moises Alou and Carl Everett grounded into a double play to end the game. The Expos advance to play the 1998 Atlanta Braves in the Winner’s Bracket, while the Astros face off against the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks, facing elimination.

’94 Expos @ ’98 Astros – 9/14/24

Greg Maddux allowed just 1 run on 3 hits in his 1st start, but needed a walk-off homer for victory in Game 1 against the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks. He thought he could do better and he proved it in Game 5. Greg Maddux allowed just 2 hits and walked one in a shutout. In all 3 cases, it was Travis Lee. Omar Daal had another tough loss, allowing just 4 hits in 6 innings. Andrés Galarraga hit a solo home run to lead off the 2nd inning, and Javy López drove in two more with a 2-out single in the 6th. With the 3-0 win, the top-ranked 1998 Atlanta Braves advance in the Tournament as the Diamondbacks fall to the Loser’s Bracket.

’99 Diamondbacks @ ’98 Braves – 9/14/24