No. 1997.10.26 · Wild Card Era
Mesa in the Ninth
The Indians led Game 7 by a run in the ninth. Jose Mesa allowed the tying sacrifice fly. Edgar Renteria's winning single, two innings later, came off Charles Nagy.
October 26, 1997, Game 7 at Pro Player Stadium, attendance 67,204. Cleveland led, 2–1, going to the bottom of the ninth. Jose Mesa, the Indians' closer, came on. Moises Alou singled. Charles Johnson singled, sending Alou to third. Craig Counsell's sacrifice fly to right scored Alou. The game was tied, 2–2.
It stayed tied through the tenth. In the eleventh, Bobby Bonilla singled, and Counsell reached on an error by second baseman Tony Fernandez. Charles Nagy, who had started, was now pitching. With two out, Edgar Renteria singled to center. Counsell scored. The run was unearned. Florida won, 3–2, in its fifth season.
Mesa is the name attached to the loss, and the tying run is his. The run that ended the series was not. Fernandez's error put Counsell on, and Nagy threw the pitch Renteria hit. The entry is the ninth inning and the two innings that followed it, not a single closer's line.
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