Baseball's Most Exciting Games, No. 16: The Sacrifice Fly of Destiny

2007 National League Wildcard Tiebreaker: San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies

October 1, 2007, Coors Field, Denver, Colorado

This gif shows Matt Holliday not touching the plate 
and Michael Barrett not tagging Holliday.

Matt Holliday never touched the plate, of course. Might as well get that out of the way right now. As a true neutral fan, one who generally doesn't care about the Colorado Rockies or the San Diego Padres, I can say with confidence that Matt Holliday never actually touched home plate in the 13th inning that night. If umpire Tim McClelland had made the correct call, he would have made no call until a few seconds after the slide, when Padres catcher Michael Barrett finally wandered over and tagged a dazed Holliday. The winning run wouldn't have counted, and the game would have continued for at least one more batter, and possibly forever.

Who knows why McClelland missed the call. Maybe he thought Holliday had slipped his hand across the corner of the plate. Maybe he had an extra-long blink after being behind the plate for nearly five hours. Or perhaps McClelland's hesitant "safe" call was a subconscious acknowledgment that this seemed to be a Rockies team of destiny. 

On September 15, the Rockies lost 10-2 to the Marlins. At the end of that day, they were in 4th place in  the division and 4.5 games back in the wild card standings, with only 14 games to play. It isn't unreasonable to make up 4.5 games standings in 14 games, but the Rockies had to catch four teams to make the playoffs. And the only way to leapfrog four teams in that short of a time frame is to win all the rest of your games.

Colorado didn't quite do that, but their 13-1 record to close out the season was enough to put them at the doorstep of the postseason, and when the Padres lost their season-ending game, the two NL West rivals were forced into a Game 163 to decide the Wild Card winner. 

It was easy to see which team was on 13-1 run at the start of the game, as the Rockies jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings. Then Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez laughed at that lead and erased it with one swing, a third-inning grand slam to put the Padres up 4-3. The Padres later turned that into a 5-3 lead.

But the Rockies weren't done. They came back with single runs in the 3rd, 5th, and 6th innings to retake the lead. They carried that lead into the 8th, and they were four outs from winning when Brian Giles hit a lazy fly ball to left. But Holliday ran in when he should have ran over, and the ball got behind him, and the game was suddenly tied again.

Holliday surely wanted to atone for his defensive mistake, but he struck out with a runner on in the 8th and again with nobody on in the 11th. Meanwhile, Rockies reliever Matt Herges - their 8th pitcher of the game - kept getting into and then out of trouble, letting runners reach base in each of the 10th, 11th, and 12th innings, but not letting any of the runners cross the plate.

Three innings was enough for Herges, and the Rockies turned to Jorge Julio, who showed everybody why he was in eighth place in Colorado's bullpen hierarchy by quickly giving up a walk and a home run in the top of the 13th. Scott Hairston's home run seemed like it would be back-breaking for the Rockies. Not only were the Padres up by 2, but they had managed to navigate through the first 12 innings without using their ace closer, Trevor Hoffman. And as the bottom of the 13th started, the future hall-of-famer came jogging out of the bullpen. 

Trailing by two to start the bottom of the 13th, the Rockies only had a 10% win expectancy. With Hoffman on the mound, that number was likely much lower. But they had faced a difficult climb before - if they could win 13 out of 14 games to close the season, surely they could score twice in an inning, right?

And so Kazuo Matsui hit a double. Troy Tulowitzki did the same. Then it was Holliday's turn, his third chance to redeem himself. Third time was the charm, I guess. He hit one high off the right-field wall, not quite a home run, but good enough for a game-tying triple. 

After an intentional walk, it was time for Jamey Carroll. The fly ball wasn't hit very far, but it made Brian Giles reach up slightly to catch it, which might have stunted his momentum, causing his throw to have more arc on it than he probably wanted, giving Holliday just enough time to slide into Barrett's foot and slam his face into the turf. He never touched the plate, but the run counted anyway, and the Rockies were off to the postseason. 

The Rockies continued their hot streak, sweeping the both the Phillies and Diamondbacks to extend their season-ending record to 21-1. Then they were promptly steamrolled by the Red Sox in the World Series. 

I guess not all fairy tales have happy endings.

2007 National League Wild Card Tiebreaker Overall Rank: 16 Top 10 Swing: 226 Top play: Matt Holliday's 13th inning triple (WPA of 47% for Colorado) Loser's largest WE: 93 T13, no out, runner on first, San Diego up 8-6 Average LI: 1.73 Highest leverage moment: 4.61 (tied 6-6, T11, runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out, Khalil Greene up)

1984 World Series: Gibson's (first) Big Night

Teams
American League: Detroit Tigers (104-58) - Ninth World Series (won in 1935, 1945, 1968)
National League: San Diego Padres (92-70) - First World Series

What Happened
For one glorious year, the Tigers could do no wrong. They started the 1984 season 35-5 and kept a double-digit lead through most of the summer. Sparked by their great middle infield of shortstop Alan Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker, and following the example of gritty team leader Kirk Gibson, the Tigers were never challenged as they cruised to the AL East title and past the Royals in the ALCS.

With the season they had, they were expected to make mincemeat of the Padres, who in their first World Series were simply in "happy to be here" mode. But San Diego shocked a lot of people by playing the Tigers tight the first two games. They had a lead on Jack Morris through four innings of Game 1 before a Larry Herndon home run gave the Tigers the lead they wouldn't relinquish. In Game 2, the Tigers knocked starter Ed Whitson out of the game in the first inning, but Padres pitchers Andy Hawkins and Craig Lefferts shut down the Tigers the rest of the way, allowing their offense to come back for a surprising victory.

Back home in Detroit, the Tigers showed how good they could be. The Padres made it easy for them in Game 3, walking six batters in the second and third innings combined to let the Tigers get a rather easy win. Trammell and Morris combined to lead the way in Game 4, with a complete game from Morris backed by two 2-run home runs from Trammell. Three more Detroit home runs ended the series in Game 5, and the Tigers completed one of the most dominating seasons of the 80s with a World Series trouncing.

With a team loaded with what seemed to be surefire Hall of Famers, the Tigers looked primed to dominate the 1980s. Instead, they fizzled out. Trammell and Whitaker continued their great play throughout the 80s and into the 90s, but they have yet to get into the Hall of Fame, and it now seems likely they never will. Even Jack Morris, the ace of the 80s, hasn't gotten into the Hall of Fame, though he's right on the precipice. As for the team, the glorious summer of 1984 remains Detroit's last World Series title.

Defining Game
If it wasn't for his one at bat in the 1988 World Series, Kirk Gibson would probably be forever remembered for what he did in Game 5 in 1984. His two-run home run in the first was big, of course, but even bigger was his play in the bottom of the fifth, when he scored on a pop up to the second baseman in shallow right field to give the Tigers the lead for good.

But Gibson's Game 5 will always be about his eighth inning at bat. Leading 5-4, the Tigers put runners on second and third with one out for Gibson. The logical play here would have been to walk Gibson to load the bases, then hopefully get the double play. But Padres closer Goose Gossage didn't want to walk Gibson, and manager Dick Williams listened. I suppose it's showing faith in your future Hall of Fame closer to listen to him in that situation, but Williams probably felt sick to his stomach when Gibson hit the second pitch into the Tiger Stadium upper deck. His blast clinched the game, and the series, for Detroit.

Gibson's home run:


MVP
Alan Trammell was an obvious choice. It wasn't just his series-high .450 average, it was when he got his hits. He drove in the first run of the series in the first inning of Game 1, then always seemed to be in the middle of every Detroit rally. Gibson got all the press after his Game 5 heroics, and Morris established his big-game credentials with two complete games, but Trammell deserved his MVP award.

Scores:
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Detroit	3	3	5	4	8
San Diego	2	5	2	2	4

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

79. 1984 - Detroit (A) def. San Diego (N) 4-1
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

1998 World Series: 114 wins

The Teams
American League: New York Yankees (114-48); 35th World Series (won 23 previous times)
National League: San Diego Padres (98-64); second World Series

What happened
In 97 American League seasons, only one other team had won 114 games. In 1998, the Yankees joined the '54 Indians in reaching that incredible milestone; while the Indians were shockingly swept in the World Series that year, nobody expected a similar fate to befall the Yankees. The main reason for that was their opponent.

The Padres were a legitimately good team, winning 98 games in '98. However, like the Yankees, their win total was inflated with the expansion that occurred that year. In truth, the Padres were likely the third-best team in the National League that year, but they had the hottest pitcher. One year after almost single-handedly pitching the Marlins to the World Series, Kevin Brown did the same for San Diego, leading the Padres to playoff wins over Houston and Atlanta.

The World Series looked to be starting well for San Diego, as they rode two home runs from Greg Vaughn and one from Tony Gwynn to a 5-2 lead entering the seventh inning of Game 1. With Brown still on the mound, they looked primed to take a 1-0 series lead. But then the Yankees struck. One of the many things that made the Yankees so good in 1998 was their depth. Scott Brosius, their typical no. 9 hitter, batted .300 and drove in 98 runs.

That deep lineup meant that when the Yankees offense started to get going, it was hard to get them to stop, and the Padres learned that first-hand in the bottom of the seventh of Game 1. First, a three-run home run from leadoff hitter Chuck Knoblauch tied the game. Then, four batters later, Tino Martinez hit a grand slam to make it 9-5.

After that, the Yankees got out their other major weapon by putting Mariano Rivera on the mound. The other thing that had made them so good in 1998 had been the presence of Rivera in the bullpen. With him ready to go, the Yankees could essentially turn each game into a seven-inning affair, knowing Rivera would shut things down from there. And that's what happened in Game 1, setting the tone for the series.

The Yankees didn't need Rivera in a 9-3 Game 2 win, but he pitched the final two innings of both Games 3 and 4, helping the Yankees get the sweep and establish themselves as the Team of the 90s.

Defining Game
Game 1. The Padres gave the Yankees everything they had in the opening game, used up all their ammo, and it still wasn't enough. That game showed them, and the rest of the sports world, just how good this Yankees team really was.

MVP
The voters went with Brosius, who hit .471 and led the Yankees with two home runs and six runs batted in, but they could have just as easily named Rivera for how effortlessly he closed down three of the four games.

The Scores
(Home team in Bold)

San Diego	6	3	4	0
New York	9	9	5	3

---

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here's the ones I've done so far:

104. 1998 - New York (A) def. San Diego (N) 4-0
105. 1989 - Oakland (A) def. San Francisco (N) 4-0
106. 1928 - New York (A) def. St. Louis (N) 4-0
107. 1917 - Cincinnati (N) def. Chicago (A) 5-3

1984 NLCS: Bull and the Billy Goat

How they got here
There were a couple of surprising entrants into the National League playoffs in 1984. Out of the west came the Padres, who jumped out to a quick lead in the division and cruised to the playoffs, winning the division by 12 games as the only team in the West to finish above .500. Facing them was the Cubs, who started the year scuffling a bit in the East before acquiring Rick Sutcliffe from the Indians. Sutcliffe went a shocking 16-1 for Chicago and the Cubs rode his arm to a division championship.

With the matchup, the Cubs were making the postseason for the first time since 1945 while the Padres were making the playoffs for the first time ever, which was somehow a shorter time. But both teams were well-rested down the stretch and had their aces ready to go to start the series. That meant the Padres had to deal with Sutcliffe, and they didn't do a very good job of that. Sutcliffe threw shutout and hit one of the Cubs' five home runs as they romped to a 13-0 Game 1 win.

The Cubs won Game 2 as well, heading out to the West coast needing just one more win to wrap up the series (this was the last year of the best-of-5 LCS). But these were the Cubs, and nothing ever comes easy for the Cubs. San Diego cruised in Game 3, won Game 4 on a 2-run walkoff home run by Steve Garvey to tie the series. It was coming down to a final game. The Padres were bringing back Eric Show, who had gotten pounded in Game 1, while the Cubs were bringing back Sutcliffe, who hadn't lost since the last week of June. It should have been easy for the Cubs. But, it was the Cubs, and things were never easy with the Cubs.

The Game
That Billy Goat is a bitch, huh? While the goat's curse isn't as old as the Curse of the Bambino, it's just as powerful, just as likely to get blamed by an irrational fan base for everything that's wrong with their franchise.

Leon "Bull" Durham's dance with the Billy Goat was frighteningly similar to that of Steve Bartman. Both happened with his team in the lead, sure, but both happened with plenty of time left for the Cubs to recover. Also, both are a convenient excuse to cover up a complete Cubs collapse.

At first, it looked like Durham would be the man to finally break the Billy Goat Curse, as his two-run home run in the first gave the Cubs the lead. Jody Davis hit another home run in the second, and the Cubs handed the best pitcher in the National League a 3-0 lead in the deciding game of the series.

Sutcliffe was cruising, too, until San Diego loaded the bases on him with nobody out in the sixth. Like all good pitchers, though, he wiggled out of it; the Padres hit two straight sacrifice flies to cut the lead to 3-2, but you couldn't help but think they wanted so much more from the inning.

That's when the Billy Goat woke up.

A man was on second with one out in the bottom of the seventh when it happened. Tim Flannery hit a weak ground ball towards Durham at first, one that could have been an easy out. Instead, it went under his glove, and the tying run scored.

That should have been an easy play for the Cubs to overcome. Sure, the game was tied, but it was only tied, and they had plenty of time to recover. But the Billy Goat doesn't allow for recoveries. When he strikes, he sees to it that the Cubs suffer complete, humiliating collapse. The formerly unhittable Sutcliffe gave up three straight hits after Durham's error, and three more runs came home to make it 6-3 Padres.

The Cubs had six more outs to try to come back, but the writing was on the wall. When Gary Mathews struck out with two men on to end the eighth, it was over. San Diego got the last three outs to advance to the World Series, while the Cubs went home, cursing the Billy Goat for the 39th straight season.

Aftermath
It didn't much matter who won the NLCS - they weren't gonna beat the Tigers. If you had combined the Cubs and Padres, you might have had a team that could have beaten the '84 Tigers, but otherwise, no. The only real surprise of the 1984 World Series was that the Padres managed to win even one game against what was the best AL team of the 1980s.

What I'm doing.

The list so far:

11. 1984 NLCS: San Diego 6, Chicago 3
12. 2003 NLCS: Florida 9, Chicago 6
13. 2004 NLCS: St. Louis 5, Houston 2
14. 1972 ALCS: Oakland 2, Detroit 1
15. 1973 ALCS: Oakland 3, Baltimore 0
16. 1985 ALCS: Kansas City 6, Toronto 2
17. 2007 ALCS: Boston 11, Cleveland 2
18. 1991 NLCS: Atlanta 4, Pittsburgh 0
19. 1973 NLCS: New York 7, Cincinnati 2
20. 1987 NLCS: St. Louis 6, San Francisco 0
21. 1988 NLCS: Los Angeles 6, New York 0
22. 2004 ALCS: Boston 10, New York 3
23. 1986 ALCS: Boston 8, California 1
24: 1996 NLCS: Atlanta 15, St. Louis 0

Still to come:
1972 NLCS: Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh
1976 ALCS: Kansas City vs. New York
1977 ALCS: Kansas City vs. New York
1980 NLCS: Houston vs. Philadelphia
1981 NLCS: Los Angeles vs. Montreal
1982 ALCS: California vs. Milwaukee
1992 NLCS: Atlanta vs. Pittsburgh
2003 ALCS: Boston vs. New York
2006 NLCS: New York vs. St. Louis
2008 ALCS: Boston vs. Tampa Bay

2007 NL Wild Card: Safe or Out?

Pregame
On September 28, 2007, in a battle of the two teams' aces, Brandon Webb led the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-2 victory over Jeff Francis and the Colorado Rockies. It was a vitally important win for the Diamondbacks - they virtually clinched the NL West championship with the victory. The game was especially noteworthy, though, because up until then it seemed like the Rockies were incapable of losing.

The Rockies' loss to Arizona was their only loss in their final 15 games of the season. A streak that started when they were 6.5 games behind, the Rockies ended up coming almost all the way back. In the end, that one game the Rockies lost to the Diamondbacks ended up being costly, as they finished one game behind Arizona in the standings.

Meanwhile, the Rockies were also chasing San Diego, whose big moment came the next night. Leading by a run in the ninth, they called for closer Trevor Hoffman, who would eventually become baseball's all-time saves leader. He was as automatic as it came. And he was one strike away from nailing down the save that would clinch the NL Wild Card. Then Tony Gwynn, Jr., the son of jewel of the Padres franchise, ripped a triple down the right field line to tie the game. The Padres lost that game, then lost the season finale, falling into a tie with the Rockies and necessitating a one-game playoff.

The Game
The fly ball seemed deep enough that there wouldn't be a play at the plate, but Brian Giles surprised everybody by unleashing a picture-perfect throw from near the warning track. Perhaps Matt Holliday was caught off-guard, or perhaps he was exhausted from playing 13 of the most intense innings you could ever imagine playing. Whatever the reason, the play at the plate was close. Holliday half slid, half crashed into catcher Michael Barrett, who caught the throw from Giles at the same time Holliday was coming home. Holliday slammed his face on the dirt, Barrett showed the umpire the ball, and for a fleeting moment, nobody knew who had won.

That seemed to be a common theme throughout that Monday night. The deeper into the game the two teams went, the harder the game became to predict.

The unpredictability began right from the start. The Padres were able to start Jake Peavy, their unquestioned ace, for the winner-take-all game, while the Rockies countered with Josh Fogg, who got the ball mostly because he was the only starter they had who wasn't exhausted after the tense pennant race.

So naturally, it was the Rockies, who jumped ahead, taking an early 3-0 lead off Peavy. That lead was quickly erased, though, when Fogg tired in the third, a meltdowd that culminated in Adrian Gonzalez's grand slam. The Padres were up 5-3 by the end of that inning.

But the Rockies had tied the game by the fifth and taken the lead by the sixth. When Giles tied the game with a deep double in the 8th, people watching might have already suspected that they were going to be in for a long night.

And so the innings kept piling up, with no end in site. Most of the time, the game continued through the Padres blowing scoring chances, like when Giles grounded out with two on and two out in the 10th, or when Khalil Greene grounded into an inning-ending double play with two on in the 11th. The Rockies got into the act, with Brian Hawpe striking out with two on in the bottom of the 11th.

Then in the 13th, Scott Hairston decided the Padres should stop waiting around for a clutch single, instead crushing a two-run home run to give the Padres the 8-6 lead. And they had Hoffman ready to come in for the save.

But Colorado wasn't impressed with Hoffman's pedigree. They greeted Hoffman rudely - Kazuo Matsui doubled, Troy Tulowitzki doubled, and Matt Holliday tripled, and the Rockies had tied the game after only three hitters, with the game-winning run on third with nobody out.

The Padres did the logical thing by intentionally walking cleanup hitter Todd Helton. But they did the illogical thing by pitching to Carroll. It's true that Carroll was a bench player, rather than one of Colorado's high-powered regulars, so he didn't seem dangerous. But even if Carroll hit into a double play, Holliday would still come home with the winning run.

That became moot when Carroll lofted the deep fly ball to Giles. Or at least what he thought was a deep fly ball. Giles' throw was strong, and it was on the mark. Holliday ran into Barrett and crashed his chin into the dirt. It didn't look like Barrett ever tagged Holliday, but it didn't look like Holliday ever touched home, either. Home plate umpire Tim McClelland hesitated, then called Holliday safe. While the Rockies celebrated, the Padres walked off the field stunned. In the opinion of most Padres fans - and of many watching who didn't care who won - Holliday still hasn't touched home plate.

Is Matt Holliday's left hand touching home plate?

Postgame
The Rockies continue their hot streak, winning their first seven postseason games in a row to extend their streak to 22 wins in 23 games. And then they had to wait ... and wait ... and wait, as the Red Sox and Indians played a seven-game bloodbath in the ALCS. By the time the World Series had started, the Rockies hadn't played a game in nine games. Their momentum was completely gone, and they needed all the help they could get against the powerful Red Sox. Boston won the World Series in four straight games, taking some of the luster off their magical win over the Padres in Game 163.

The Rundown

4. Colorado 9, San Diego 8 (2007 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
5. N.Y. Yankees 5, Boston 4 (1978 AL East tiebreaker)
6. San Francisco 6, Los Angeles 4 (1962 National League playoff)
7. Chicago 1, Minnesota 0 (2008 AL Central tiebreaker)
8. N.Y. Yankees 5, Boston 3 (1949 American League)
9. Arizona 2, St. Louis 1 (2001 NLDS)
10. Chicago 4, New York 2 (1908 National League makeup game)
11. Boston 12, Cleveland 8 (1999 ALDS)
12. Boston 5, Minnesota 3 (1967 American League)
13. Minnesota 5, Oakland 4 (2002 ALDS)
14. Boston 4, Oakland 3 (2003 ALDS)
15. Cleveland 4, N.Y. Yankees 3 (1997 ALDS)
16. L.A. Angels 5, N.Y. Yankees 3 (2005 ALDS)
17. Texas 5, Tampa Bay 1 (2010 ALDS)
18. San Francisco 3, Atlanta 1 (2002 NLDS)
19. N.Y. Yankees 5, Oakland 3 (2001 ALDS)
20. Seattle 3, Cleveland 1 (2001 ALDS)
21. Chicago 5, San Francisco 3 (1998 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
22. N.Y. Yankees 7, Oakland 5 (2000 ALDS)
23. Los Angeles 4, Houston 0 (1981 NL West Division Series)
24. Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0 (1981 NL East Division Series)
25. N.Y. Yankees 7, Milwaukee 3 (1981 AL East Division Series)
26. Seattle 9, California 1 (1995 AL West tiebreaker)
27. Chicago 5, Atlanta 1 (2003 NLDS)
28. Houston 12, Atlanta 3 (2004 NLDS)
29. N.Y. Mets 5, Cincinnati 0 (1999 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
30. Cleveland 8, Boston 3 (1948 AL tiebreaker)
31. Houston 7, Los Angeles 1 (1980 NL West tiebreaker)

October 7, 1984: No, Bull!

SAN DIEGO - When a franchise is cursed, or thinks it's cursed, the little things turn into big things pretty quickly. An error here, a bloop hit there, a case of fan interference here, can turn catastrophic pretty quickly if a team lets it, if they believe in the curse.

The Chicago Cubs fall into the cursed category. The famous "Curse of the Billy Goat" has kept them out of the World Series since 1945. The thing is, in the first few decades following that appearance, there weren't very many opportunities for the curse to manifest itself. Sure, there was 1969, when the Cubs had a nine-game lead on August 16 before letting the Miracle Mets catch them. Other than that, though, the decades following 1945 were full of second-division finishes, bad teams rather than unlucky or cursed ones.

That's what made 1984 so novel. The Cubs hadn't finished higher than third since 1972, and had spent the previous five years struggling to stay out of the basement. Now, suddenly, they were winning the division by six games over the Mets of Dwight Gooden. The Cubs were back in the postseason, too, and were the favorites against the Padres in the NLCS. I mean really, a team with a history dating back 100 years against a team whose colors could be best described as mustard and poop? This had to be the year.

It looked like it for the first two games, too, with the Cubs winning twice in Wrigley. They just needed one win in San Diego to head to the World Series.

And now, with the Cubs one win away, The Curse woke from its long slumber, remembering its reason for being. The Padres won game 3 7-1. They won game 4 on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. Now it was down to one game, one chance for the Cubs to break the curse. And Sutcliffe, the Cy Young winner, the man who threw a shutout in game 1, was on the hill. Sutcliffe against the Curse.

Entering the bottom of the sixth, the Cubs were up 3-0, and Sutcliffe was throwing a two-hit shutout. The Padres loaded the bases and scored on two straight sacrifice flies, but that was all. It was 3-2 entering the seventh.

That was when The Curse stretched its arms, so to speak, and took over. A runner on second, one out. The Cubs weren't going to put the go-ahead run on first base with a walk - that would tempting fate way too much. So Sutcliffe pitches to Tim Flannery. A grounder to first, sharply hit, but right at Leon "Bull" Durham. Should be a routine play. Until it rolled under his glove and into right field. The runner on second scores. Tie game.

And the Cubs imploded. You can't beat a curse, after all. Three more hits scored two more runs before Sutcliffe was finally pulled. The next batter hit a grounder to first that Durham fielded cleanly for the out. Of course he did. A strike out ended it. But it was 6-3 San Diego now. You don't need to be a baseball historian to know how the game turned out. The Cubs still haven't been to the World Series since 1945.

And the Curse smiled and shook its goat horns. And then it went back to sleep, waiting for the next time it would be needed.