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

The 1998 Atlanta Braves let their home-field advantage get away in the series with the 1994 Montreal Expos. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead early against Jeff Fassero helped by solo home runs from Javy López and Michael Tucker, Tom Glavine let the Expos chip away at the lead. Montreal scored on a sacrifice fly in the 4th and a ground out in the 5th. Glavine seemed to tire in the 6th, allowing 3 hits and walking two, including walking in the go-ahead run. The Atlanta defense let them down for three unearned runs. After Walt Weiss committed his 1st error of the Tournament to lead off the 7th, Larry Walker hit a 2-run single after what would have been an inning-ending double-play against Dennis Martínez. In the 9th, Moisés Alou tripled with 2 outs off John Rocker. Then, Danny Bautista dropped a flyball to let another unearned run score. The Braves made it interesting in the 9th against Jeff Shaw. Bautista and pinch-hitter Ryan Klesko hit back-to-back solo homers to lead off the inning, cutting the lead to 8-5. Tucker struck out, but Weiss and Gerald Williams followed with singles. John Wetteland came in to save the day. But after Chipper Jones grounded to 1st, Andrés Galarraga walked to load the bases. But Lopez grounded out to end the game. The Expos take a 2-0 series lead back to Montreal. If they can take this series, they’ll force a 7-game series to decide the National League. After the shaky start, Fassero finished with just 3 runs on 6 hits in 8 innings to earn his 1st win of the Tournament. Alou continued his hot hitting, going 3 for 5 to bring his average up to .452.

’94 Expos @ ’98 Braves – 9/30/24

Pedro Martínez entered today’s game with 0-3 with a 9.39 ERA. Greg Maddux was 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA. But none of that mattered. The Montreal Expos pushed a run over with a groundout in the 1st thanks to Marquis Grissom working a walk and stealing 2nd. Moisés Alou added a solo home run to lead off the 4th as Maddux had an uncharacteristic outing. After allowing two hits in the 5th, Maddux left the game with a calf strain. The Expos added a run off reliever Kevin Millwood, and another against Rudy Seánez. Meanwhile, Martínez gave the Expos the performance they had been waiting for. Andrés Galarraga hit a solo homer in the 4th for the only Braves run, as Martínez held Atlanta to just 3 hits while striking out 10 in a complete game 5-1 victory. After being swept in their last matchup, the 1994 Expos have taken Game 1 against the 1998 Braves. Early tests were positive, and Maddux isn’t expected to miss a start. Cliff Floyd was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI to lead the Montreal offense.

’94 Expos @ ’98 Braves – 9/29/24

After getting injured in the 1st game of the Tournament, Oakland’s Carney Lansford finally returned to the lineup, and he had an immediate impact. Paul O’Neill gave the 1998 New York Yankees an early lead over the 1990 Oakland Athletics with a 2-run home run off Dave Stewart in the 1st inning. Lansford hit an RBI double off Andy Pettitte in the 2nd to cut that lead in half. After Bernie Williams drove in a run for the Yankees in the 3rd, the Athletics scored again thanks to O’Neill letting Terry Steinbach’s single get under his glove and roll to the wall. Scott Brosius committed another error to lead off the 6th, and Oakland followed it with the next four batters reaching base against Pettitte. Lansford’s RBI single marked the go-ahead run, and Willie Randolph laced a 2-run single against Hideki Irabu to give the A’s a 6-3 lead. Dave Stewart put two on in the 7th, and Joe Klink fell apart in relief. Jorge Posada and Scott Brosius hit back-to-back doubles to give the Yankees a shocking 8-6 lead heading to the 9th, thanks to a 5-run inning. But Mariano Rivera couldn’t save it. Willie McGee hit a leadoff single, and José Canseco belted a 2-run blast to tie the game. Mark McGwire and Dave Henderson followed with seeing-eye singles before Walt Weiss grounded out. That’s when Lansford came through again, this time with a 2-run single through the drawn-in infield, giving the Athletics a 10-8 lead. The Yankees made it interesting against Dennis Eckersley. O’Neill doubled, and Williams singled before Tino Martinez grounded into a double-play, and the Yankees came up a run short, dropping Game 1 of the series 10-9. Lansford finished 3 for 5 with 4 RBI. It was the 2nd blown save of the Tournament for Rivera.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 9/29/24