Renteria Made Most of Crucial Situations

A lasting image of Florida’s 3-2 victory over Cleveland in Game 7 Sunday night will be of Edgar Renteria singling in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, racing around first base with his arms extended and igniting a wild celebration in the middle of the Pro Player Stadium infield.

But Renteria’s heroics were certainly not limited to offense--the shortstop also made a key defensive play in the top of the ninth inning that was just as responsible for the Marlins winning their first World Series title.

The situation: The Indians lead, 2-1, in the top of the ninth and have runners on first and third with one out after Matt Williams walked, Sandy Alomar reached on a fielder’s choice and took third on Jim Thome’s single.

Florida Manager Jim Leyland replaces Felix Heredia with closer Robb Nen to face Marquis Grissom. The Marlins move their middle infielders in, not all the way to the grass, but more shallow than they would be if they were going strictly for a double play.

Depending on how hard Grissom hits a grounder, Renteria and second baseman Craig Counsell have the option of going for the double play or throwing home.

The stakes: They can’t get any bigger. It is a tight, tense game, and an insurance run would be a huge boost for the Indians, giving closer Jose Mesa a two-run cushion and the Indians some margin for error in the bottom of the ninth.

The outcome: Grissom grounded to short, a ball that appeared to have enough pace for the Marlins to turn a double play. Alomar, the Indians’ slow-footed catcher, broke from third with the crack of the bat.

Renteria fielded the ball and decided immediately to go to the plate, but there was a slight delay in the exchange from his glove to his throwing hand. His throw home was low, and Marlin catcher Charles Johnson leaned forward to catch it while blocking the plate with his left foot.

Alomar, however, went past Johnson without sliding, and Johnson made a sweeping tag on Alomar’s left thigh before Alomar touched the plate. The next batter, Brian Giles, flied to left, and the inning was over.

“I was very surprised he went home--I thought they would go for the double play,” Alomar said. “I was a dead duck, whether I slid or went in standing up. It was a very aggressive play by Renteria. He has a good arm, and my legs were hurting. It was a great play by Johnson too. I was shocked.”

The bottom line: The Indians missed an opportunity to take a two-run lead, and that cost them dearly in the bottom of the ninth, when Moises Alou singled, took third on Johnson’s single and scored the tying run on Counsell’s fly ball to right. Florida eventually scored in the 11th to win.

“Any time you don’t push across a run, whether it’s the ninth inning, the fifth inning or the third inning, you wonder if that’s going to come back and haunt you,” Cleveland Manager Mike Hargrove said.

The last word: Alomar is convinced he would have been out at the plate whether he went in standing up, sliding or diving, and third-base coach Jeff Newman was not about to second-guess Alomar, who provided numerous clutch hits during the Indians’ playoff run and batted .367 with two homers and 10 RBIs in the World Series.

“Sandy helped us get to Game 7--we wouldn’t be here without him,” Newman said. “Sandy was going on contact on that play and he ran hard all the way home. It’s just one of those things in baseball. The bat is round, the ball is round, it does funny things.”