Top Ten Blue Jays’ Home
Openers
#10: 1987 vs Cleveland
Indians
After the franchise’s first
division title in 1985, the Jays had a rather disappointing 1986, winning 13
fewer games and finishing in fourth place. 1987 was a chance to redeem that underachieving
season and 40,404 fans packed into Exhibition Stadium on April 6 to watch Jimmy
Key throw the first pitch of the year. He would be facing Cleveland’s
knuckleball specialist (and future Jay) Tom Candiotti.
After Cleveland went
one-two-three in the top of the first, Lloyd Moseby connected on a Candiotti
pitch and drove it over the right field wall for the first run of the season.
Cleveland loaded the bases in the second but Key escaped without allowing a
run. First baseman Willie Upshaw hit Toronto’s second home run leading off the
bottom of the inning and several batters later, Tony Fernandez tripled in Fred
McGriff and the Jays had a 3-0 lead.
After a scoreless third,
Cleveland scored their first runs of the season. Another future Jay, Pat Tabler,
went deep on Key and his two-run shot made the score 3-2. An inning later,
Toronto got one of those runs back when Jesse Barfield doubled in George Bell
to make the score 4-2.
The Jays would put the game away
in the bottom of the sixth. Rookie second basemen Mike Sharperson doubled in
Ernie Whitt to increase Toronto’s lead to three. An out and a walk later, Lloyd
Moseby singled to right, scoring Sharperson and McGriff. The Jays now led 7-2.
Cleveland made the score 7-3 in
the top of the seventh when another future Blue Jay (although very briefly),
Cory Snyder homered off of reliever Mark Eichorn. There were no more runs in
the game and Jays’ closer Tom Henke got the Indians in order in the ninth and
Toronto was on their way to another 90+ win season.
Follow us on Twitter at @topofthethird
No comments:
Post a Comment