THE WORLD SERIES : OAKLAND ATHLETICS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS : Oh, What a Relief McGwire Is for A’s and Their Fans

They brandished brooms in the faces of the soon-to-be-swept Boston Red Sox and welcomed the Dodgers to the Coliseum with cocksure chants of “Beat L.A., beat L.A.,” but by the time Mark McGwire had saved the Series, and the city, with his ninth-inning home run Tuesday night, the mood of the Oakland A’s faithful was more humble than rumble.

“Thank you, Mark. Thank you ,” fans told McGwire as they clapped the Game 3 hero on the back as he made his way out of the postgame interview room. The A’s had won, 2-1, to pull within 2-1 in the World Series, and in the afterglow of McGwire’s decisive blast, relief reigned o’er the Oakland Coliseum.

If Orel Hershiser is Cy Young to Los Angeles, Mark McGwire, today, is Sigh Young in Oakland.

Before McGwire sent Dodger reliever Jay Howell’s final pitch into the left-field seats, the Athletics--the mighty, 104-win, Team-for-the-80s Athletics--were on the ropes against a Kirk Gibson-less, Mike Marshall-less, John Tudor-less Dodger team.

“We got a W, we’re back back in the swing of things,” said McGwire, attempting to assess his damage. “If we did lose this one, our backs would have been to the wall. It would have been a difficult situation to get out of.

“Now, it’s 2-1 and it’s a series again.”

McGwire had been really concerned in the sixth inning when, with the score tied, 1-1, the Dodgers loaded the bases against Bob Welch with none out.

“They could have blown us out right there,” he said.

Instead, relievers Greg Cadaret and Gene Nelson came on to retire the next three Dodgers on infield outs, with Alfredo Griffin grounding to McGwire at first base for the third out.

“That was the key,” McGwire said. “That kept us in the ballgame.”

And it bought Oakland enough time for McGwire to come to bat with one out in the ninth and the score still tied. One pitch, one mistake by Howell, and a victory could be salvaged.

It came on a 2-and-2 pitch, a fastball, which ordinarily would not seem to be the wisest pitch to throw in a clutch situation to McGwire. McGwire set a club record during the regular season with 20 game-winning RBIs, many them the result of failed fastballs.

But in this series, the fastball had been the way to go against McGwire. Before his home run, McGwire was 0 for 9 with 2 strikeouts, 2 double plays, 2 balls hit out of the infield . . . and a lot of people wondering, “What’s happened to McGwire?”

McGwire: “I know everybody’s been saying, ‘They’re just throwing McGwire all fastballs.’ But there’s more to it than that. They’re fastballs in, fastball outside. Not all of them are fastballs over the plate.”

Howell’s last pitch was, however, and McGwire turned on it the same way Gibson turned on Dennis Eckersley in Game 1.

All that was missing was the limp around the bases.

“To do this in the World Series is like a dream,” said McGwire, and it still seemed as much to him as he began his home run trot.

“I was watching the Dodger players as I hit (first) base,” McGwire said. “Usually, you see guys with their heads down, walking into the clubhouse.

“But the Dodgers kept standing around. I had to ask myself, ‘Is it the ninth inning--or the eighth?’ ”

By the time McGwire stepped on home plate and caught a glimpse of the Coliseum crowd, he knew.

“They were rocking,” he said with a smile. “It was a great feeling.”

McGwire nearly cleared the fences in the fourth inning when his drive to center field coughed, wheezed and collapsed on the warning track. The Dodgers’ John Shelby reached up and grabbed it and the score remained tied.

“I thought that ball had a shot,” McGwire said. “But at night, it’s extremely tough to hit a ball out to center field. It gets cold and the ball really dies between the 375 and 400 (foot) signs.”

McGwire would bat again in the seventh and strike out again. His 0 for 9, combined with Jose Canseco’s 1 for 12, made the Bash Brothers look more like the Crash Brothers before McGwire’s home run.

McGwire insisted he wasn’t worried.

“Because it’s the World Series, everything gets blown out of proportion,” he said. “So, I was 0 for 9. It’s not like I’ve never been 0 for 9 before. I was still getting some good cuts in. It was just a matter of time.”

As far as the A’s are concerned, it was just in the nick of time. Now there will be a Game 5 and, with 1 more victory, there will be a return trip to Los Angeles. The Oakland offense may not be overpowering anyone, but it hasn’t yet been unplugged, either.

Thoughts of a Dodger sweep have been swept aside. The favorites are finally in the win column.

“That’s one,” A’s Manager Tony La Russa said. “We still need 3 more.”

But Tuesday was a start, and 1-2 in the World Series standings sure beats 0-3 and a magic number of 1.

And for that, Oakland fans had only one thing to say to Mark McGwire:

Thank you, Mark . Thank you.

GAME-ENDING HOME RUNS World Series games that have ended with home runs:

Date, Game Batter, Teams Inning Oct. 5, 1949, Game 1 Tommy Henrich, Yankees vs. Dodgers 9th Sept. 29, 1954, Game 1 Dusty Rhodes, Giants vs. Indians 10th Oct. 6, 1957, Game 4 Eddie Mathews, Braves vs. Yankees 10th Oct. 13, 1960, Game 7 Bill Mazeroski, Pirates vs. Yankees 9th Oct. 10, 1964, Game 3 Mickey Mantle, Yankees vs. Cardinals 9th Oct. 21, 1975, Game 6 Carlton Fisk, Red Sox vs. Reds 12th Oct. 15, 1988, Game 1 Kirk Gibson, Dodgers vs. Athletics 9th Oct. 18, 1988, Game 3 Mark McGwire, Athletics vs. Dodgers 9th

Date, Game Score Oct. 5, 1949, Game 1 1-0 Sept. 29, 1954, Game 1 5-2 Oct. 6, 1957, Game 4 7-5 Oct. 13, 1960, Game 7 10-9 Oct. 10, 1964, Game 3 2-1 Oct. 21, 1975, Game 6 7-6 Oct. 15, 1988, Game 1 5-4 Oct. 18, 1988, Game 3 2-1