#22: Jays Prove They Belong, 1985
Toronto Blue Jays (8) at New York
Yankees (5)
Sunday, September 15, 1985
Yankee Stadium
For
a team to finally get over the hump, they must prove their mettle when they
face adversity. For the 1985 Toronto Blue Jays, a four-game series in the Bronx
against the hated Yankees would be their test. Toronto took sole possession of
first place in the AL East on May 20th, and at certain points during
the summer, it looked like they would cruise to the title.
After
the first weekend in August, they held a 9 ½ game lead. By the time they headed
to Yankee Stadium for the crucial four-gamer, it had shrunk to 2 ½ games. Their
critics, particularly the American media, were licking their lips at the
prospect of the Yankees taking advantage of the young Jays and were expecting
Toronto to wither under the pressure of a pennant race.
The
first game showed just that as the Yankees rallied from a 4-1 deficit to take
the first game by a score of 7-5, largely aided by an error from shortstop Tony
Fernandez that opened the floodgates to a six-run seventh inning. However, the
Jays rebounded and took the next two games by scores of 3-2 and 7-4. Now it was
time to see if they could push the pedal to the floor and strengthen their hold
on the division.
Former
Yankee, Doyle Alexander, took the hill for the Jays while Ed Whitson would toe
the rubber for New York. (Incidentally, it would be Whitson who would slug it
out in a bar/hotel fight with Yankee manager Billy Martin a few days later).
The
air was thick with tension and anticipation as both hurlers kept the hitters
off the scoreboard through the first two innings. The top of the third would
see the Jays put their stamp on the series. Fernandez and centre-fielder Lloyd
Moseby would both single to start the inning. Third baseman, Rance Mulliniks,
would single in Fernandez with the game’s first run, and Moseby would dent the
dish after left-fielder, George Bell, doubled.
Whitson
was replaced with Dennis Rasmussen, but the first batter he faced, designated
hitter Cliff Johnson, singled scoring Mulliniks and Bell. After a double play
cleared the bases, first baseman, Rick Leach, singled. Right-fielder, Jesse
Barfield, then doubled to score Leach, while Barfield himself would score on an
errant throw by shortstop, Bobby Meacham, when he tried to nail Leach at the
plate. Advantage Blue Jays, 6-0.
Toronto
would bump the lead to 8-0 in the seventh inning when Johnson singled in
Mulliniks and Leach singled in Bell.
Alexander
pitched magnificently, taking a shutout into the bottom of the eighth when the
Yankees finally got to him for a couple of runs. The Yankees would then touch
up reliever Gary Lavalle for another three runs over the next couple of
innings, but Toronto closer Tom Henke would enter the game and get the final
two outs to preserve an 8-5 Blue Jays’ win.
The
lead was now 4 ½ games and would swell to six games during the next week. A
final week slump saw the Jays win only once, but that was enough to capture the
flag by two games and send them to the postseason in only their ninth year of
existence.
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