September 9, 1998 Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs Play by Play and Box Score

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ANA 10
MIN 8 NYY 7
@BOS 5 DET 8
@CHW 6 BAL 6
@OAK 2 SEA 5
TBD 2 TEX 8
KCR 0 CLE 6
@TOR 3
(13) LAD 6
@ARI 2 CHC 4
PIT 2 CIN 6
STL 3 COL 9
FLA 8 HOU 6
MIL 2 MON 3
ATL 2 NYM 6
@PHI 2 SDP 8
SFG 3

Standings at end of play this day

Wrigley Field, Attendance: 34,857

Wednesday, September 9, 1998, 1:23
Time of Game: 2:21

Pirates

66-78

Lost 1

5th, 26 GB

                1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
                -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -    -  -  -
Pirates         1  1  0   0  0  0   0  0  0    2  5  1
Cubs            3  0  0   0  0  0   0  1  X    4  6  0

W: M Clark (8-13), L: J Schmidt (11-11), S: R Beck (45)

Cubs

81-65

Won 1

2nd, 12 GB

BATTING

Pittsburgh Pirates           AB   R   H RBI   BB  SO    BA   OPS  Pit   PO   A  Details
A Brown CF                    4   1   1   0    0   0  .317  .744   27    2   0   2B
D Strange 2B                  4   0   0   0    0   1  .173  .436    9    1   1   
J Kendall C                   3   0   0   0    1   0  .327  .886   15   10   0   CS
K Young 1B                    4   0   1   1    0   2  .282  .832   24    9   0   
J Guillen RF                  4   0   0   0    0   2  .274  .723   16    2   0   
T Ward LF                     3   1   1   1    0   2  .269  .774   19    0   0   HR
F Garcia 3B                   3   0   0   0    0   1  .278  .897   16    0   2   
K Polcovich SS                2   0   0   0    0   2  .190  .510    8    0   3   CS
  E Brown PH                  1   0   0   0    0   1  .214  .553    5    0   0   
  J Christiansen P            0   0   0   0    0   0  .250  .500         0   0   
  T Van Poppel P              0   0   0   0    0   0  .214  .553         0   0   
J Schmidt P                   2   0   1   0    0   1  .088  .225    5    0   0   
  T Laker PH                  1   0   1   0    0   0  .333  .833    2    0   0   
  A Nunez PR-SS               0   0   0   0    0   0  .067  .289         0   0   
Totals                       31   2   5   2    1  12              146   24   6

BATTING

2B: A Brown (2, off M Clark).

HR: T Ward (8, off M Clark; 2nd inn, 0 on, 0 outs to Deep RF).

TB: T Ward 4; A Brown 2; K Young; T Laker; J Schmidt.

RBI: K Young (100); T Ward (43).

2-out RBI: K Young.

Team LOB: 3.

With RISP: 1 for 3.

FIELDING

E: K Polcovich (20).

BASERUNNING

CS: K Polcovich (3, 2nd base by M Clark/T Houston); J Kendall (5, 2nd base by M Clark/T Houston).

Chicago Cubs                 AB   R   H RBI   BB  SO    BA   OPS  Pit   PO   A  Details
L Johnson CF                  4   2   3   0    0   1  .259  .627   17    2   0   SB
M Morandini 2B                4   0   1   0    0   0  .300  .781    9    1   2   
S Sosa RF                     3   1   0   0    1   1  .311 1.024   19    3   0   
M Grace 1B                    3   1   1   3    1   1  .317  .892   14    5   1   HR,IW
H Rodriguez LF                1   0   0   0    0   0  .251  .875    2    0   0   
  B Brown LF                  2   0   0   0    0   1  .297  .863    8    0   0   
  M Mieske PH                 0   0   0   0    0   0  .304  .782         0   0   
  O Merced PH                 1   0   1   1    0   0  .279  .743    5    0   0   
  R Beck P                    0   0   0   0    0   0  .000  .000         0   0   
G Gaetti 3B                   4   0   0   0    0   1  .283  .847   13    0   1   
T Houston C                   3   0   0   0    0   1  .242  .651   12   11   2   
J Hernandez SS-LF             3   0   0   0    0   1  .263  .808    7    4   3   
M Clark P                     3   0   0   0    0   3  .036  .122   10    1   0   
  T Mulholland P              0   0   0   0    0   0  .222  .522         0   0   
  M Alexander SS              0   0   0   0    0   0  .237  .633         0   0   
Totals                       31   4   6   4    2  10              116   27   9

BATTING

HR: M Grace (15, off J Schmidt; 1st inn, 2 on, 1 out to Deep RF).

IBB: M Grace (8, by J Christiansen).

TB: M Grace 4; L Johnson 3; M Morandini; O Merced.

RBI: M Grace 3 (78); O Merced (36).

2-out RBI: O Merced.

Team LOB: 5.

With RISP: 2 for 4.

BASERUNNING

SB: L Johnson (9, 2nd base off J Christiansen/J Kendall).

PITCHING

Pittsburgh Pirates            IP     H   R  ER   BB  SO  HR    ERA   BF  Pit-Str  Ct·Sw·Lk   GB·FB·LD· ?   GmSc  IR-IS   LevI    WPA
J Schmidt, L (11-11)           7     4   3   3    1   9   1   3.87   27   95-64   35·15·14   10· 5· 2· 0     65    -     0.76   0.04
J Christiansen                 0.2   1   1   1    1   1   0   2.34    4   15-6     3· 2· 1    0· 1· 1· 0          0-0    0.76   0.00
T Van Poppel                   0.1   1   0   0    0   0   0   6.64    2    6-3     2· 1· 0    0· 1· 1· 0          2-1    0.83  -0.06
Totals                         8     6   4   4    2  10   1          33  116-73   40·18·15   10· 7· 4· 0          2-1

Chicago Cubs                  IP     H   R  ER   BB  SO  HR    ERA   BF  Pit-Str  Ct·Sw·Lk   GB·FB·LD· ?   GmSc  IR-IS   LevI    WPA
M Clark, W (8-13)              7.2   5   2   2    1  10   1   4.87   28  122-82   40·16·26    7· 6· 4· 0     70    -     1.16   0.32
T Mulholland, H (18)           0.1   0   0   0    0   0   0   2.67    1    2-1     1· 0· 0    1· 0· 0· 0          1-0    2.83   0.08
R Beck, S (45)                 1     0   0   0    0   2   0   3.10    3   14-11    6· 2· 3    0· 0· 1· 0          0-0    1.04   0.08
Totals                         9     5   2   2    1  12   1          32  138-94   47·18·29    8· 6· 5· 0          1-0

Balks: None.

WP: M Clark (5).

IBB: J Christiansen (7; M Grace).

HBP: None.

OTHER

Umpires: HP - Jerry Meals, 1B - Larry Poncino, 2B - Gerry Davis, 3B - Wally Bell.

Time of Game: 2:21.

Attendance: 34,857.

Field Condition: Dry.

Weather: 69° F, Wind 6mph out to Leftfield, Sunny, No Precipitation.

LINEUPS

   Pittsburgh Pirates            Chicago Cubs                         
1. A Brown              CF    1. L Johnson            CF 
2. D Strange            2B    2. M Morandini          2B 
3. J Kendall            C     3. S Sosa               RF 
4. K Young              1B    4. M Grace              1B 
5. J Guillen            RF    5. H Rodriguez          LF 
6. T Ward               LF    6. G Gaetti             3B 
7. F Garcia             3B    7. T Houston            C  
8. K Polcovich          SS    8. J Hernandez          SS 
9. J Schmidt            P     9. M Clark              P

TOP 5 PLAYS (wpa explanation)

   Inn Out Score RoB  Pt wWPA  wWE  Batter          Pitcher         Play Detail
  +---+---+-----+---+---+----+----++---------------+---------------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
   b 1   1  1-0  12-  3   23%  72% M Grace         J Schmidt       Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF); Johnson Scores; Sosa Scores
   t 2   0  3-1  ---  6   -9%  60% T Ward          M Clark         Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF)
   t 1   2  0-0  --3  6   -8%  43% K Young         M Clark         Single to LF (Line Drive); Brown Scores
   t 8   2  3-2  -2-  2    8%  87% D Strange       T Mulholland    Groundout: SS-1B
   b 8   2  2-3  12-  5    8%  94% O Merced        T Van Poppel    Single to RF (Line Drive to Short RF); Johnson Scores; Grace to 3B

PLAY BY PLAY (explanation)

Top of the 1st, Pirates Batting, Tied 0-0, Mark Clark facing 1-2-3
  Scr/Out RoB  Pt  wWE  Batter          Play Detail
  +------+---+---+----++---------------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
          ---  4   44%  A Brown         Double to RF (Ground Ball)
   O      -2-  3   48%  D Strange       Strikeout Swinging
          -2-  6   46%  J Kendall       Walk
   O      12-      51%  K Young         Kendall Caught Stealing 2B (C-SS); Brown to 3B
   R      --3  6   43%  " "             Single to LF (Line Drive); Brown Scores
   O      1--  4   45%  J Guillen       Flyball: CF
                  1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Pirates 1, Cubs 0.

Bottom of the 1st, Cubs Batting, Behind 0-1, Jason Schmidt facing 1-2-3
          ---  3   49%  L Johnson       Single to 2B (Bunt to Weak 2B)
   O      1--  3   45%  M Morandini     Lineout: 2B
          1--  7   49%  S Sosa          Walk; Johnson to 2B
   RRR    12-  3   72%  M Grace         Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF); Johnson Scores; Sosa Scores
   O      ---  2   70%  H Rodriguez     Groundout: 3B-1B
          ---  4   71%  G Gaetti        Reached on E6 (Ground Ball)
   O      1--  1   70%  T Houston       Groundout: 1B unassisted
                  3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Pirates 1, Cubs 3.

Top of the 2nd, Pirates Batting, Behind 1-3, Mark Clark facing 6-7-8
                  Brant Brown replaces Henry Rodriguez playing LF batting 5th
   R      ---  6   60%  T Ward          Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF)
   O      ---  6   63%  F Garcia        Flyball: CF (Deep CF-RF)
   O      ---  4   64%  K Polcovich     Strikeout Swinging
          ---  5   63%  J Schmidt       Single to CF (Line Drive)
   O      1--  2   66%  A Brown         Groundout: 2B-SS/Forceout at 2B
                  1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Bottom of the 2nd, Cubs Batting, Ahead 3-2, Jason Schmidt facing 8-9-1
   O      ---  4   64%  J Hernandez     Strikeout Swinging
   O      ---  4   62%  M Clark         Strikeout Swinging
          ---  5   63%  L Johnson       Single to P (Ground Ball)
          1--  1   65%  M Morandini     Single to RF (Line Drive to Short RF); Johnson to 3B
   O      1-3  2   61%  S Sosa          Groundout: 3B-1B
                  0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Top of the 3rd, Pirates Batting, Behind 2-3, Mark Clark facing 2-3-4
   O      ---  3   64%  D Strange       Lineout: RF
   O      ---  3   66%  J Kendall       Flyball: RF
   O      ---  5   67%  K Young         Popfly: SS (Short LF)
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Bottom of the 3rd, Cubs Batting, Ahead 3-2, Jason Schmidt facing 4-5-6
   O      ---  5   65%  M Grace         Strikeout Looking
   O      ---  7   63%  B Brown         Strikeout Swinging
   O      ---  4   62%  G Gaetti        Foul Popfly: 1B (1B Foul)
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Top of the 4th, Pirates Batting, Behind 2-3, Mark Clark facing 5-6-7
   O      ---  7   65%  J Guillen       Strikeout Looking
   O      ---  4   67%  T Ward          Strikeout Swinging
   O      ---  5   68%  F Garcia        Strikeout Swinging
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Bottom of the 4th, Cubs Batting, Ahead 3-2, Jason Schmidt facing 7-8-9
   O      ---  5   66%  T Houston       Flyball: CF
   O      ---  1   65%  J Hernandez     Flyball: RF (Deep RF Line)
   O      ---  3   64%  M Clark         Strikeout Swinging
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Top of the 5th, Pirates Batting, Behind 2-3, Mark Clark facing 8-9-1
          ---  4   59%  K Polcovich     Strikeout Swinging, Wild Pitch; Polcovich to 1B
   O      1--      63%  J Schmidt       Strikeout Swinging
   O      1--      69%  A Brown         Polcovich Caught Stealing 2B (C-SS)
   O      ---  8   71%  " "             Groundout: SS-1B
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Bottom of the 5th, Cubs Batting, Ahead 3-2, Jason Schmidt facing 1-2-3
   O      ---  8   68%  L Johnson       Strikeout Swinging
   O      ---  1   67%  M Morandini     Groundout: SS-1B
   O      ---  4   66%  S Sosa          Groundout: 2B-1B (Weak SS-2B)
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Top of the 6th, Pirates Batting, Behind 2-3, Mark Clark facing 2-3-4
   O      ---  1   69%  D Strange       Groundout: 1B-P (2B-1B)
   O      ---  4   72%  J Kendall       Groundout: 3B-1B
   O      ---  3   74%  K Young         Strikeout Looking
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Bottom of the 6th, Cubs Batting, Ahead 3-2, Jason Schmidt facing 4-5-6
   O      ---  2   72%  M Grace         Groundout: SS-1B
   O      ---  1   70%  B Brown         Popfly: 1B (2B-1B)
   O      ---  4   69%  G Gaetti        Strikeout Swinging
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Top of the 7th, Pirates Batting, Behind 2-3, Mark Clark facing 5-6-7
   O      ---  1   73%  J Guillen       Groundout: SS-1B
   O      ---  9   77%  T Ward          Strikeout Swinging
   O      ---  5   79%  F Garcia        Popfly: 2B (Deep SS-2B)
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Bottom of the 7th, Cubs Batting, Ahead 3-2, Jason Schmidt facing 7-8-9
   O      ---  6   77%  T Houston       Strikeout Swinging
   O      ---  2   75%  J Hernandez     Groundout: SS-1B
   O      ---  3   74%  M Clark         Strikeout Swinging
                  0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Top of the 8th, Pirates Batting, Behind 2-3, Mark Clark facing 8-9-1
                  Emil Brown pinch hits for Kevin Polcovich batting 8th
   O      ---  5   80%  E Brown         Strikeout Swinging
                  Tim Laker pinch hits for Jason Schmidt batting 9th
          ---  2   74%  T Laker         Single to LF (Line Drive to Deep LF Line)
                  Abraham Nunez pinch runs for Tim Laker batting 9th
   O      1--  7   78%  A Brown         Groundout: 2B-1B (SS-2B); Nunez to 2B
                  Terry Mulholland replaces Mark Clark pitching and batting 9th
   O      -2-  2   87%  D Strange       Groundout: SS-1B
                  0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 3.

Bottom of the 8th, Cubs Batting, Ahead 3-2, Jason Christiansen facing 1-2-3
                  Jason Christiansen replaces Emil Brown pitching and batting 8th; Abraham Nunez moves to SS
          ---  1   89%  L Johnson       Single to LF (Line Drive)
   O      1--  4   87%  M Morandini     Flyball: CF
   O      1--  6   86%  S Sosa          Strikeout Swinging, Johnson Steals 2B
          -2-  4   86%  M Grace         Intentional Walk
                  Todd Van Poppel replaces Jason Christiansen pitching and batting 8th; Matt Mieske pinch hits for Brant Brown batting 5th; Orlando Merced pinch hits for Matt Mieske batting 5th
   R      12-  5   94%  O Merced        Single to RF (Line Drive to Short RF); Johnson Scores; Grace to 3B
   O      1-3  1   92%  G Gaetti        Flyball: RF
                  1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 4.

Top of the 9th, Pirates Batting, Behind 2-4, Rod Beck facing 3-4-5
                  Rod Beck replaces Orlando Merced pitching and batting 5th; Manny Alexander replaces Terry Mulholland playing SS batting 9th; Jose Hernandez moves to LF
   O      ---  2   96%  J Kendall       Lineout: RF
   O      ---  8   99%  K Young         Strikeout Looking
   O      ---  4  100%  J Guillen       Strikeout Swinging
        0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Cubs 4.

Retrosheet.org Boxscore:CHN199809090

Play-by-Play Explanation

Scr/Out- This has a "O" for every out on the play and an "R" for every run that scored on the play. Some plays will have both in no particular order.
RoB- This gives the baserunner (Runners on Base) configuration at the start of the play. "1-3" would mean runners on first and third. Clicking on this will show the defensive players and baserunners on the field for this play. This is a subscriber feature, so non-subscribers are limited as to the number of times they can use this feature in a day.
Pt- When available, the number of pitches in this plate appearance. Clicking on this number will show the sequence of pitches thrown including, when available, things like runner going, ball blocked, attempted pickoffs and the like. We believe this data to be as accurate as humanly possible, but there are going to be some errors in the data, so please take it with a grain of salt. Clicking on this will show the defensive players and baserunners on the field for this play. This is a subscriber feature, so non-subscribers are limited as to the number of times they can use this feature in a day.
Batter- The batter at the plate when this play occurred. If the play is a baserunning event, then the batter's name will be repeated as indicated by quotes.
Play Detail- This is an explanation of the play that occurred. In some cases, batted ball location and type will be indicated within parentheses. Again, these are best efforts to the record the game as it happened. Also, plays made on the baserunners (including the batter as a baserunner) will be indicated in parentheses after the baserunner's name. Advancement of baserunners is given in cases where the advancement is not easily deduced or obvious from the play. For example, advancement for a walk will not be given, but for a single or double it will be given.

Please report any issues or strangeness you see with the description of plays given above. We have tested several hundred different types of plays, but, in all likelihood, there are still some errors or misinterpretations of the play-by-play data.

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In some cases, the results from play-by-play data will contradict results in the official record. The official record has many, many errors, but we have not undertaken to reconcile those errors. Pitch-by-pitch data should not be taken as completely accurate, though we believe it to be as accurate as is currently possible.


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BATTING

PITCHING

OTHER

LINEUPS

TOP 5 PLAYS (wpa explanation)

PLAY BY PLAY (explanation)

Play-by-Play Explanation