Cleveland Indians: 5 times Tribe owned members of 2019 HOF class

4. Orel and Nagy keep pace with Mussina

OK, maybe the Tribe didn’t “own” Mike Mussina, but credit starting pitchers Orel Hershiser and Charles Nagy for keeping pace with Baltimore’s ace.

Mussina started two games for the Orioles in the 1997 ALCS and while he pitched lights out, Baltimore went on to lose both games he started. they did beat the Orioles both times in the two starts made by Mussina in the 1997 ALDS.

Mussina’s efforts in the series showed why he was one of the best pitchers in baseball as he struck out 15 in his Game 3 start.

Tribe fans should remember that game well because it was known as “The Shadow” game. The contest, played at Jacobs Field, started in mid-afternoon, and players struggled to pick up the ball coming out of the sunlight.

Mussina’s only failure was allowing an RBI single to Matt Williams–it was the only run he surrendered.

Hershiser, on the back-end of his career at this point, wasn’t racking up big strikeout numbers, but he was very, very good, throwing  7.1 innings while fanning seven. He walked one and allowed four hits.

The Indians won the game on Marquiss Grisom’s credited steal of home in the bottom of the ninth.. Omar Vizquel showed bunt. The Orioles thought he fouled it off. That’s not what the umpire saw. As the ball bounced away from the catcher, Grissom dashed home–while the Indians basically stole the series.

The Orioles sent Mussina back out for Game 6 and got similar results.

Mussina went 8.0 inning and struck out 10 while allowing no runs.

Nagy was his usual gutsy self, throwing 7.1 innings while scattering nine hits. He didn’t allow a run.

Of course, the Indians broke the 0-0 stalemate in the 10th when Tony Fernandez took Armando Benitez yard for the 1-0 victory and the 1997 AL pennant.

For as good as Mussina was, the Indians got timely pitching from an older vet in Hershiser and Nagy, a good pitcher, but someone who never reached the stratosphere as other aces in the period did.