The #3 seed Pittsburgh Pirates played the #2 seed Cleveland Indians in
a semi-final round best-of-7 playoff series. The first two games were to be
played in Cleveland, games 3-5 in Pittsburgh, and games 6 and 7 in
Cleveland, if necessary. The winner would be playing in the 1997 CBML World
Series.
GAME 1
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 4 7 0
Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 6 1
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Starting Pitchers: Pittsburgh - Alan Watson
Cleveland - Greg Maddux
WP - Watson (1-0) LP - Maddux (0-1) S - Dan Plesac (1)
E: Pittsburgh - None
Cleveland - Reggie Sanders
HR: Pittsburgh - None
Cleveland - Eric Young
INJURIES: McRae - 3 days
Highlights: 3 singles and a 2-base error gave Pittsburgh a
2-0 lead in the 6th. Single runs in the 7th and
8th gave the Pirates a 4-1 lead, and Watson, Juden,
and Plesac held the Indians to 6 hits in the victory.
GAME 2
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 11 2
Cleveland 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 9 8 1
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Starting Pitchers: Pittsburgh - Erik Hansen
Cleveland - Mark Clark
WP - Hector Carrasco (1-0) LP - Dan Plesac (0-1)
E: Pittsburgh - Orlando Merced, Kirt Manwaring
Cleveland - Omar Vizquel
HR: Pittsburgh - None
Cleveland - Ken Griffey (grand slam)
Highlights: The Pirates took the lead on a 7-run 6th highlighted
by a Vizcaino 2-run triple. With 2 outs and 1 on in
the bottom of the 9th, Osik walked, Curtis walked,
Bagwell walked, and Griffey hit a grand slam HR to
win the game.
GAME 3
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Cleveland 6 2 11 2 3 3 0 1 0 28 24 0
Pittsburgh 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 7 1
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Starting Pitchers: Cleveland - John Burkett
Pittsburgh - Jack McDowell
WP - John Burkett (1-0) LP - Jack McDowell (0-1)
E: Cleveland - None
Pittsburgh - Royce Clayton
HR: Cleveland - Reggie Sanders, Jeff Bagwell, Ken Griffey
Pittsburgh - Juan Gonzalez, Ken Caminiti - 2
INJURIES - Cleveland - Reggie Sanders - 2 days
Highlights: It was all Cleveland in this game. Griffey went 3-3
with 2 walks, 2 HBPs, and 7 runs scored to lead the
Tribe to victory. Bagwell added 4 hits for the Indians.
Jack McDowell gave up all 28 runs in a 24-hit complete
game.
GAME 4
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Cleveland 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 6 13 1
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1
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Starting Pitchers: Cleveland - Greg Maddux
Pittsburgh - Alan Watson
WP - Maddux (1-1) LP - Watson (1-1)
E: Cleveland - Maddux
Pittsburgh - Clayton
HR: Cleveland - Larry Walker
Pittsburgh - None
Highlights: Greg Maddux shut down the Pirates' bats by
striking out 10 in a complete game 4-hitter.
GAME 5
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Cleveland 0 0 0 4 1 2 2 0 0 9 12 1
Pittsburgh 0 4 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 10 13 1
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Starting Pitchers: Cleveland - Mark Clark
Pittsburgh - Erik Hanson
WP - Dan Plesac (1-1) LP - Bobby Ayala (0-1)
E: Cleveland - Vizquel
Pittsburgh - Al Martin
HR: Cleveland - Lyle Mouton, Griffey
Pittsburgh - Al Martin
Highlights: In the 7th, Al Martin hit into a triple play with
the Pirates down 9-7. In the bottom of the 9th,
with two outs, Al Martin redeemed himself with a
game-winning 2-run HR.
GAME 6
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Pittsburgh 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 8 0
Cleveland 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 9 1
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Starting Pitchers: Pittsburgh - Jack McDowell
Cleveland - Wilson Alvarez
WP - McDowell (1-1) LP - Alvarez (0-1) S - Plesac (2)
E: Pittsburgh - None
Cleveland - Vizquel
HR: Pittsburgh - Juan Gonzalez, Ken Caminiti
Cleveland - None
Highlights: Back-to-back HRs by Juan Gonzalez and Ken Caminiti
in the 3rd highlighted a 5-2 Pirates win to even
the series at 3.
GAME 7
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Pittsburgh 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 6 9 0
Cleveland 0 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 7 9 2
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Starting Pitchers: Pittsburgh - Alan Watson
Cleveland - Greg Maddux
WP - Greg Maddux (2-1) LP - Eric Plunk (0-1)
E: Pittsburgh - None
Cleveland - Vizquel, Cirillo
HR: Pittsburgh - Caminiti
Cleveland - Eric Young, Cirillo
Highlights: Cleveland took a 6-2 lead into the 9th. Vizcaino
walk, Gonzalez single, Vizquel error, Martin FC,
Merced singles, Kendall hits a dot single to score
two and tie the game. Vizquel walked, steals second
to lead off the bottom of the 9th. After Sanders
struck out, Cirillo singled Vizquel to 3rd. Jeff
Bagwell hit a sac fly to rightfield to win the game
and the series.
Cleveland goes to the World Series for the second time in their
history. The Tribe stole 18 bases in the series.