Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9408050017
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PHIL ROGERS DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DATELINE: PITTSBURGH LENGTH: Medium
Atlanta first baseman Fred McGriff tied the score at 7-7 with a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Lee Smith. Montreal outfielder Moises Alou won the game with a run-scoring double off Jason Bere in the 10th inning.
Alou's double scored Tony Gwynn from first. Gwynn, who had led off with a single, slid between the legs of Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez to beat Cal Ripken Jr.'s relay of a throw from Albert Belle, touching off a wild celebration by the crowd of 59,568 at Three Rivers Stadium.
McGriff was voted the game's Most Valuable Player.
Smith, trying to protect a 7-5 victory for Seattle left-hander Randy Johnson, got into trouble by walking leadoff hitter Marquis Grissom. He had walked only six in 32 innings for Baltimore.
Craig Biggio hustled to first to avoid a double play on a grounder to Scott Cooper. McGriff drove a 3-2 fasttball from Smith over the blue wall in center field.
Rodriguez was one of only three players to play the entire game. He and Rangers' teammate Will Clark each had two singles.
Rodriguez and Clark had singles in a three-run seventh inning off three pitchers that gave the AL a 7-5 lead. Rodriguez's leadoff single through the right side off Houston rookie John Hudek was the first of four hits in the inning. Three of those were off Philadelphia's Danny Jackson, who failed to get an out.
Boston Red Sox third baseman Cooper greeted Jackson with a double off the wall in left-center to score Rodriguez. Cleveland center fielder Kenny Lofton followed with a two-run single past shortstop Ozzie Smith to break a 5-5 tie.
Clark's single up the middle chased Jackson. Lofton and Clark executed a double steal, but Rod Beck retired Belle and Ruben Sierra to stop the damage.
By starting the go-ahead rally, Rodriguez rendered moot his failure to make a pair of defensive plays in the National's three-run third inning. Neither was routine, but had the two-time Gold Glove winner made either one, he would have saved David Cone two runs.
Houston first baseman Jeff Bagwell singled with one out. Gregg Jefferies hit a foul pop near the third-base dugout that Rodriguez gloved but couldn't hold. Cone brushed Jefferies' jersey two pitches later, putting runners on first and second for Gwynn.
Gwynn pulled a 2-0 pitch into the right-field corner. Kirby Puckett retrieved it on a crooked hop, threw to Roberto Alomar, whose throw to Rodriguez appeared to beat Jefferies to the plate.
Rodriguez took the throw in front of the plate and made a sweep tag on Jefferies as he scored.
Mike Piazza followed the two-run double with a single to center, scoring Gwynn.
It took an error by San Francisco third baseman Matt Williams to get the AL back into the game in the sixth inning. Alomar had produced one run with a single and a stolen base - scoring on a single by Ken Griffey Jr. - but Doug Drabek appeared to have gotten out of trouble when Joe Carter hit a two-out grounder to Williams.
Williams' throw sailed over second baseman Carlos Garcia's head, allowing Frank Thomas to score from first and Carter to advance to third. Puckett singled to score Carter, tying the score, 4-4.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB