Game 5 would see another Brian Pike/Scott Hight matchup. It had worked out pretty well for both teams in the first game, so why not? Washington, looking for a few more runs, replaced center fielder Illari D'Annunzio with rookie Yoshihito Taisho. Taisho was the first-born son of the Emperor of Japan and like many other members of the Japanese royal family, "Ichiro" spent hours upon hours having apples and other small fruits thrown to him and slicing them in twain with his samurai sword. This gave Taisho a quick chopping motion that, in theory, would lead to a lot of solid base hits. This year, however, he'd hit just .216. That was still slightly better than Illari D'Annunzio's .211 for the season.
Taisho would be tested early and found wanting, but not at the plate. He was still relatively unlearned as a center fielder, and some wags opine that the poor route he took to the Eric McNeice long hit turned a short double into a 2-RBI triple. Boston had runs on the board - perhaps enough to win the game - almost before Washington had a chance to get started. The Nats would have to hope that Taisho could get one or both of those runs back with his bat.
Poor fielding would be the story of the day, as the Beaneaters struck again for 2 runs in the 7th thanks to errors by Don Croom and John Putnam. In the regular season Croom had the reputation for being a dependable if not flashy second sacker. Were the bright lights of Boston getting to him?
4 runs was 3 more than Boston needed and the teams headed back to Washington with the Beaneaters needing just 1 win to clinch their first World Championship ever.
Code:
Washington Nationals 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 5
Boston Beaneaters 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 X 4 8 2
Washington AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
B. Pendergest RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .238 0 1
D. Boffin LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .250 0 0
W. Randles 3B 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .350 0 3
B. Young 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .190 0 0
R. Pollaiuolo C 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .238 0 2
D. Croom 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .235 0 1
J. Trafford SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .313 0 2
Y. Taisho CF 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .333 0 0
B. Pike P 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 33 1 6 1 0 4 11
BATTING
Total Bases: B. Young, Y. Taisho, B. Pendergest, D. Boffin, D. Croom, W. Randles
2-out RBI: W. Randles
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: B. Young, Y. Taisho
GIDP: J. Trafford
Team LOB: 6
BASERUNNING
CS: B. Pendergest (1)
FIELDING
Errors: B. Pike , D. Croom , W. Randles 2 , R. Pollaiuolo
Double Plays: 1 (Trafford-Croom-Young)
Boston AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
W. Munger RF 4 2 2 0 0 1 2 .238 0 0
R. Glass 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .300 0 1
E. Merwin CF 3 1 0 0 1 0 4 .278 0 0
L. Amill 2B 3 0 1 1 0 0 6 .211 1 3
E. McNeice 1B 4 0 1 2 0 0 2 .158 0 2
D. Dean LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .278 0 1
N. Johnson SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .263 0 1
B. Patterson C 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .167 0 2
S. Hight P 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 .333 0 1
Totals 32 4 8 3 1 3 20
BATTING
Triples: E. McNeice (1, 1st Inning off B. Pike, 2 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: W. Munger 2, L. Amill, B. Patterson, N. Johnson, S. Hight 2, E. McNeice 3
2-out RBI: E. McNeice
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: R. Glass, L. Amill, D. Dean, E. McNeice, E. Merwin
GIDP: B. Patterson
Sac Bunt: R. Glass, S. Hight
Sac Fly: L. Amill
Team LOB: 8
BASERUNNING
CS: L. Amill (1)
FIELDING
Errors: N. Johnson 2
Double Plays: 1 (Glass-Amill-McNeice)
Washington IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
B. Pike L (0-2) 8.0 8 4 0 1 3 0 134 88 0.53
PITCHING
Game Score: B. Pike 60
Batters Faced: B. Pike 36
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: B. Pike 14-6
Pitches - Strikes: B. Pike 134-88
Boston IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
S. Hight W (2-0) 9.0 6 1 1 0 4 0 116 75 1.00
PITCHING
Game Score: S. Hight 75
Batters Faced: S. Hight 33
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: S. Hight 8-13
Pitches - Strikes: S. Hight 116-75
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: S. Hight
Ballpark: South End Grounds
Weather: Partly Cloudy (46 degrees), wind blowing right to left at 12 mph
Start Time: 7:05 pm
Time: 2:26
Attendance: 19899