Oh, these early season series in Pittsburgh always give me a flashback to my unwise youth. How I believed in the Cubs with such fervor just 15 years ago.
It was April of 1991, and the Cubs along with their fandom were really excited for the upcoming year. The acquisitions of former Cy Young winner Danny Jackson, top reliever Dave Smith, and former AL MVP George Bell had many Cub fans thinking that a World Championship was within grasp. After taking the first game of a set in Pittsburgh, Cubdom had little reason to think otherwise. The Cubs were sitting pretty at 7-3.
The wakeup call would come from the defending NL East Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, who had amazing youth with stars Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds.
The Cubs' relief problems of 1991 began with this series.
To this day, and to many Cub fans, this was the worst relief pitching crew to have ever stepped on a mound. Our apologies to the 99 and 04 squads.
Needless to say, the Pirates went on to easily win the 91 NL East title, and the Cubs were relegated to three players who made little or no difference. Danny would continue having arm problems. Dave would have to give way, and pave the way for Randall Kirk coming to Chicago. And George would leave to the Sox in the famous Sammy trade.
The 91 season ended as quickly as it began on this rainy Pennsylvania weekend.
Game Played on Friday, April 19, 1991 (N) at Three Rivers Stadium
CHI N 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 - 4 3 1
PIT N 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 - 5 8 0
BATTING
Chicago Cubs AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Dascenzo cf 3 0 0 0 1 1 5 0
Sandberg 2b 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 4
Grace 1b 3 1 1 0 1 0 8 0
Bell lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 5 0
Dwight Smith rf 3 1 0 0 0 2 2 0
Berryhill c 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1
McElroy p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dawson ph 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0
Dave Smith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Dunston ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Scott 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
Jackson p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Bielecki p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Walton ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lancaster p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pappas c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
Totals 30 4 3 4 3 9 26 7
FIELDING -
E: Dunston (3).
PB: Berryhill (3).
BATTING -
2B: Grace (3,off Belinda).
HR: Dawson (2,9th inning off Belinda 3 on, 2 out).
HBP: Dwight Smith (1,by Belinda).
Team LOB: 3.
Pittsburgh Pirates AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Redus 1b 3 1 1 0 2 0 5 0
Bell ss 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 3
Van Slyke cf 3 1 1 3 1 0 3 0
Bonilla rf 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 0
Bonds lf 4 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
King 3b 5 0 2 1 0 1 1 0
Slaught c 4 0 2 0 0 0 9 0
Lind 2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
Palacios p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Patterson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Belinda p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wilkerson ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 30 5 8 4 7 3 27 4
BATTING -
3B: Bell (1,off Bielecki).
HR: Van Slyke (2,3rd inning off Bielecki 1 on, 0 out).
SH: Palacios 2 (2,off Jackson,off Bielecki); Bell 2 (6,off Lancaster,off Dave
Smith).
SF: Van Slyke (3,off Bielecki).
IBB: Bonilla (1,by Dave Smith); Bonds (1,by Dave Smith).
Team LOB: 11.
BASERUNNING -
SB: Redus (2,3rd base off McElroy/Pappas); Van Slyke (2,2nd base off McElroy/Pappas).
PITCHING
Chicago Cubs IP H R ER BB SO HR
Jackson 2 1 1 1 3 0 0
Bielecki 3 3 2 2 0 1 1
Lancaster 1.1 1 0 0 1 0 0
McElroy 1.2 0 0 0 1 2 0
Dave Smith L(0-1) 0.2 3 2 2 2 0 0
Totals 8.2 8 5 5 7 3 1
Pittsburgh Pirates IP H R ER BB SO HR
Palacios 6.2 1 0 0 2 5 0
Patterson 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Belinda W(1-1) 2 2 4 4 1 3 1
Totals 9 3 4 4 3 9 1
WP: Dave Smith (1), Palacios (1).
HBP: Belinda (1,Dwight Smith).
IBB: Dave Smith 2 (2,Bonilla,Bonds).
Umpires: Charlie Reliford, Jerry Layne, Mike Winters, Paul Runge
Time of Game: 2:40 Attendance: 13157
CUBS 9TH: Dascenzo was called out on strikes; Sandberg walked;
Grace doubled to left [Sandberg to third]; Bell struck out;
Dwight Smith was hit by a pitch; DAWSON BATTED FOR MCELROY;
Dawson homered [Sandberg scored, Grace scored, Dwight Smith
scored]; Dunston grounded out (shortstop to first); 4 R, 2 H, 0
E, 0 LOB. Cubs 4, Pirates 3.
PIRATES 9TH: DAVE SMITH REPLACED DAWSON (PITCHING); WILKERSON
BATTED FOR BELINDA; Wilkerson singled to shortstop; Redus
singled to right [Wilkerson to third]; Dave Smith threw a wild
pitch [Wilkerson scored, Redus to second]; Bell out on a
sacrifice bunt (pitcher to second) [Redus to third]; Van Slyke
grounded out (second to first); Bonilla was walked
intentionally; Bonds was walked intentionally [Bonilla to
second]; King singled to shortstop [Redus scored, Bonilla to
third, Bonds to second]; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Cubs 4, Pirates
5.
SUNDAY SHOWDOWN after losing Saturday, 9-3
Game Played on Sunday, April 21, 1991 (D) at Three Rivers Stadium
CHI N 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 0 0 5 - 12 13 0
PIT N 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 1 0 6 - 13 13 1
BATTING
Chicago Cubs AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Walton cf 5 2 1 0 1 1 1 0
Sandberg 2b 6 2 3 1 0 0 2 1
Grace 1b 2 1 0 1 0 0 5 1
Salazar ph,1b 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 0
Bell lf 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 0
Dascenzo pr,lf 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 0
Dawson rf 6 1 3 5 0 0 3 0
Dwight Smith rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dunston ss 4 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
Scott 3b 5 1 0 0 0 1 1 2
McElroy p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Slocumb p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bielecki p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pappas c 4 0 1 1 1 0 14 0
Harkey p 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 1
Assenmacher p 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 2
Dave Smith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Vizcaino 3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Totals 44 12 13 10 5 6 31 11
BATTING -
2B: Sandberg (3,off Tomlin); Bell (3,off Huismann).
HR: Dawson (3,11th inning off Patterson 3 on, 2 out).
SF: Grace (1,off Tomlin).
HBP: Grace (2,by Heaton).
IBB: Dunston (1,by Huismann).
Team LOB: 6.
BASERUNNING -
SB: Dunston (4,2nd base off Tomlin/LaValliere).
CS: Dawson (1,2nd base by Tomlin/LaValliere).
Pittsburgh Pirates AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Merced 1b 4 2 2 2 2 1 9 2
Bell ss 6 1 1 2 0 2 3 5
Van Slyke cf 5 0 0 1 0 2 2 0
Bonilla rf 4 3 2 2 2 1 2 0
Bonds lf 6 2 2 1 0 4 7 0
King 3b 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 1
Patterson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Redus ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
LaValliere c 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 0
Slaught ph,c 3 0 1 2 0 1 5 0
Lind 2b 3 2 1 1 1 0 2 2
Tomlin p 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
Heaton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Huismann p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
McClendon ph 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
Landrum p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Varsho ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Kipper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wilkerson 3b 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
Totals 41 13 13 13 8 14 33 13
FIELDING -
DP: 1.
E: Bell (2).
BATTING -
2B: LaValliere (1,off Harkey); Varsho (3,off Dave Smith); Bonilla (3,off McElroy);
Bell (3,off Bielecki); Slaught (3,off Bielecki).
3B: Merced (1,off Assenmacher).
HR: Bonilla (2,8th inning off Assenmacher 1 on, 2 out).
SH: Slaught (1,off Dave Smith).
SF: Lind (1,off Harkey); Van Slyke (4,off Bielecki).
IBB: Merced (1,by Dave Smith); King (2,by McElroy).
Team LOB: 8.
BASERUNNING -
CS: Merced (1,2nd base by Assenmacher/Pappas).
PITCHING
Chicago Cubs IP H R ER BB SO HR
Harkey 5.1 2 2 2 2 7 0
Assenmacher 2.2 3 4 4 1 5 1
Dave Smith 1 2 1 1 1 0 0
McElroy 0.2 1 0 0 1 2 0
Slocumb 0.1 2 3 3 1 0 0
Bielecki L(2-1) 0.1 3 3 3 2 0 0
Totals 10.1 13 13 13 8 14 1
Pittsburgh Pirates IP H R ER BB SO HR
Tomlin 6 7 3 3 1 2 0
Heaton 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
Huismann 1 2 3 1 1 2 0
Landrum 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Kipper 1 0 2 2 2 1 0
Patterson W(1-0) 1 3 3 3 0 0 1
Totals 11 13 12 10 5 6 1
WP: Assenmacher (1), Slocumb (1).
HBP: Heaton (1,Grace).
IBB: Dave Smith (3,Merced); McElroy (1,King); Huismann (1,Dunston).
Umpires: Mike Winters, Paul Runge, Charlie Reliford, Jerry Layne
Time of Game: 4:10 Attendance: 10860
PIRATES 8TH: DASCENZO STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF); Lind singled
to second; MCCLENDON BATTED FOR HUISMANN; McClendon walked [Lind
to second]; Merced tripled [Lind scored, McClendon scored]; Bell
struck out; Van Slyke grounded out (pitcher to first); Bonilla
homered [Merced scored]; Bonds was called out on strikes; 4 R, 3
H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Cubs 7, Pirates 6.
CUBS 9TH: LANDRUM REPLACED MCCLENDON (PITCHING); Sandberg
grounded out (second to first); SALAZAR BATTED FOR GRACE;
Salazar struck out; Dascenzo grounded out (first unassisted); 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Cubs 7, Pirates 6.
PIRATES 9TH: DAVE SMITH REPLACED ASSENMACHER (PITCHING); SALAZAR
STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 1B); King singled to left; Slaught out
on a sacrifice bunt (third to second) [King to second]; Lind
flied to left; VARSHO BATTED FOR LANDRUM; Varsho doubled to
right [King scored]; Merced was walked intentionally; Bell
grounded out (shortstop to first); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Cubs
7, Pirates 7.
CUBS 10TH: KIPPER REPLACED VARSHO (PITCHING); Dawson popped to
left; Dunston grounded out (first unassisted); Scott struck out;
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Cubs 7, Pirates 7.
PIRATES 10TH: MCELROY REPLACED SCOTT (PITCHING); VIZCAINO
REPLACED DAVE SMITH (PLAYING 3B); Van Slyke was called out on
strikes; Bonilla doubled; Bonds was called out on strikes; King
was walked intentionally; SLOCUMB REPLACED MCELROY (PITCHING);
Slocumb threw a wild pitch [Bonilla to third, King to second];
Slaught grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.
Cubs 7, Pirates 7.
CUBS 11TH: Pappas walked; Vizcaino walked [Pappas to second];
PATTERSON REPLACED KING (PITCHING); WILKERSON REPLACED KIPPER
(PLAYING 3B); On a bunt Walton forced Pappas (first to third)
[Vizcaino to second, Walton to first]; Sandberg singled to left
[Vizcaino to third, Walton to second]; Salazar forced Vizcaino
(third to catcher) [Walton to third, Sandberg to second, Salazar
to first]; Dascenzo singled [Walton scored, Sandberg to third,
Salazar to second]; Dawson homered [Sandberg scored, Salazar
scored, Dascenzo scored]; Dunston flied to center; 5 R, 3 H, 0
E, 0 LOB. Cubs 12, Pirates 7.
PIRATES 11TH: DWIGHT SMITH REPLACED DAWSON (PLAYING RF); Lind
walked; Wilkerson singled to right [Lind to second]; Merced
singled to left [Lind to third, Wilkerson to second]; BIELECKI
REPLACED SLOCUMB (PITCHING); Bell doubled to third [Lind scored,
Wilkerson scored, Merced to third]; Van Slyke out on a sacrifice
fly to center [Merced scored (RBI), Bell to third]; Bonilla
walked; Bonds singled [Bell scored, Bonilla to third]; REDUS
BATTED FOR PATTERSON; Redus walked [Bonds to second]; Slaught
doubled to center [Bonilla scored, Bonds scored, Redus to
third]; 6 R, 5 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Cubs 12, Pirates 13.
records courtesy of retrosheet.org
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