by Game one of the Division Series took place on October 3, 1995 in front of an enthused crowd at Jacobs Field. Not even the long rain delay before the game could damper the spirit of the fans. On the mound for Cleveland was veteran, Dennis Martinez, his opposing pitcher was one of the greatest to ever play the game, Roger Clemens. It was the kind of matchup that baseball purists were excited to watch.
Boston scored first in the third inning on a two run homerun by John Valentin. Dennis Martinez had been pitching very well up to that point. The early lead seemed much bigger than just two runs, as Roger Clemens was shutting down the powerful Indians lineup; keeping them scoreless through five innings. Perhaps the damp weather was keeping the hot bats at bay. Whatever the issue, it was urgent that the Indians get on the board before it became too late.
The Indians’ bats started to heat up in the bottom of the sixth inning. Omar Vizquel started the two out rally when he drew a walk. Carlos Baerga followed with a single, which gave the Indians men on the corners with two outs. When Albert Belle hit a two out two run double to tie the game, Jacob’s Field became unglued! It was a mammoth double for Belle that set the stage for Eddie Murray to knock him in with a single that put the Indians ahead 3-2. It was up to the Indians bullpen to hold onto the lead. They did that until the top of the eighth inning when Boston managed to rally and tie the game. Multiple rain delays mixed with a couple of lead changes meant that this game was headed for a possible all night affair.
The game remained tied past the midnight hour as both teams entered the eleventh inning. If the Indians were to earn their first playoff win in 47 years, they would have to battle from behind again. Tim Naehring hit a Jim Poole pitch over the wall in left field to give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead. Poole managed to get out of the rest of the inning not giving up any more runs but the damage had been done.
Bob Costas was calling the game and said, “The last time Belle faced Aguilera he homered.” It was as if the moment was destined to happen. The words had just left Bob Costas mouth only seconds before Albert Belle smashed a fastball from Rick Aguilera over the wall to tie the game. Seconds after Albert Belle rounded the bases, Boston manager, Kevin Kennedy, stormed the field to protest. He demanded that Belle’s bat be confiscated and taken in for inspection. It was his claim that Belle had been corking his bat and that the homerun was not legitimate. A few moments later, Cleveland manager, Mike Hargrove, stormed the field to argue with the umpire, who allowed the bat to be taken away.
Hargrove explains what was going through his mind at that moment, “I have a real quick and bad temper; I get angry quick but I can also get over things quick. That was one of those times that it was a real good thing that I was that far away from the dugout. If I was much closer I would have been in there. I thought it was a real bush league move, they knew that Albert wasn’t using a corked bat. It was gamesmanship trying to avert Albert’s attention and it was just a chicken shit move to tell you the truth and I wanted to make sure Kevin knew that.” The crowd was going nuts as Albert Belle shot a look into the Red Sox dugout and pointed to his bicep. It was a heated moment that showed the fight and heart of the team.
Later in the inning, Tony Pena came to the plate with two outs and two on base with a chance to win the game, but he grounded out to second base. It was a golden chance for Pena to play the hero but he failed to capitalize on it. It wouldn’t be much longer until he received another chance at glory, this time cashing in.
Five hours and one minute after the first pitch was thrown, with most of Northeast Ohio fast asleep, Tony Pena hit a thirteenth inning two out solo homerun off of veteran pitcher, Zane Smith, to deep left field that gave the Cleveland Indians their first playoff win in nearly half a century. The image of seldom used backup catcher, Tony Pena, running around the bases with both arms up in the air in victory, is one that will live in the memories of Cleveland fans forever.
Orel Hershiser tossed a game two gem as the Indians rolled past the Red Sox 4-0 to take a two game lead in the series. Boston countered with Erik Hanson who pitched well himself, but a two run double by Omar Vizquel in the fifth proved to be too much for Boston to overcome. A two run homerun in the eighth by Eddie Murray was added insurance. It was a dominant win that gave the Indians full momentum as they headed into Boston for game three.
For game three, Tim Wakefield was the last line of defense for Boston as they hoped to avoid the sweep. The Fenway crowd was taken out of the game early when Jim Thome hit a two out two run homerun giving Cleveland the early lead. The bottom continued to fall out for Boston in the next inning as Jim Thome again did the damage by drawing a bases loaded walk giving Cleveland a 3-0 lead.
The Boston Red Sox managed to score in the fourth and draw back to within two runs before the Indians put the game out of reach with a five run sixth inning. Paul Sorrento hit an RBI single that was followed by a RBI double from Sandy Alomar Jr. Omar Vizquel joined the hit parade with a two run single followed by a RBI double from Carlos Baerga. It gave Cleveland an 8-1 lead that would be enough to close out Boston and move on to the American League Championship series against the Seattle
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