1995 American League West tie-breaker game

1995 American League West tie-breaker game
The Kingdome in Seattle
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
California Angels 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 1
Seattle Mariners 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 4 x 9 12 0
DateOctober 2, 1995
VenueThe Kingdome
CitySeattle, Washington
Umpires
Attendance52,356 [1][2]
TelevisionESPN
TV announcersJon Miller and Joe Morgan
RadioCBS
KMPC (CAL)
KIRO (SEA)
Radio announcersCBS: Ernie Harwell and Al Downing
KMPC: Bob Starr and Mario Impemba
KIRO: Dave Niehaus and Rick Rizzs

The 1995 American League West tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1995 regular season; the California Angels and Seattle Mariners met to determine the winner of the American League's (AL) West Division. It was played at the Kingdome in Seattle, on October 2, 1995.[3]

The game was necessary after both teams finished the strike-shortened 144-game season with identical records of 78–66 (.542).[3][4] Scoreless until the fifth inning, Seattle held a slim 1–0 lead at the seventh-inning stretch. The Mariners then broke it open and won 9–1 to secure the franchise's first postseason berth.[1][2] It was counted as the 145th regular season game for both teams, with all the events in the game added to regular season statistics.

On August 3, the Angels were 56–33 (.629), 11 games ahead of the second place Texas Rangers,[5] and 13 ahead of the third-place Mariners, at 43–46 (.483).[6][7] By the end of the month, the Angels (67–50 (.573)) were on a six-game losing streak and their lead was trimmed to 7+1⁄2 games over both Texas and Seattle.[8][9] On September 21, the Angels lost their seventh-straight and the Mariners pulled even at 72–63 (.533), with Texas four games behind.[10][11] Five days later, Seattle had won its seventh straight and built a three-game lead with five to go.[12][13] They were then shut out by the Angels.[14][15] The Mariners won the first two games at Texas to clinch at least a tie with two remaining,[16] but lost the last two while the Angels swept the Oakland Athletics to finish on a five-game winning streak.[3][17]

At the time, the Angels' lead relinquishment was the third-largest in major league history, behind the 1978 Boston Red Sox and 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers.[10]

After winning the tie-breaker, the Mariners met the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series. After two losses at Yankee Stadium, the second in 15 innings, Seattle swept the next three games at home, capped by an 11th-inning double by Edgar Martínez in Game 5. The Mariners hosted and won the opener of the AL Championship Series, but lost to the Cleveland Indians 4 games to 2. The Angels did not return to the postseason until 2002.

  1. ^ a b LaRue, Larry (October 3, 1995). "My oh my, Mariners win!". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (Tacoma News Tribune). p. B1.
  2. ^ a b Cour, Jim (October 3, 1995). "Seattle sets sail for AL playoffs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1D.
  3. ^ a b c "M's Angels go for broke". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 2, 1995. p. 1B.
  4. ^ Finnigan, Bob (October 2, 1995). "Playoff Awakens Memories For Piniella – M's Manager Watches After Playing In '78". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference TEXstats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference SEAstats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Major League Standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). August 3, 1995. p. 5D.
  8. ^ "O'Neill snaps out of slump in big way". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 1, 1995. p. 3E.
  9. ^ LaRue, Larry (September 1, 1995). "M's scrub Red Sox". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). McClatchey Newspapers. p. 1B.
  10. ^ a b Reilley, Mike (September 22, 1995). "Pennant race too fast for the Angels". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 1C.
  11. ^ Street, Jim (September 22, 1995). "Mariners prepare for playoff stretch run". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). p. 1C.
  12. ^ "M's magic number at two". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). Associated Press. September 27, 1995. p. 1C.
  13. ^ "Seattle moves closer to title with 10-2 win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. September 27, 1995. p. 1C.
  14. ^ "Mariners drop one to Angels". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 27, 1995. p. 1D.
  15. ^ LaRue, Larry (September 28, 1995). "Finley deflates M's sails". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). McClatchey Newspapers. p. 1B.
  16. ^ "Mariners make sure they'll share title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. September 30, 1995. p. 1D.
  17. ^ "Angels feel blessed as season ends". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 2, 1995. p. 1B.