In crucial situation, Fingers gets better of Bonds
Just what you want in a fantasy baseball game: bases loaded, two outs, ninth inning, visiting team down four runs.
Barry Bonds at the plate. Rollie Fingers on the mound. Grand slam ties it.
This is Game 3 of the “Golden Greats: I5 Series,” and Bonds did Bondsian things in the first two games, swatting four home runs to lead Northern California to victories over Southern California in this bestofseven wingding.
Of course, Fingers isn’t a Hall of Famer for nothing, and the mustached reliever retired Bonds on a popup to first baseman Mark McGwire, preserving a muchneeded 62 victory for the South at Dodger Stadium.
Game 4 will be at Angel Stadium, Game 5 at Petco Park. If necessary, the Series will move north for the final two games at the Coliseum (preMount Davis, that is) and Oracle Park.
“You don’t want to see this thing end too early,” noted
Northern California manager Bruce Jenkins, The Chronicle columnist and architect of the I5 Series played by the rules of APBA, which once was played only with dice and cards but is computergenerated for the purpose of this series.
Fans voted for the 34man rosters (more than 100,000 votes were cast on The Chronicle and Los Angeles Times websites), and Gabe Kapler of the Giants and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers set the Game 1 lineups and determined starting pitchers for the first three games.
Kapler chose Randy Johnson and Tom Seaver for Games 1 and 2, and that worked splendidly. But in Game 3, CC Sabathia struggled mightily and failed to get out of the second inning.
Sabathia walked Ted Williams and gave up McGwire’s home run to fall behind in the opening inning, and the ensuing inning was no better. After Robin Yount doubled and Lance Parrish walked, Fred Lynn blasted a threerun homer.
Sabathia walked Williams again and was pulled. Jenkins had talked earlier in the Series about preferring to start Dave Stewart or Lefty Gomez in Game 3 but stood by Sabathia until it was clear he had little to offer.
The call went to Gomez, who gave up George Brett’s RBI triple, the sixth run charged to Sabathia, and went on to pitch 61⁄3 innings without giving up a run of his own.
“I’d have to say the Southern California team was very happy when Gabe Kapler selected Sabathia as the starter,” said the L.A. Times’ Houston Mitchell, the manager of the South. “No offense to CC, but on that pitching staff, that was an interesting choice for (the third) game.”
Jenkins said, “CC’s a hell of a pitcher. He got hammered by two of the best. That’s the thing here. You talk about Mark McGwire and Fred Lynn. Not everybody’s gonna stand out. It put us in a hole, and now it’s a series.”
Jenkins preferred to praise Gomez, whose record over five World Series was 60, rather than slam Sabathia.
“Lefty Gomez, talk about the conversations in the dugout, he was a little restless, Game 3 and he’s still not starting,” Jenkins said. “But, man, to go 61⁄3 and allow one hit against this lineup? Phenomenal.”
Jim Palmer started for the South and retired Bonds three times. In the seventh, Palmer put two aboard and was replaced by Trevor Hoffman, who snuck a changeup by Bonds to end the inning.
The North loaded the bases in the ninth off Fingers when Harry Heilmann walked, Aaron Judge singled and Rickey Henderson walked, but Bonds couldn’t duplicate his earlyseries dramatics.
Jenkins vowed to start Stewart in Game 4: “I needed Dave Stewart to have a start in this series, and I wasn’t going to wait any longer. He simply has to. Ask Roger Clemens about Dave Stewart, who beat him in every big game they ever faced.”