Game 7’s Galore: 2004 League Championship Series

Veteran right-handed Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling bends down to readjust his right shoe where blood appears on the sanitary sock which came from a torn tendon sheath in his right ankle, he sustained in Game 1 of the ALDS. The team doctor Bill Morgan operated to stitch the ankle skin surrounding the tendon to try to hold everything in place long enough so Schilling could pitch Game 6 of the ALCS. Photo by Charles Krupa of the Associated Press.

Jack Butler

jbutle58@lakers.mercyhurst.edu

Sixteen October’s ago, Major League Baseball played arguably one of the greatest postseasons in its storied 150-year history. Three of the seven series went the distance whether it be in the five-game division series or seven games in League Championship Series format. Two of those occurred in the LCS which is the most recent time it’s happened in playoff baseball. In the American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox – New York Yankees rivalry peaked, and another started in the National League Championship Series.

The Houston Astros, then in the NL, faced the Tony La Rosa led St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 which went to the wire and they met again the following Autumn with Houston getting revenge over St. Louis. Just like the St. Louis – Houston rivalry each claiming a pennant so did Boston and New York. In 2003, the Red Sox and Yankees played a classic seven-game series but Red Sox manager Grady Little left Pedro Martinez in too long and the Bronx bats got hot to tie the game. In extra innings, Aaron Boone hit the walk-off homer off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to send them to its 39th World Series. Both teams met the next October where a historic comeback by Boston led to its first World Series Championship since 1918. With two sets of teams facing each other in consecutive LCS made the mid-2000s exciting baseball to watch.

The New York Yankees dominated the regular season going 101-61 and handily cruised past the lowly Minnesota Twins in the Division Series. Even though winning 98 games is a lot it was three short of the division for the Boston Red Sox who settled for the Wild Card, then the best remaining team by record in either league would play in the LDS. With the bat of David Ortiz and Curt Schilling’s right arm helped them advance past the Anaheim Angles to face their arch-nemesis in ALCS.

During the 2004 campaign, the Cardinals posted major leagues' best record at 105-67, having home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They used it well by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games in the division series. Houston played in the six-team NL Central then and only went 92-70 but down the stretch won 36 of its last 46 games to earn the Wild Card. They faced the 96-66 Atlanta Braves whose dynasty of 14 consecutive NL titles was almost coming to an end. Led by home run hitting Carlos Beltran and pitching legend Roger Clemens, the Astros moved on to battle St. Louis in the NLCS.

With both LCS’s set, it was time to watch some good ole postseason baseball. During game 1 of the ALCS, Mike Mussina pitched a perfect game into the seventh frame where the Red Sox scored five unanswered runs, but the Yankees already had scored eight runs earlier. The Sox made it scary for Yankee Manager Joe Torre as the bullpen game up two more tallies in the eighth. Torre inserted the greatest closer ever in Mariano Rivera to finish that frame. Then Rivera revived two huge insurance runs in the bottom half and earned the save in ninth.

NLCS Game 1 and ALCS Game 2 were playing at the same time with the Cardinals taking the opener with Jim Edmonds, Albert Pujols, and to be inducted Hall of Famer, Larry Walker led the birds past the Astros 10-7. While at Yankee Stadium II in the Bronx, Jon Lieber pitched a dandy going seven only allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run. Rivera got the save again as the Bronx Bombers headed to Fenway up 2 games to nothing.

Back in St. Louis, the Cardinals in game two narrowly won 6-4 over Houston with the help of Walker, Pujols, and Scott Rolen who combined to drive in six runs while Julian Tavarez received the win with a scoreless eighth. Both series were 2-0 in favor of the home teams – New York and St. Louis – heading to Boston and Houston for the next three contests. The Red Sox and Yankees were supposed to play on Friday, October 15, 2004, but mother nature had other ideas as rain postponed game 3.

The next evening those two clubs played at Fenway while the Astros hosted the Cardinals in is first NLCS game at Minute Maid Park that same afternoon. The Astros with 41-year-old Roger Clemens tossed 7 innings, allowing just 4 hits and two runs and Jeff Kent, Lance Berkman, and Carlos Beltran all homered to win 5-2.

Later that evening at historic Fenway Park the Red Sox held their first lead in the second at 4-3. However, that one run advantage vanished quickly as Joe Torre’s powerful lineup had a five-spot in the third never looking back winning 19-8. LCS Records were made during that game such as most hits at 21 and runs at 19 done by the Yankees. Also, Yankee left fielder Hideki Matsui drove in five more, adding his ALCS total to 10 and was a lock to win MVP of the series at that point.

On Sunday, Houston squeezed by St. Louis 6-5 with Roy Oswalt tossing a dominate 6 innings and Berkman’s homer in the sixth turned the tide for Houston. The Yankees and Red Sox returned to Fenway for Game 4 where the Bronx Bombers were 1 victory from playing in its 40th Fall Classic. New York would not close out the series because Boston railed to score 3 in the sixth, but the Yankees regained the lead with a tally the following inning.

Red Sox utility outfielder pitch ran for Kevin Millar at first after he led the eighth with a walk. Roberts stole second base as he barely beat the throw from Jorge Posada and the tag by Derek Jeter. Bill Mueller singled him home on a base hit up the middle to tie the game at 4. In the 12, David Ortiz hit a walk-off homer to right to spark the comeback. Photo by MLB and the Boston Red Sox.

During the bottom of the ninth, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar drew a leadoff walk off Rivera and skipper Terry Francona inserted speedy Dave Roberts to pinch run for him. Roberts got a great jump after Rivera’s pitch and just beat the tag of Derek Jeter. Bill Mueller singled Roberts home tying the game at 4. Three innings later, David Ortiz came up clutch with a two-run walk-off homer to steal the fourth contest 6-4 from the Yankees.

Houston pitchers Brandon Backe and Brad Linge combined to 1 hit shutout the Cardinals 3-0 in the fifth game. Jeff Kent’s game-winning three-run blast in the ninth provided the only scoring with the series heading back to Bush Stadium II. After Boston won an emotional contest from behind, they jumped to an early 2-0 advantage off Mussina in game 5. Orlando Cabrera and Manny Ramirez had back to back singles, then Big Papi drove Cabrera home with a single of his own and later scored on a bases-loaded walk by Jason Varitek. In the second, Bernie Williams lined a ball down the short right-field line by Pesky Pole for a solo shot off Pedro Martinez.

Nobody scored until again the sixth when the Yankees plated three on a Jeter bases-clearing double to right. Many Boston fans thought they were watching the last start by Martinez in a Red Sox uniform because he would become a free agent after the season. However, the same movie happened for the second night in a row after Ortiz homered to the Green Monster and Millar walked with Roberts pinch-running. Roberts advanced to third on a Trot Nixon single and Gabe Kapler ran for him at first. Torre went to Rivera to escape the trouble but Varitek hit a sacrifice fly plating Roberts to tie it at 4. Then, for the next two-plus hours the Red Sox finally walked-off game five in the wee hours of Tuesday, October 19, 2004. In the fourteenth, Yankee reliever Esteban Loaiza allowed two walks, then Big Papi flared a pitch into centerfield and Damon sprinted home for the winning run.

With the home team hosting games 3 to 5 in their respective LCS won all of them resulted in the series going back to New York and St. Louis. The Sox and Yankees traveled to the Bronx early Tuesday Morning where both clubs would play later that night in Game 6.

Most analysts covering the ALCS did not think Schilling would pitch again in 2004 after sustaining a torn tendon in his right ankle earlier in ALDS Game 1. He said later when making a play by the right-field line “I felt my tendon tear.” [i] However, when the series was in Boston, he took some bullpens while also receiving a modified high-top reebok cleats to give him more stability and comfort.

That did not help but Dr. Bill Morgan conducted a medical procedure to hold the skin in place for as long as possible to allow Schilling to start game 6 by stitching the ankle skin around the tendon. In arguably one of the gutsiest pitching performances of all time, Schilling tossed 7 innings, gave up just 4 hits and a lone run on one bad right ankle and a seepage of blood became fully visible on his white sanitary sock. He received four runs of support which all came in the fourth on a two-out double by Varitek and a three-run blast by Mark Bellhorn, enough to even up the series at 3. The next day one team advanced while another kept its postseason dreams alive.

The St. Louis Cardinals were one-hit just forty-eight-hours before and 27 outs away from being eliminated. Albert Pujols. Jim Edmonds Édgar Rentería. Those three ballplayers came to play for the Cardinals in a must-win game. During the bottom of the first after Houston scored on a Berkman sac fly Tony Womack singled, then Pujols drove himself and Womack on two-run dinger to left-center-field to put them in front.

Houston tied the game at 2 when Beltran got a base hit and Jeff Bagwell lined a ball just inside the third-base bag that ricocheted off the wall toward center allowing speedy Beltran to cross the plate. In the home half Pujols doubled to right center, Rolen singled, Edmonds advanced them each 90 feet with a sacrifice to left field and Rentería plated them both on a single up the middle. That RBI hit made it 4-2 Cardinals while yanking Peter Monroe from the game in the process.

An inning later, Mike Lamb clobbered a ball into the upper deck off Matt Morris, cutting its lead in half to 4-3. In the bottom half, the Cardinals could have added to their slim lead after Pujols singled in his third at-bat, then Rolen hit a ball down the left line that rebounded off the wall but the Machine ran through the stop sign and was thrown out at the plate. Brad Ausmus had to dive to his left to tag the sprinting Pujols to end the fourth. After the lone run plated by the Astros in the fourth, neither team scored until the ninth frame.

St. Louis Cardinals right-handed reliever Julian Tavarez pumps his right fist in the 12th inning during Game 6 of the 2004 NLCS on Tuesday, October 20, 2004, at Busch Stadium. Photo by Bill Greenblatt.

Both teams escaped jams for four innings until the Astros tied it at four in the ninth on a two-out run-scoring single by Bagwell. The situation got scary after Beltran and Bagwell advanced on a double steal, but Cardinal reliever Jason Isringhausen struck out Berkman to end the threat. Tony La Rosa inserted Julian Tavarez in the eleventh who pitched two scoreless frames. Then, Pujols led off the home half with a walk and Jim Edmonds launched a two-run homer sending the NLCS to a game seven.

Following game 6 between the Astros and Cardinals, Yankee Stadium became the site of a contest it never thought it would host a game seven. The Yankee crowd was rocking early on but when the Red Sox scored six runs in the first two innings, they began to lose hope. David Ortiz began the scoring with a two-run bomb to right giving Boston a 2 to nothing advantage. Derek Lowe cruised through the bottom of the first and the Sox continued where they left off in the second.

With 1 out Kevin Brown allowed a Millar single, then walked Mueller and Cabrera to load the bases. Damon who had struggled mightily in the series needed a pick me up stepped to the plate where he lined the first pitch over the right-field fence for a grand slam. Lowe put up another zero in the 2nd but gave up a Jeter RBI single making it 6-1. The Red Sox answered with a Damon two-run homer, his second of the night and finished with 6 RBIs. New York had no answers for Lowe who dominated the Yankees for six 1 hit, 1 run baseball only needing to throw 69 pitches, 44 of them were strikes.

In the seventh Francona summoned game 5 starter Pedro Martinez into the game which to this day still does not make any sense. Martinez pitched earlier in the Bronx as he started game 2 but lost that one due to the 56,136 Yankee spectators chanting, “Who’s your daddy… Who’s your daddy…Who’s your daddy!!!” (Click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29l0sQaIW1k to watch Pedro's relief appearance ). These fans were referencing a statement Martinez exclaimed after losing a late September start against the Yankees, “Just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.” [ii] (Click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR2AXVkIIgU to see Pedro say something Yankees fans heckled at him for the rest of his career.) He pitched only an inning but gave up consecutive doubles to Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams and allowed Kenny Lofton to single home Williams.

In the eighth, Mark Bellhorn crushed a ball so high down the right-field line it smacked the foul pole fence for a homer and the ball began its descent back to the playing field. That made it 9-3 in the eighth where Mike Timlin retired the heart of the Yankee order. Then, during the final frame, the Red Sox added their last tally when Nixon and Doug Mientkiewicz singled and Cabrera drove Nixon home on a sac fly.

Timlin sent down the first two Yankees in the ninth but Francona called upon Alan Embree to record the final out. Embree produced a Rubén Sierra grounder to Pokey Reese at second tossing it over to first baseman Mientkiewicz for the Boston Red Sox first American League Pennant since 1986. At that time the Curse of the Bambino, which had haunted them for close to ninety years stems from the Red Sox trading Babe Ruth to the Yankees, was not over until the club won the World Series.

Cardinals’ center fielder Jim Edmonds lays out to make a sensational catch in the second inning of Game 7 of the 2004 NLCS taking a hit away from Astros’ catcher Brad Ausmus and saving two runs in the process. Photo by Laurie / St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

A day later, the Astros battled the Cardinals at Busch Stadium II in a winner take all game seven. Craig Biggio led off the contest with a homer down the left-field line becoming the first player to hit a tater to start a seventh playoff game. In the following frame, Cardinal starter Jeff Suppan was in a tough jam with Jeff Kent on second Jose Vizcaino at first. Suppan faced Brad Ausmus next and he drove a ball to center where Jim Edmonds made a spectacular diving catch with his back to home plate saving two runs from scoring.

Suppan allowed his second and final run in the third frame when he walked Beltran who on the ensuing hitter stole second and a Bagwell fly to Edmonds in center advanced Beltran to third. But Edmonds known for his defense made a horrible throw ending up into the Astros dugout allowed his counterpart score. Then, Roger “Rocket” Clemens, who many thought at the time to be the greatest pitcher of all time, faced the Red Birds bottom third of their order. This was before any of the steroid controversy and investigations took place against Clemens.

Tony Womack lined a double to left with catcher and future Cardinals manager Mike Matheny moved him over by grounding it to first. Suppan advanced Womack to third on a bunt and Édgar Rentería him in to cut the Astro lead in half at 2-1. Both Suppan and Clemens throw up zeros in the fourth and fifth innings, but the “Rocket” had a tough sixth.

Clemens trouble began by giving up a Roger Cedeno pitch hit single, then Rentería bunted him to second. The Red Birds moved Cedeno 90 more feet after Larry Walker grounded to first and with two away Pujols hit a two-bagger to left sending the tying run to the plate. Clemens still needed to get another out, however, Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen lined a ball to left for a go-ahead two-run homer. The Rocket entered the sixth with a one-run lead and when we got out of it his team was behind by two.

Two innings later, Tony La Rosa once again summoned reliever Julian Tavarez to face the heart of the Astros lineup in Beltran, Bagwell, and Berkman. Tavarez needed just ten pitches to take care of them sending the contest to the home of the eighth where they added a huge insurance run. Astros starter Roy Oswalt came in relief in the seventh for a scoreless frame but allowed a lone run when Marlon Anderson doubled, Rentería dropped a sacrifice bunt and Anderson scampered to second. The righty faced Larry Walker next who poked a single through the right side for Anderson to score making it 5-2.

Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen made quick work of Jeff Kent, Morgan Ensberg, and Jose Vizcaino as he only threw 5 pitches. His last pitch was hit to Womack at second who tossed it over to Pujols to win the National League Pennant for the first time since 1987.

Following two classic League Championship Series, the World Series began at it was all Boston through the first three games. On Wednesday, October 27, 2004, Terry Francona and the “Why Not Us” Red Sox won its eighth consecutive postseason contest 3-0 over the Cardinals led by a dominant pitching performance by Derek Lowe with the help of Johnny Damon’s leadoff homer to right-centerfield to begin game 4.

Lowe threw two scoreless frames and in the third Boston plated a pair of runs. David Ortiz doubled with one out, then Jason Varitek walked, and Trot Nixon almost crushed a three-run shot to right of Jason Marquis, but it struck the wall for a two-run double. Neither team scored the rest of the night as Lowe pitched five more innings, finishing with 7 scoreless frames while only allowing 4 hits and 1 walk.

Keith Foulke and his batterymate Jason Varitek hug it out after the last out was recorded in Game 4 of the 104th World Series on Wednesday, October 27, 2004, at Busch Stadium. Photo by the New York Daily News.

Francona turned it over to Bronson Arroyo to retire the first man in the eighth and brought in Alan Embree to retire the last two Cardinal hitters. Then, an inning later, Keith Foulke came in to earn the save but more importantly produced a Rentería comebacker as he flipped it underhand to Mike Mientkiewicz and the Red Sox celebration began. They were partying like it was 1918 as the Curse of the Bambino was finally lifted after winning its first World Series in 86 years. Manny Ramirez received MVP honors as he had 7 hits, a home run, 4 RBI, and batted .412 in the four games.

The 2004 Boston Red Sox were down to their last three outs against the greatest closer Mariano Rivera in Game 4 of the ALCS but kept the faith by winning on back-to-back walk-offs by David Ortiz. Then in New York, Schilling tossed 7 frames with a torn right ankle tendon and Lowe pitched the clincher the next night.

That momentum resulted in a quick sweep of the 105-win Cardinals which is the fourth World Series sweep where one team lead throughout the entire series. This Red Sox club and the 2004 postseason will always be legendary and when any team is trailing in a playoff series, they know that Boston came back down 3-0.

Since their comeback that October there have been some phenomenal ones in the 2010s such as the Chicago Cubs erasing a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Cleveland Indians in 2016 to win the World Series for the first time since 1908.

Also, three Autumn‘s ago the Indians we’re in total control by leading the New York Yankees in the 2017 ALDS as the Series headed to the Bronx for games 3 and 4. Greg Bird hit a homer off the best reliever in Andrew Miller in the seventh. The Yankees won 1-0 nothing and destroyed Bauer on three days rest in game four and as Indians fans packed Progressive Field for a must win game 5 that had their ace and eventual multiple time AL Cy Young Award Winner to toe the rubber.

What could go wrong when you had Klubot pitching? Well after longing so many inning during the previous years postseason, a season he could have won Cy Young but it was awarded to Rick Porcello, where he started six games winning 4 and losing 1, while having an phenomenal ERA of just 1.85, striking out 35 batters, walking 8 and only giving up 7 earned runs with a WHIP of 1.05. Those numbers we not repeated against the Yankees as he was rocked in game 2 despite the Yan Gomes walk off single. In game 5 he only went 3 and 2 thirds innings giving up 3 hits and 3 runs. A former Indian great C.C. Sabiath

What the 2004 postseason taught baseball fans and ballplayers is you are never out of a game no matter what has gone on previously as one swing, one play, and one pitch can change a series so quickly.

Sources

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 American League Championship Series Summary. Retrieved on March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2004_ALCS.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 American League Championship Series Game 4 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball- reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200410170.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 American League Championship Series Game 5 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200410180.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 American League Championship Series Game 6 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200410190.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 American League Championship Series Game 7 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200410200.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 National League Championship Series Summary. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2004_NLCS.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 National League Championship Series Game 1 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200410130.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 National League Championship Series Game 2 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200410140.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 National League Championship Series Game 3 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU200410160.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 National League Championship Series Game 4 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU200410170.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 National League Championship Series Game 5 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU200410180.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 National League Championship Series Game 6 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200410200.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 National League Championship Series Game 7 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200410210.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 World Series Summary. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from baseball-reference.com/postseason/2004_WS.shtml

Baseball Reference. (2020). 2004 World Series Game 4 Box Score. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200410270.shtml

Bill Nowlin Interview with Curt Schilling, April 18, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/44885ff3#sdendnote13sym

[MLB]. (2018, September 18). Martinez refers to the Yanks as his daddies. Major League Baseball Advanced Media [Video File]. YouTube. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR2AXVkIIgU

Sylver, Sean (2015). Ten Years Gone: Pedro Martinez calls the Yankees his daddy. Fansided. BoSox Injection. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from, https://bosoxinjection.com/2014/09/24/ten-years-gone-pedro-martinez-calls-yankees-daddy/

[Tighe, Phil]. (2015, July 4). 2004 Red Sox Yankees Game 7 Pedro pitches the 7th [Video File]. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29l0sQaIW1k

Endnotes

[i] Bill Nowlin Interview with Curt Schilling, April 18, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/44885ff3#sdendnote13sym [ii] Sylver, Sean (2015). Ten Years Gone: Pedro Martinez calls the Yankees his daddy. Fansided. BoSox Injection. Retrieved March 24, 2020 from https://bosoxinjection.com/2014/09/24/ten-years-gone-pedro-martinez-calls-yankees-daddy/