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“Hello baseball fans, Harry Doyle here, coming to you from Jacobs Field, where the defending World Champion Cleveland Indians — yes, that’s back-to-back champs — opened their quest for a third straight title in style. Behind seven shutout innings from Mike Niccolai, the Tribe takes Game 1 over the Seattle Mariners, 4-0, and leads the Division Series one game to none.
Niccolai was masterful — eight strikeouts, one walk, five scattered hits. He made it look easy, like a man who’s been here before. And let’s not forget, this club is built for October.
The lineup did its part too — Pat Kresse ripped a double and scored twice, Jesus Satiago brought a run home on a sac fly, and catcher Willie Cobos delivered the big blast, a two-run homer in the fifth that sent the crowd of 35,000 into a frenzy. Cleveland fans have seen plenty of winning the last two years, but believe me, they haven’t gotten tired of it yet.
Seattle? A fine club, but tonight they ran into the machine that is Cleveland baseball. The Mariners scratched out six hits, but every time they threatened, Niccolai or the defense slammed the door. That’s championship baseball, folks.
So chalk up another October win for the champs. Final score: Cleveland 4, Seattle nothing. The Indians roll on, three wins away from another trip to the League Championship Series.
We’ll see you tomorrow for Game 2, when the Tribe looks to put an even tighter grip on this best-of-five. This Cleveland team is chasing history — and so far, they’re right on schedule.”
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