Randy Johnson allowed just 6 hits and struck out 12 through 7 innings, but a loss of control at a key time gave him a no-decision, and the 1998 Houston Astros eventually lost after blowing two leads. The Astros staked a 2-1 lead against Ken Hill after a Richard Hidalgo solo home run and an RBI single from Sean Berry. But in the 8th, Johnson hit Rondell White with a pitch, and walked Moises Alou and Larry Walker to load the bases with one out. Jay Powell promptly walked in a run and allowed another to score on a ground out before getting out of the inning. Jeff Bagwell homered to lead off the bottom of the 8th to tie the game, and Hidalgo drove in another run for the Astros to retake the lead. Billy Wagner came in to close out the 9th, but couldn’t do it. Lou Frazier hit a pinch-hit double, and White singled him home with 2 outs to tie the game again. Doug Henry pitched the 10th, but Sean Berry doubled in a run, and two more base-hits scored 3 more runs before Henry was pulled. Mel Rojas finished it out, allowing just a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th before closing out the game with an 8-5 win for Montreal. Berry finished 2 for 5 with 2 RBI for the Expos (and 1 for 4 with an RBI for the Astros). Houston will try to bounce back tomorrow.

’94 Expos @ ’98 Astros – 9/8/24

Oakland’s Rickey Henderson gave a dramatic start to the game between the 1990 Oakland Athletics and the 1995 Cleveland Indians. Henderson took Charles Nagy over 480′ on the 2nd pitch of the game. Two batters later, José Canseco tripled. The A’s would take a quick 2-0 lead. Then, Nagy shut them down. Nagy allowed just those two runs on 6 hits in 8 innings, striking out 9 to pitch Cleveland to a win to start the series. Oakland’s Dave Stewart had trouble in the 3rd when he allowed 3 straight RBI singles with 2 outs. Albert Belle added another run in the 4th when he doubled into the gap, but Willie McGee threw out Carlos Baerga at the plate to end the inning. José Mesa pitched a scoreless 9th to earn the save, as Cleveland jumped out to a 1-0 series lead over the Athletics. Carney Lansford is expected to miss several weeks after tumbling over the railing to catch a foul ball in the 5th inning.

’90 Athletics @ ’95 Indians – 9/8/24

Omar Daal dropped his 1st start with a 3-2 loss against Dwight Gooden and the 1990 New York Mets. This time, Daal retired the 1st 17 hitters he faced, taking a perfect game into the 6th before Michael Tucker’s single with 2-outs. The Diamondbacks also struggled at the plate, needing a groundout to score a run in the 3rd after Greg Maddux allowed 2 of his 3 hits. Maddux walked one, but allowed just 3 hits in a complete game for the 1998 Atlanta Braves. Chipper Jones hit a solo home run to tie the game in the 7th. It was only the 2nd hit allowed by Daal, who struck out 8. With the game tied 1-1, Daal allowed another hit to Tucker to lead off the 9th, this time another solo shot – a walk-off home run to give the Braves a 2-1 victory. It was Daal’s 2nd complete game, but he’s 0-2 to show for it. The teams combined for just 6 hits.

’99 Diamondbacks @ ’98 Braves – 9/8/24

Derek Jeter went 3 for 4 and scored twice, as the 1998 New York Yankees topped the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays 7-5, handing Toronto their 1st loss of the Tournament. After sweeping the 1994 Chicago White Sox, the Blue Jays came into the series with the Yankees hot. Toronto scored twice in the 1st inning against Andy Pettitte, but New York tied things up with a Bernie Williams 2-run single off Juan Guzmán in the bottom of the inning. Toronto loaded the bases with no outs in the 2nd, but Rickey Henderson lined a shot to Scott Brosius, who doubled up Tony Fernandez at 3rd, and Devon White struck out to end the inning. Paul Molitor hit a sacrifice fly in the 5th to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead. But in the 6th, the Yankees loaded the bases. Darryl Strawberry hit a sac fly to tie the game, and Chad Curtis singled in the go-ahead run. Jorge Posada added two more runs with a double. In the 8th, back-to-back doubles from Joe Carter and John Olerud cut the Yankee lead to 6-5, but Graeme Lloyd got Fernandez to ground into a double-play to end the threat. Strawberry hit a solo shot off Danny Cox for an insurance run. Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless 9th, striking out Molitor with 2 runners on to pick up the save, giving the Yankees a 7-5 win in Game 1.

’93 Blue Jays @ ’98 Yankees – 9/8/24

In Game 1, the 1990 New York Mets scored 6 runs in the 1st two innings against Randy Johnson, on their way to a 7-2 victory. Johnson was much better in the rematch, allowing just one run on 6 hits while striking out 9 to lead the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks in taking the play-in round series in the Best of the 1990 Tournament. Mets starter Frank Viola kept the game close, limiting Arizona to 3 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings. The 1st two runs came by way of solo home runs by Damian Miller and Steve Finley. It was when Bob Ojeda came in to pitch the 9th that things fell apart for New York. Ojeda only recorded one out, but allowed 4 runs on 5 hits as the Diamondbacks saw all 9 hitters bat. Matt Williams was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI and Bernard Gilkey went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI. Arizona advances to face the 1998 Atlanta Braves in the next round of the tournament, while the Mets head home, losing a series that they led 2 games to 0.

’99 Diamondbacks @ ’90 Mets – 9/7/24

Luis Gonzalez provided the bat, and Armando Reynoso provided the arm, as the Arizona Diamondbacks topped the New York Mets 3-2 to force Game 5 of the play-in series between the teams. Reynoso scattered 10 hits and took a shutout into the 8th to lead the Diamondbacks. Jay Bell broke a scoreless game in the 6th with an RBI double against Sid Fernandez. Gonzalez followed with a 2-run home run, giving the Diamondbacks a 3-0 lead. The Mets threatened in the 7th, loading the bases with 1 out, but Reynoso got Darryl Strawberry to ground into a double-play to end the threat. Greg Swindell relieved Reynoso after Kevin McReynolds doubled to lead off the 8th. Mackey Sasser followed with a homer to cut the lead to 3-2. Matt Mantei allowed a leadoff single to Darryl Boston, and walked Gregg Jefferies with one out before striking out Strawberry and McReynolds to end the game. Arizona managed just 6 hits against Fernandez, half of the Mets 12 hits, but it was enough. Game 5 will see a rematch of Game 1 starters Frank Viola and Randy Johnson. The winner will advance to face the 1998 Atlanta Braves in the 1st round of the Best of the 1990s Tournament.

’90 Mets @ ’99 Diamondbacks – 9/5/24

The 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks showed up at home against the 1990 New York Mets, holding off elimination with a back-and-forth 9-7 win. Arizona’s offense had scored just 2 runs in each of the 1st two games of the series. They surpassed that when Matt Williams hit a 2-run home run in the 1st inning. It was the 1st of three homers against David Cone, who allowed 8 runs on 8 hits in 5 2/3 innings. The Mets used a 3-run 6th inning against Andy Benes to take a 6-5 lead. But in the bottom of the inning, Travis Lee hit a solo shot to tie it, and Luis Gonzalez hit a 2-run homer to put Arizona ahead to stay. Benes allowed 5 earned runs on 8 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Overall, the Diamondbacks used 5 pitchers, with Matt Mantei pitching a perfect 9th for the save. The win keeps Arizona’s hopes alive. The teams will face off again tomorrow.

’90 Mets @ ’99 Diamondbacks – 9/4/24

Lance Johnson gave the 1994 Chicago White Sox hope when he hit a 2-run triple in the 6th inning. The Sox knocked out 1993 Toronto Blue Jays starter Dave Stewart and had a 4-1 lead. Joe Carter hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 1. Wilson Alvarez turned things over to Jose DeLeon, who pitched a scoreless 7th. But in the 8th, Robin Ventura bobbled a grounder, and Tony Fernández doubled in the tying run. DeLeon was ejected two batters later when tempers led to him hitting Ed Sprague. Tony Castillo pitched a perfect 10th for the Blue Jays. Dennis Cook came in for the Sox. That’s when Joe Carter did it again, launching his 2nd homer of the game, and 3rd of the series, into the seats for a walk-off 5-4 win. That completed the 3-game sweep, knocking the White Sox out of the Best of the 1990s Tournament. The Blue Jays now advance to face the 1998 New York Yankees.

’94 White Sox @ ’93 Blue Jays – 9/4/24