PRELIMINARY ROUND
Series #4
1935 St. Louis Cardinals (96-58) vs 1989 Montreal Expos (81-81)
The famous Gashouse gang, basically a year removed from their glory take the field. This team will always be known for their hard play and disregard for style or grace. Dizzy Dean and his brother Paul could really confuse hitters and will expect to carry the load. The offense is lead by Joe Medwick, Leo Durocher, and Ripper Collins and will be the outright favorites in this series.
The 1989 Montreal Expos finished right at .500 and Buck Rogers has to like the depth of talent on the roster. Tim Raines is not quite in his prime anymore but Andres Gallaraga, Tim Wallach, and a young Dave Martinez will make for an interesting mix. The staff is headed by El Presidente Dennis Martinez but there is also a 6 foot 10 young arm on the staff that they are calling the Big Unit.
Game 1 At Sportsmans Park
1935 Cardinals.................2
1989 Expos......................1
WP: E. Heusser LP: P.Perez
Pascal Perez had it all working and a 1-0 lead over Dizzy Dean and the Cardinals when he ran into trouble in the 8th inning. With two outs Frankie Frisch, the player manager, hit a game tying double and the momentum carried to the 9th. Jack Rothrock walked off the win over the Expos with a single scoring Joe Medwick. Dean went 8 innings striking out six and allowing only 4 hits.
Game 2 At Sportsmans Park
1935 Cardinals............7
1989 Expos.................5 (13 inn)
WP: T. Burke LP: E. Heusser S: A. McGaffigan
The 1989 Expos are able to steal a game in St. Louis with a 13 inning win to tie the series. Catcher Mike Fitzgerald had a big game driving in three runs but it was his 8th inning home run that tied the game off Paul Dean and sent it into extras. In the 13th Otis Nixon tripled and drove in the go ahead run before he scored on a Nelson Sontovenia sacrifice fly. Dean pitched 11 innings in the loss but allowed 14 hits and labored in the end.
Game 3 At Olympic Stadium
1989 Expos...............10
1935 Cardinals...........6
WP: D. Martinez LP: B. Hallahan
The 89 Expos put up seven runs in the 8th inning to turn the game and the series in their favor. Mike Fitzgerald continues his hot hitting with a bases clearing triple in the frame while Tom Foley drove in 2. Pepper Martine had homered earlier to give the Cardinals the edge, but their starter Bill Hallahan had far fromm his good stuff through nine. The Expos are beginning to smell upset.
Game 4 At Olympic Stadium
1989 Expos....................3
1935 Cardinals...............9
WP: B. Walker LP: R. Johnson
The 35 Cardinals roughed up left hander Randy Johnson to the tune of 8 runs in 4.2 innings. Joey Medwick hit a three run home run in the 3rd as St. Louis had 14 hits behind Bill Walker who walked 5 but kept the ship steady through 9 innings. Series even.
Game 5 At Olympic Stadium
1989 Expos..............10
1935 Cardinals...........4
WP: P. Perez LP: D. Dean
The 1989 Expos scored seven runs in the 6th inning shocking Dizzy Dean and the Cardinals and taking an important three games to two lead in the series. Tim Wallach had 4 RBI and Dave Martinez went deep with a man on as Dean just didnt have his best stuff. Pascal Perez took advantage of the lead and and despite allowing 12 hits, went the distance to the delight of the capacity crowd. The Expos one game away from the upset.
Game 6 At Sportsmans Park
1935 Cardinals................1
1989 Expos.....................8
WP: B. Smith LP: P. Smith
In a decisive win, the 89 Expos put away the Gashouse gang. Bryn Smith allowed only one earned run while Paul Dean, like his brother ran into numerous jams. Dave Martinez drove in three more runs while Tim Raines ended the series hitting .360. Its a monumental series win for Montreal and baseball in the 1980's, who beat truly a legendary team of the depression era.
1989 Expos Win Series 4-2
Series MVP:
Mike Fitzgerald (.421, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 1 SB)