September 3, 1986 – Joe Carter Racks Up 5 of the Indians 23 Hits

Greg Swindell was matched up with Juan Nieves of the Brewers for the Saturday game in a weekend series in Milwaukee. The Brewers were a mess in the early going. The Indians scored seven runs on seven hits and three errors in the top half of the first inning. The parade of hits included a double by Joe Carter, and RBI singles by Julio Franco, Pat Tabler, Brook Jacoby, and Andy Allanson. Allanson’s single chased Nieves from the game after only ⅔ of an inning.

Swindell retired the Brewers in order in the bottom of the first, and reliever Mark Knudson was back on the mound before he could catch his breath. He gave up a leadoff single to Julio Franco, and then Joe Carter drove one over the wall in right center. Carter’s homer extended the Indians lead to 9-0.

Carter led off the top of the fourth with a single to left and was then driven in by Carmello Castillo.

In the top of the fifth, Knudson retired Tony Bernazard and Brett Butler to kick off the inning. Julio Franco reached on a line drive single to left. Joe Carter stepped in and once again cranked a two-run home run.

The Brewers finally got to Swindell in the bottom of the fifth. They scored two runs on three hits, cutting the Indians lead to 12-2.

The Tribe notched another four runs in the top of the sixth on four hits including homers by Jacoby and Bernazard.

Swindell gave up a home run to Dale Sveum to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Swindell was soon replaced on the mound by Don Schulze. The Indians bullpen was less effective than Swindell had been. Schulze, Bryan Oelkers, and Rich Yett combined to give up four runs on five hits over the final four innings including a three-run home run by Jim Gantner in the bottom of the sixth.

Carter led off the top of the seventh with his second double of the day. He came around to score on a Cory Snyder single. Milwaukee reliever Tim Leary got Carter to strikeout looking to end the Indians half of the eighth. The Tribe went on to win 17 to 9 in a sloppy game that featured 34 hits and seven errors.

Carter’s four RBIs put hit at 100 for the year. He would go on to lead the MLB with 121 RBIs for the season. This was the third time in 1986 he collected five hits in a game.

Baseball Reference Box Score

