1991 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

TORONTO BLUE JAYS Vs. MINNESOTA TWINS

Game 1: Tom Candiotti vs. Jack Morris, The Metrodome

MORRIS PITCHES TWINS PAST JAYS

3 DPs Aid Minnesota Effort

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 8 (AP) – Jack Morris held Toronto to one run over seven innings of work, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at the Metrodome. The Twins defense assisted Morris, and the relievers who followed him, by turning three double plays in the contest.

Minnesota turned a Toronto error into an unearned run in the bottom of the third to open the scoring. With one out, Greg Gagne grounded to Manny Lee, but the Jays shortstop’s throw to first didn’t come to rest until it had reached the Twins dugout. With Gagne on second following the two-base miscue, Dan Gladden flied to deep left, allowing Gagne to advance to third with two outs. Chuck Knoblauch followed with a base hit to left, plating Gagne with the game’s first run.

The Blue Jays had a chance to at least tie the game in the top of the fourth, but failed. Roberto Alomar drew a leadoff walk but Joe Carter followed with a double play ball to Gagne at short. John Olerud then drew a free pass, Kelly Gruber singled to center and Candy Maldonado reached on an infield hit to load the bases. But Morris retired Rance Mulliniks on a pop fly to end the inning. So, despite having four batters reach safely in the frame, Toronto remained scoreless.

Minnesota then plated two more runs in the bottom half of the inning despite starting the rally with the bases empty and two outs. After Tom Candiotti retired Kent Hrbek and Chili Davis, Brian Harper doubled down the third base line. Shane Mack followed with a two-bagger of his own, scoring Harper to put the Twins on top 2-0. Mike Pagliarulo then bounced a single through the box, scoring Mack to make it 3-0. Gagne reached on an infield single before Candiotti ended the inning when he retired Gladden on a ground ball.

The Jays finally got on the board in the top of the sixth, but seemed to make the least out of the opportunity. Alomar led off with a double and Carter drew a free pass. Olerud dropped a single into left. Despite the fact that there were no outs, Alomar tried to score and was cut down at the plate by Mack. Gruber then walked to load the bases and Morris, seemingly teetering a bit, uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Carter to score from third and leaving runners on second and third. At this point, despite there being one out, Morris had faced four batters in the inning and retired none of them. But he struck out Maldonado swinging on a 3-2 fastball and got Mulliniks on a grounder to second to minimize the damage.

The Twins botched a chance to extend their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Davis drew a leadoff walk and Candiotti hit Harper with a pitch. Mack then sacrificed the runners to second and third with one out. Rob MacDonald replaced Candiotti and Scott Leius was called upon to hit for Pagliarulo. MacDonald induced Leius to foul out and then got Gagne to fly out to end the inning.

With Mark Guthrie on the hill in the eighth for Minnesota, Carter reached on a one-out infield single but wss eliminated when Olerud grounded into another double play.

Rick Aguilera came on for the Twins in the ninth and yielded a one-out single to Maldonado, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. But Mulliniks popped up to Gagne at short and pinch hitter Greg Myers flied to Mack in left to end the game.

Game 2, featuring Juan Guzman for the Blue Jays and Kevin Tapani for the Twins, will be played tomorrow in Minneapolis.

10/8/1991, Tor91-Min91, Metrodome

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Blue Jays 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 8 1 7 1

1991 Twins 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 x 3 7 0 7 3

Blue Jays AB R H BI AVG Twins AB R H BI AVG

White cf 4 0 1 0 .250 Gladden lf 4 0 0 0 .000

Alomar,R 2b 3 0 1 0 .333 Knoblauch 2b 3 0 1 1 .333

Carter,Jo rf 3 1 2 0 .667 Puckett cf 4 0 1 0 .250

Olerud 1b 3 0 1 0 .333 Hrbek 1b 4 0 0 0 .000

Gruber 3b 3 0 1 0 .333 Davis,C dh 3 0 1 0 .333

Maldonado,Can lf 4 0 2 0 .500 Brown,J pr 0 0 0 0 .000

Mulliniks dh 4 0 0 0 .000 Harper c 3 1 1 0 .333

Borders c 3 0 0 0 .000 Mack rf 3 1 1 1 .333

Myers,G ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Pagliarulo 3b 2 0 1 1 .500

Lee,Man ss 3 0 0 0 .000 Leius ph 1 0 0 0 .000

31 1 8 0 Gagne ss 3 1 1 0 .333

30 3 7 3

Blue Jays INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Candiotti L 0-1 5.1 6 3 2 2 1 83 49 3.38

MacDonald 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 6 5 0.00

Timlin 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 13 7 0.00

Ward,D 1.0 1 0 0 0 3 18 12 0.00

8.0 7 3 2 2 5 120 73

Twins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Morris,Ja W 1-0 7.0 6 1 1 4 5 111 61 1.29

Guthrie H 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 10 7 0.00

Aguilera S 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 17 9 0.00

9.0 8 1 1 4 5 138 77

Tor: Myers,G batted for Borders in the 9th

Min: Leius batted for Pagliarulo in the 6th

Leius moved to 3b in the 7th

Brown,J ran for Davis,C in the 8th

E-Lee,Man. 2B-Alomar,R(1), Puckett(1), Harper(1), Mack(1). RBI-Knoblauch(1),

Mack(1), Pagliarulo(1). SB-Alomar,R(1), Brown,J(1). K-White, Maldonado,Can,

Borders 2, Lee,Man, Puckett, Hrbek, Davis,C, Harper, Mack. BB-Alomar,R,

Carter,Jo, Olerud, Gruber, Knoblauch, Davis,C. SH-Mack. HBP-Harper.

HB-Candiotti. WP-Morris,Ja.

GWRBI: Knoblauch

Temperature: 70, Wind: none.

Attendance: 56,286

Game Time: 2:21

Game 2: Juan Guzman vs. Kevin Tapani, The Metrodome

TWINS COMPLETE COMEBACK TO TAKE 2-0 SERIES LEAD

Gladden’s HR Ties Game in 8^th; Hrbek Walks it Off in 12^th

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 9 (AP) – The Minnesota Blue Jays outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 in 12 innings at the Metrodome to take a two-games-to-none lead in the American League Championship Series. Dan Gladden’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth tied the game and Kent Hrbek’s walk-off single in the bottom of the 12^th ended a tightly fought contest that saw both clubs fail to cash in golden scoring opportunities prior to Hrbek’s game-winner. The heroics were made possible in part by a throwing error earlier in the inning.

Both starting pitchers fared well. Kevin Tapani held the Jays scoreless until the sixth when Toronto nicked him for a pair of runs. Juan Guzman held the Twins off the scoreboard through 6 1/3 innings of work, yielding just two hits, but walking four batters.

The Blue Jays took their first lead of the series in the top of the sixth, finally breaking a scoreless tie. Joe Carter singled with one out and stole second. John Olerud grounded to first, with Carter advancing to third and Kelly Gruber followed with a double to right, plating Carter with the game’s first run. Candy Maldonado followed with another two-bagger, scoring Gruber to give the Jays a 2-0 advantage.

That’s where things stood when the Twins came to bat in the eighth. Pinch hitter Randy Bush drew a leadoff walk from reliever Duane Ward, who was replaced by Jim Acker. Dan Gladden greeted Acker by driving a fastball into the left field seats, tying the game and sending the Metrodome sellout throng into a frenzy. Acker retired Chuck Knoblauch, then yielded a double to Kirby Puckett. David Wells replaced Acker, but walked Hrbek. Chili Davis grounded to short, with the baserunners advancing to second and third, and Mike Timlin came on for Toronto and retired Brian Harper on a grounder to first to escape further damage.

The Jays had a great chance to take the lead in the top of the tenth. With Carl Wilis in his second inning of work for the Twins, pinch hitter Rob Ducey ripped a one-out double into the right field corner. A wild pitch moved Ducey to third and Willis walked Devon White, putting runners on the corners with one out. Mark Guthrie took over for Willis and retired Roberto Alomar on a foul pop to Hrbek at first. Rick Aguilera then came on for the Twins and struck out Carter to end the threat.

Minnesota had a great chance of its own to win the game in the bottom half of the frame. Gladden led off with a base hit off Timlin and Knoblauch followed with another single, putting the winning run on third with no one out. Toronto manager Cito Gaston brought in Tom Henke to try and wriggle out of the situation. And, sure enough, Henke came through. He struck out Puckett for the first out, then retired Hrbek on a soft line drive to Alomar at second. Davis drew a walk, filling the bases, but Harper flied out to Devon White in center to, improbably, send the game to the 11^th.

Rob MacDonald, the seventh pitcher of the game for the Blue Jays, took the hill to start the bottom of the 12^th. Gladden flied to right to open things, but Knoblauch lined a base hit to left. On the first pitch to Puckett, Knoblauch took off and stole second. Greg Myers’ throw clipped the sliding baserunner’s foot and careened into center field, with Knoblauch advancing to third. MacDonald walked Puckett intentionally, and the infield and outfield drew in with the left-handed Hrbek at the plate. On a 1-2 count, Hrbek laced a breaking ball into the gap in right-center field, and Knoblauch came home with the game-winner as the raucous crowd roared its approval.

After an off-day, the series will resume at Skydome in Toronto, with the Jays facing a daunting 2-0 deficit.

10/9/1991, Tor91-Min91, Metrodome

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E LOB DP

1991 Blue Jays 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 2 10 1

1991 Twins 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 8 1 12 0

Blue Jays AB R H BI AVG Twins AB R H BI AVG

White cf 4 0 0 0 .125 Gladden lf 5 1 2 2 .222

Alomar,R 2b 6 0 0 0 .111 Knoblauch 2b 6 1 2 0 .333

Carter,Jo rf 5 1 1 0 .375 Puckett cf 5 0 1 0 .222

Olerud 1b 4 0 0 0 .143 Hrbek 1b 5 0 1 1 .111

Wilson,M pr 0 0 0 0 .000 Davis,C dh 3 0 1 0 .333

Sprague 1b 0 0 0 0 .000 Harper c 5 0 1 0 .250

Gruber 3b 5 1 1 1 .250 Mack rf 4 0 0 0 .143

Maldonado,Can lf 5 0 1 1 .333 Pagliarulo 3b 5 0 0 0 .143

Mulliniks dh 4 0 1 0 .125 Gagne ss 1 0 0 0 .250

Borders c 4 0 1 0 .143 Bush ph 0 1 0 0 .000

Myers,G ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Newman ss 2 0 0 0 .000

Lee,Man ss 3 0 0 0 .000 41 3 8 3

Ducey ph 1 0 1 0 1.000

Gonzales ss 1 0 0 0 .000

43 2 6 2

Blue Jays INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Guzman,Ju 6.1 2 0 0 4 3 102 51 0.00

Ward,D H 1 0.2 0 1 1 1 0 19 9 5.40

Acker BS 1 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 7 4 27.00

Wells 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 14 7 0.00

Timlin 1.1 2 0 0 0 0 13 10 0.00

Henke 2.0 0 0 0 1 2 32 21 0.00

MacDonald L 0-1 0.1 2 1 0 1 0 14 9 0.00

11.1 8 3 2 8 5 201 111

Twins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Tapani 6.0 5 2 2 2 3 101 58 3.00

Bedrosian 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 20 11 0.00

Willis,C 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 26 12 0.00

Guthrie 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0.00

Aguilera 1.1 0 0 0 2 3 27 14 0.00

Leach W 1-0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 15 9 0.00

12.0 6 2 2 5 8 193 108

Tor: Ducey batted for Lee,Man in the 10th

Gonzales inserted at ss in the 10th

Wilson,M ran for Olerud in the 11th

Myers,G batted for Borders in the 11th

Sprague inserted at 1b in the 11th

Myers,G moved to c in the 11th

Min: Bush batted for Gagne in the 8th

Newman inserted at ss in the 9th

E-Henke, Myers,G, Pagliarulo. 2B-Gruber(1), Maldonado,Can(1), Mulliniks(1),

Ducey(1), Puckett(2), Davis,C(1). HR-Gladden(1). RBI-Gruber(1),

Maldonado,Can(1), Gladden 2(2), Hrbek(1). SB-White(1), Alomar,R(2),

Carter,Jo(1), Wilson,M(1), Knoblauch(1). CS-Newman. K-White, Carter,Jo 2,

Olerud, Gruber, Maldonado,Can 2, Mulliniks, Gladden, Puckett 2, Hrbek, Mack.

BB-White 2, Carter,Jo, Olerud, Mulliniks, Gladden, Puckett, Hrbek, Davis,C 2,

Mack, Gagne, Bush. PB-Borders. WP-Willis,C.

GWRBI: Hrbek

Temperature: 70, Wind: none.

Attendance: 56,058

Game Time: 4:19

Game 3: Scott Erickson vs. Jimmy Key, Skydome

UNEARNED RUN IN 9^TH GIVES TWINS COMMANDING 3-0 SERIES LEAD

Minnesota Staff Stymies Jays Bats

TORONTO, Oct. 11 (AP) – Two more errors led to a tie-breaking unearned run in the top of the 9^th and the Minnesota Twins edged the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at SkyDome. The Twins now hold a commanding 3-0 series lead and will go for the sweep tomorrow. While the Toronto pitching staff has been outstanding, the Jays have been let down by their bats and their gloves. Toronto has scored only four runs in the first three games of the ALCS, and has committed five errors, leading to three critical unearned runs. The Blue Jays pitching staff has held Minnesota to a .219 batting average thus far and has posted a 1.59 earned run average, yet Toronto finds itself buried in an 0-3 hole.

All three games have been tightly fought and very low scoring; the Twins have managed only eight total runs and have allowed just four tallies. The Minnesota pitching staff has held Toronto to a .171 batting average and posted a 1.20 ERA thus far. The Blue Jays have not hit a home run to date in the series.

In another pitchers’ duel, Minnesota’s Scott Erickson and Toronto’s Jimmy Key matched scoreless frames through five. In the top of the sixth, the Twins drew first blood. Dan Gladden led off with a base hit and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Chuck Knoblauch followed with a single to left, scoring Gladden with the game’s first fun. Minnesota seemed poised to potentially break the game open when Kirby Puckett followed with the third straight base hit, leaving runners on first and second with no outs. But Chili Davis bounced into a double play and, after Key walked Shane Mack intentionally, Kent Hrbek fanned to end the inning with the Twins on top just 1-0.

Erickson was dominant, striking out eight in seven innings of work, but the Blue Jays finally got the equalizer in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Erickson clipped Maldonado with a sinker, and Mookie Wilson replaced Maldonado on first base as the pinch runner. Rance Mulliniks was retired on a tapper back to Erickson, with Wilson advancing to third. Pinch hitter Rob Ducey then laced a single to left, scoring Wilson to knot the score. Manny Lee grounded out to end the inning, but the Jays had drawn even.

Duane Ward pitched around a two-out single off the bat of Puckett to keep the Twins off the board in the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, with Steve Bedrosian on the mound for Minnesota, Roberto Alomar drew a one-out walk and stole second. Joe Carter flied to right, with Alomar advancing to third. Bedrosian then walked John Olerud intentionally and retired Kelly Gruber on a routine fly to right to keep the score tied.

In the top of the ninth, Ward fanned Mack to start the inning, then was replaced by David Wells to face the lefty swinging Hrbek. The strategy appeared to work when Wells induced a routine grounder to second, but Alomar’s throw to first pulled Olerud off the bag and Hrbek was safe on the error. Speedy Jarvis Brown was inserted as a pinch runner, but he remained on first when Wells fanned Greg Gagne. The inning appeared to be over when Junior Ortiz grounded to Lee, but the shortstop booted the ball. It was the second Jays miscue of the frame and it kept the inning alive for Scott Leius. And Leius came through, dumping a single into shallow center, scoring Brown with the go-ahead run.

Mark Guthrie began the ninth by retiring Wilson on a grounder to short, then got pinch hitter Pat Tabler on a fly to left. Ed Sprague then hit for Greg Myers and the Twins countered by bringing Rick Aguilera in for his third appearance of the series. Sprague worked the count full but Aguilera won the battle, punching out Sprague to secure the win.

10/11/1991, Min91-Tor91, SkyDome

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Twins 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 8 0 8 0

1991 Blue Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 2 7 2

Twins AB R H BI AVG Blue Jays AB R H BI AVG

Gladden lf 5 1 1 0 .214 White cf 4 0 1 0 .167

Larkin,G 1b 0 0 0 0 .000 Alomar,R 2b 3 0 0 0 .083

Knoblauch 2b 4 0 1 1 .308 Carter,Jo rf 4 0 0 0 .250

Puckett cf 4 0 2 0 .308 Olerud 1b 3 0 1 0 .200

Davis,C dh 4 0 0 0 .200 Gruber 3b 4 0 0 0 .167

Mack rf 3 0 1 0 .200 Maldonado,Can lf 2 0 0 0 .273

Hrbek 1b 4 0 1 0 .154 Wilson,M pr 1 1 0 0 .000

Brown,J pr 0 1 0 0 .000 Mulliniks dh 3 0 1 0 .182

Gagne ss 4 0 1 0 .250 Tabler ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Ortiz,Ju c 3 0 0 0 .000 Borders c 2 0 0 0 .111

Newman pr 0 0 0 0 .000 Ducey ph 1 0 1 1 1.000

Harper c 0 0 0 0 .250 Myers,G c 0 0 0 0 .000

Leius 3b 3 0 1 1 .250 Sprague ph 1 0 0 0 .000

34 2 8 2 Lee,Man ss 2 0 0 0 .000

31 1 4 1

Twins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Erickson 7.0 4 1 1 1 8 108 62 1.29

Bedrosian W 1-0 1.0 0 0 0 2 0 22 10 0.00

Guthrie H 2 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 8 5 0.00

Aguilera S 2 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 6 3 0.00

9.0 4 1 1 3 9 144 80

Blue Jays INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Key 7.0 6 1 1 2 2 92 57 1.29

Ward,D 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 25 16 3.00

Wells L 0-1 0.2 1 1 0 0 1 19 11 0.00

9.0 8 2 1 2 4 136 84

Min: Brown,J ran for Hrbek in the 9th

Newman ran for Ortiz,Ju in the 9th

Larkin,G inserted at 1b in the 9th

Brown,J moved to lf in the 9th

Harper inserted at c in the 9th

Tor: Wilson,M ran for Maldonado,Can in the 7th

Ducey batted for Borders in the 7th

Wilson,M moved to lf in the 8th

Myers,G inserted at c in the 8th

Tabler batted for Mulliniks in the 9th

Sprague batted for Myers,G in the 9th

E-Alomar,R, Lee,Man. 2B-Gagne(1), White(1). RBI-Knoblauch(2), Leius(1),

Ducey(1). SB-Brown,J(2), Alomar,R(3). K-Knoblauch, Mack, Hrbek, Gagne, White,

Alomar,R, Gruber 3, Maldonado,Can, Borders 2, Sprague. BB-Mack, Ortiz,Ju,

Alomar,R, Olerud, Lee,Man. SH-Leius. HBP-Maldonado,Can. HB-Erickson. WP-Key.

GWRBI: Leius

Temperature: 70, Wind: none.

Attendance: 50,532

Game Time: 2:45

Game 4: David West vs. Todd Stottlemyre, Skydome

JAYS STAVE OFF SWEEP, FORCE GAME 5

Toronto Doubles Series Run Output, Hits 1^st ALCS HRs

TORONTO, Oct. 12 (AP) – Todd Stottlemyre tossed two-hit ball over seven innings and the Toronto Blue Jays avoided an American League Championship Series sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins with a 4-2 victory at SkyDome in Game 4. John Olerud and Devon White both homered—the first two Toronto home runs of the ALCS—in support of the victory. Mike Timlin and Tom Henke each tossed a perfect inning of relief, with Henke earning the save.

The Twins had a decision to make: whether to start Jack Morris on short rest or to go with David West, who had started just 12 regular season games while pitching relatively ineffectively. With a 3-0 series lead in hand, the Twins elected to go with the latter option and the Jays jumped on West in the bottom of the first.

After Stottlemyre retired Minnesota in order in the top of the opening frame, White led off the bottom half with a triple into the right field corner. Roberto Alomar followed with a double to left, scoring White to make it 1-0. Joe Carter popped to second, but Candy Maldonado doubled to the gap in left-center, plating Alomar for a 2-0 lead.

The Twins cut the deficit to a single run in the second, courtesy of the sixth Toronto error of the ALCS. Kent Hrbek drew a leadoff walk, and, one out later, advanced to second when Alomar botched a sure-fire double play grounder, leaving runners on first and second. Shane Mack then singled to left, filling the bases, and Mike Pagliarulo’s fielder’s choice plated Hrbek to make the score 2-1. Greg Gagne popped to second to end the inning.

John Olerud’s one-out solo home run in the fourth restored the two-run Jays lead and White’s opposite field shot in the fifth made it 4-1 in favor of Toronto. Before the inning was over, Carl Willis had replaced West on the mound.

The score was still 4-1 in the seventh when the Twins drew a run closer. Mack cracked a two-out solo shot to cut the Toronto lead to 4-2. Mack ultimately finished with two hits, the only safeties the Twins amassed in the game.

Only four Minnesota batters reached safely in the entire contest and after White’s home run in the fifth, the Twins never brought the tying run to the plate.

Having lived to play another day, the Blue Jays will attempt to get back in the series when they send Tom Candiotti to the mound in Game 5, which will feature a Game 1 rematch with Morris.

10/12/1991, Min91-Tor91, SkyDome

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Twins 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 3 0

1991 Blue Jays 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 x 4 8 1 6 0

Twins AB R H BI AVG Blue Jays AB R H BI AVG

Gladden lf 4 0 0 0 .167 White cf 4 2 2 1 .250

Knoblauch 2b 4 0 0 0 .235 Alomar,R 2b 4 1 1 1 .125

Puckett cf 3 0 0 0 .250 Carter,Jo rf 4 0 1 0 .250

Hrbek 1b 3 1 0 0 .125 Maldonado,Can lf 3 0 1 1 .286

Davis,C dh 4 0 0 0 .143 Ducey pr 0 0 0 0 1.000

Harper c 3 0 0 0 .182 Gruber 3b 4 0 1 0 .188

Mack rf 3 1 2 1 .308 Olerud 1b 3 1 1 1 .231

Pagliarulo 3b 3 0 0 1 .100 Tabler dh 2 0 0 0 .000

Gagne ss 2 0 0 0 .200 Mulliniks ph 1 0 1 0 .250

Sorrento ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Wilson,M pr 0 0 0 0 .000

Newman ss 0 0 0 0 .000 Sprague ph 1 0 0 0 .000

30 2 2 2 Borders c 3 0 0 0 .083

Lee,Man ss 3 0 0 0 .000

32 4 8 4

Twins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

West L 0-1 4.2 6 4 4 0 3 84 55 7.71

Willis,C 2.2 1 0 0 0 3 29 21 0.00

Leach 0.1 1 0 0 1 0 13 7 0.00

Guthrie 0.1 0 0 0 1 1 10 5 0.00

8.0 8 4 4 2 7 136 88

Blue Jays INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Stottlemyre W 1-0 7.0 2 2 1 2 2 82 48 1.29

Timlin H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 12 7 0.00

Henke S 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 0.00

9.0 2 2 1 2 2 101 60

Min: Sorrento batted for Gagne in the 8th

Newman inserted at ss in the 8th

Tor: Mulliniks batted for Tabler in the 7th

Wilson,M ran for Mulliniks in the 7th

Ducey ran for Maldonado,Can in the 8th

Sprague batted for Wilson,M in the 8th

Ducey moved to lf in the 9th

E-Alomar,R. 2B-Alomar,R(2), Carter,Jo(1), Maldonado,Can(2). 3B-White(1).

HR-Mack(1), White(1), Olerud(1). RBI-Mack(2), Pagliarulo(2), White(1),

Alomar,R(1), Maldonado,Can(2), Olerud(1). SB-Wilson,M(2). K-Puckett, Gagne,

White, Maldonado,Can, Gruber, Olerud, Borders, Lee,Man, Sprague. BB-Puckett,

Hrbek, Maldonado,Can, Olerud.

GWRBI: Alomar,R

Temperature: 70, Wind: none.

Attendance: 50,648

Game Time: 2:37

Game 5: Tom Candiotti vs. Jack Morris, Skydome

TWINS OVERCOME 6-0 DEFICIT, PUNCH TICKET TO WORLD SERIES

ALCS MVP Mack Homers for Game-Winner in 10^th

TORONTO, Oct. 13 (AP) – The Minnesota Twins overcame a 6-0 deficit, then fought off a game-tying hit in the bottom of the 9^th to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7 at SkyDome, winning the American League Championship Series four-games-to-one. In a contest that bore no resemblance to the low-scoring quartet of games that preceded it, Game 5 was nonetheless as packed with drama as any tilt thus far this postseason.

The Blue Jays hammered out a six-run bottom of the third inning, making it a short day for Twins starter Jack Morris. Manny Lee led off with a base hit and, after Devon White struck out, Roberto Alomar dropped a single into right field, with Lee advancing to third. Joe Carter walked to fill the bases and John Olerud then belted a grand slam to right, sending the sellout crowd into ecstasy. Toronto wasn’t finished, however. After Kelly Gruber grounded out, Candy Maldonado singled and Rance Mulliniks walked. Morris, seemingly rattled, then uncorked wild pitches on consecutive offerings to Pat Borders, the second of which allowed Maldonado to score and advanced Mulliniks to third. Borders ultimately lined a base hit of his own, scoring Mulliniks with the sixth run of the inning and chasing Morris from the game. Carl Willis—who would play a key role in allowing Minnesota to eventually mount a comeback—retired Lee on a ground ball to end the inning, but the Twins now trailed 6-0.

Nothing over the next couple of innings suggested that the final outcome would be anything but a comfortable Blue Jays victory. Toronto starter Tom Candiotti blanked Minnesota through five frames.

In the top of the sixth, however, things began to turn. With one out, Candiotti walked Kirby Puckett. Kent Hrbek hit into a fielder’s choice, forcing Puckett at second for the second out. But Chili Davis singled to center and Brian Harper followed with a double into the left field corner, scoring the first Minnesota run. Shane Mack, destined to be selected as the ALCS Most Valuable Player, then drilled a two-bagger of his own, this one to right-center, scoring both baserunners to cut the deficit to 6-3. David Wells replaced Candiotti and, after walking pinch hitter Scott Leius, retired Greg Gagne on a fly ball to center.

The score was still 6-3 when the contest reached the top of the eighth and Wells was still on the hill for the Blue Jays. But Hrbek led off by grounding a single to right and Davis followed with a base hit through the middle, leaving runners on first and second. Duane Ward took over for Wells, and got Harper on a fly to left. But Mack slashed his third hit of the game, a single to right, loading the bases. Randy Bush was then announced as a pinch hitter for Leius. Ward uncorked a wild pitch on his first offering to Bush, scoring Hrbek and advancing the other runners to second and third, but came back to fan Bush for the second out. Gagne was now due up. Twins manager Tom Kelly had a touch decision to make. He had left-handed bats on the bench, but he had already dropped two infielders—Mike Pagliarulo and Leius—to substitutions. He had two infield positions to fill if he pinch hit for Gagne and only one true infielder—Al Newman—left on his bench. But he decided to use Paul Sorrento to pinch hit, knowing that he’d have to insert Gene Larkin at third in an emergency capacity. Ward worked ahead with a first pitch fastball for a strike, then came with a slider. Sorrento crushed it, hammering it off the façade of the luxury suites on the third level in right field, for a mammoth three-run homer and a 7-6 Minnesota lead. The SkyDome, filled with more than 50,000 partisan fans, was dead silent as Sorrento rounded the bases.

Willis had tossed 4 1/3 innings of shutout relief to give the Twins a chance at the comeback and now Steve Bedrosian pitched around Maldonado’s one-out single in the bottom of the eighth to hold the Jays off the board. Tom Henke worked around Chuck Knoblauch’s leadoff base hit in the top of the ninth to keep Toronto within a run.

Rick Aguilera entered the game in the bottom of the ninth, looking for his third save of the ALCS. He retired Greg Myers on a line drive to right for the first out, but walked White. Alomar lined to center for the second out, bringing Joe Carter to the plate. On a 1-0 pitch, Aguilera went with a splitter and left it up and Carter lined the pitch into right-center field. Mack’s diving attempt came up short and the ball went to the wall. White scored to tie the game, but Puckett had been backing up the play and he chased the ball down and fired to Knoblauch whose relay to third was in time to cut down Carter attempting to stretch a double into a triple. Still, the Jays had gotten off the matt to tie the game.

Henke stayed on the mound for the top of the tenth, with Mack due to lead off. On a 2-2 fastball, Mack went the other way and just snuck a line drive over the wall, inside the right field foul pole, for a home run and an 8-7 Minnesota lead. Jim Acker took over for Henke and avoided further damage, but again the Blue Jays were down a run with only three outs remaining.

Aguilera was still on the mound for the Twins and struck out Olerud for the first out of the bottom of the tenth. Gruber flied to right, and Mookie Wilson, who had run for Maldonado back in the eighth, flied to left to end the game.

Mack’s ALCS was sensational. He went 8-for-18 (.444) with four extra base hits—two doubles and two home runs, he scored four runs and drove in five. He also drew a pair of walks, finishing the series with an OPS of 1.389. Carl Willis was also outstanding for Minnesota, appearing in three games in relief, working 8 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits, and one walk, while striking out seven batters. He allowed no runs, and stranded the only runner he inherited.

The Twins will now await the winner of the NLCS to see who their World Series opponent will be.

10/13/1991, Min91-Tor91, SkyDome

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E LOB DP

1991 Twins 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 0 1 8 13 1 8 0

1991 Blue Jays 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 9 0 5 2

Twins AB R H BI AVG Blue Jays AB R H BI AVG

Gladden lf 5 0 0 0 .130 White cf 4 1 0 0 .200

Knoblauch 2b 5 0 1 0 .227 Alomar,R 2b 5 1 1 0 .143

Puckett cf 3 0 0 0 .211 Carter,Jo rf 3 1 1 1 .263

Hrbek 1b 4 2 2 0 .200 Olerud 1b 5 1 2 4 .278

Davis,C dh 4 2 2 0 .222 Gruber 3b 5 0 0 0 .143

Harper c 5 1 1 1 .188 Maldonado,Can lf 4 1 2 0 .333

Mack rf 5 2 4 3 .444 Wilson,M pr 1 0 0 0 .000

Pagliarulo 3b 2 0 1 0 .167 Mulliniks dh 3 1 0 0 .200

Leius ph 0 0 0 0 .250 Borders c 3 0 2 1 .200

Bush ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Ducey ph 1 0 0 0 .667

Larkin,G 3b 1 0 0 0 .000 Gonzales ss 0 0 0 0 .000

Gagne ss 3 0 0 0 .154 Lee,Man ss 3 1 1 0 .071

Sorrento ph 1 1 1 3 .500 Myers,G c 1 0 0 0 .000

Newman ss 1 0 1 0 .333 38 7 9 6

40 8 13 7

Twins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Morris,Ja 2.2 6 6 6 2 4 73 42 6.52

Willis,C 4.1 1 0 0 0 3 51 36 0.00

Bedrosian H 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 11 9 0.00

Aguilera BS 1, W 1-0 2.0 1 1 1 1 1 22 11 1.93

10.0 9 7 7 3 10 157 98

Blue Jays INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Candiotti 5.2 6 3 3 2 3 103 63 4.09

Wells H 1 1.1 2 2 2 1 0 18 11 7.71

Ward,D BS 1 1.0 2 2 2 0 2 14 11 6.75

Henke L 0-1 1.0 2 1 1 1 0 22 13 2.25

Acker 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 11 8 6.75

10.0 13 8 8 4 5 168 106

Min: Leius batted for Pagliarulo in the 6th

Leius moved to 3b in the 6th

Bush batted for Leius in the 8th

Sorrento batted for Gagne in the 8th

Larkin,G inserted at 3b in the 8th

Newman inserted at ss in the 8th

Tor: Wilson,M ran for Maldonado,Can in the 8th

Ducey batted for Borders in the 8th

Wilson,M moved to lf in the 9th

Gonzales inserted at ss in the 9th

Myers,G inserted at c in the 9th

E-Gagne. 2B-Harper(2), Mack(2), Carter,Jo(2), Olerud(1). HR-Mack(2),

Sorrento(1), Olerud(2). RBI-Harper(1), Mack 3(5), Sorrento 3(3),

Carter,Jo(1), Olerud 4(5), Borders(1). SB-Gladden(1). CS-White. K-Gladden 2,

Davis,C, Gagne, Bush, White, Alomar,R, Olerud 2, Gruber, Maldonado,Can 2,

Mulliniks, Borders, Ducey. BB-Puckett, Hrbek, Davis,C, Leius, White,

Carter,Jo, Mulliniks. SH-Puckett. HBP-Gladden, Carter,Jo. HB-Morris,Ja,

Candiotti. WP-Morris,Ja 2, Candiotti, Ward,D.

GWRBI: Mack

Temperature: 70, Wind: none.

Attendance: 50,742

Game Time: 3:17