Alou Had Big Game Despite Feeling Ill

Marlin left fielder Moises Alou, whose three-run homer off Orel Hershiser erased a two-run deficit in the sixth inning of Florida’s 8-7 victory in Game 5 on Thursday night, said he had a cold and “wasn’t feeling very well� before the game.

Actually, Alou was much worse. Alou felt so ill before the game he had to lie down on the dugout bench using his glove as a pillow for his head. His stomach was acting up, his head was throbbing, and the pain-killers he took for a wrist injury were dulling his senses.

“If this was the regular season, I wouldn’t even be playing today,� Alou told a Miami Herald columnist. “I’d probably take the whole week off. But this isn’t the regular season, is it?�

By the end of the evening, it was the Cleveland Indians and 44,888 Jacobs Field fans who were feeling queasy. In addition to his game-turning homer, Alou singled, stole second and scored a run in the eighth, and his RBI single in the ninth proved to be the game-winner.

“When the game starts, I don’t feel it or think about it,� Alou said of his assortment of maladies. “I go out there and play. There are a lot of guys on our team who have the flu, a lot of guys playing with injuries. When the game begins, nobody worries about that. We just go out and play hard.�

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Shortstop Edgar Renteria was the only Marlin to bat twice in Florida’s four-run, sixth-inning outburst Thursday night, but Renteria didn’t exactly have an impact on the rally--he became the first player in World Series history to strike out twice in one inning.

Center fielder Devon White had the dubious distinction of striking out in five consecutive at-bats in Games 3 and 4, tying a Series record shared by six others.

White, however, grounded out to lead off Game 5 to avoid taking sole possession of the record, and the former Angel outfielder rebounded with an RBI double in the second, a bases-loaded walk in the sixth and a double in the eighth.

Marlin right-hander Livan Hernandez, 22, and Hershiser, 39, produced the biggest age differential for starting pitchers in a Series game--16 years, 5 months, five days.

Cleveland catcher Sandy Alomar, who is batting .455 with two homers and 10 RBIs in the Series, needs only two RBIs to tie Bobby Richardson’s Series record of 12, set with the New York Yankees in 1960.

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Marlin third baseman Bobby Bonilla didn’t exactly thrive in Jacobs Field, where he killed rallies with double plays in Games 3, 4 and 5, but he survived, which bodes well for the Marlins.

There was speculation that the cold weather in Cleveland would make it even more difficult for Bonilla to play with his sore hamstring, but Bonilla played in all but one inning of the three games--he was pulled for a pinch-runner in the ninth inning Thursday night.

It’s obvious Bonilla is limited because of the injury.

“I think he’s fine,� Manager Jim Leyland said. “I think he’s probably suspicious of his leg, and once in a while there is a slight pull there.�

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Though Indian center fielder Marquis Grissom’s 15-game Series hitting streak ended Wednesday night, he has donated the bat he used during the streak to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. . . . The Indians are batting .340 through the first five games of the Series. The highest team average for a Series of any length is .338 by the New York Yankees in seven games against Pittsburgh in 1960. . . . Who says pitching and defense win games? Florida has a 6.75 earned-run average in the Series--Marlin starters have combined for a whopping 8.20 ERA--and closer Robb Nen has been awful with the exception of his Game 1 save, giving up five runs--four earned--and seven hits in three innings for a 12.00 ERA. Florida has also committed eight errors, five more than the Indians, yet the Marlins lead the series, three games to two.

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Game 5 got a 17.2 rating and a 30 share, 10% lower than what NBC’s vaunted Thursday night lineup received last week.

The 17.2 rating was the lowest ever for a Game 5 in prime time.

Through five games, the World Series is averaging a 15.0 rating and 26 share, down 12% from last year’s five-game average of a 17.1 rating and 28 share.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.