Published: April 5, 1994

Game one:

No-hit for seven

Tribe prevails in 11

By Paul Hoynes

Plain Dealer Reporter

Jacobs Field opened the way a ballpark should yesterday in the sun and chill of April.

President Bill Clinton provided the pageantry. Randy Johnson briefly ruffled the pages of history. Then the Indians trucked in a ton of tension.

So, when Wayne Kirby singled home Eddie Murray in the 11th inning to give the Indians a 4- 3 victory over Seattle, it wasn't so much a team that sighed and stood straight, but a whole city. Cleveland has been waiting for a place like this - and perhaps a team like this - for a long time.

"You can say so many things about this game," said DH Candy Maldonado. "But finally, when it's over, it just was a beautiful ballgame."

For seven innings Johnson, Seattle's Big Unit, no-hit an Indians' team that batted .311 and averaged 6.5 runs per game in spring training.

Bob Feller is the only pitcher in history to throw an Opening Day no-hitter. He did it for the Indians on April 16, 1940 against the Chicago White Sox. Yesterday, on Opening Day at the Tribe's new home, Feller was in the press box watching the 6-10 Johnson gain ground on him pitch by pitch.

"I was concerned," said Feller.

The concern ended in the eighth when Sandy Alomar Jr. lined a single into right field on a 1-2 pitch. Maldonado started the inning by drawing a walk.

"It was a fastball outside," said Alomar. "Candy helped me by walking. They were holding him on first and that gave me a hole to shoot for."

Manny Ramirez, the next batter, made Johnson's shutout disappear. After a wild pitch moved Maldonado to third and Alomar to second, the rookie right fielder doubled off the wall in left field to tie the score, 2-2. The crowd of 41,459 screamed for the first time.

The score was tied, the go-ahead run was on second and Johnson appeared to be tiring. Then somebody started messing with the game's nerve endings.

Mark Lewis squared to bunt and Ramirez broke for third. Lewis didn't make contact on the pitch and catcher Dan Wilson picked Ramirez off second with a strong throw to shortstop Felix Fermin. Johnson retired Lewis and Kenny Lofton to keep the game tied.

Johnson, however, was done after 114 pitches. He struck out two and walked five.

"I'm not surprised if he got tired," said manager Mike Hargrove. "I know he was making us tired."

The Indians threatened to win it in the ninth. With two outs against lefty Tim Davis, Albert Belle doubled just inside the right-field line and Murray beat out a checked-swing single to third with two outs. With Maldonado due to bat, right-hander Bob Ayala relieved and Paul Sorrento pinch-hit.

Sorrento struck out on a 2-2 pitch.

Then it was Seattle's turn to threaten as Hargrove started to flip through his six-man bullpen.

Ken Griffey Jr. started the 10th with a hard bouncer to short against Jose Mesa. Omar Vizquel knocked the ball down, but couldn't make a play. Jay Buhner bunted him to second, and lefty Derek Lilliquist relieved to face Eric Anthony, who had homer- ed in the second off starter Dennis Martinez.

Lilliquist retired Anthony on one pitch, a foul to first. But he walked Tino Martinez, another lefty, to bring pinch hitter Keith Mitchell off the bench. Hargrove let Lilli- quist face Mitchell, a right-handed hitter, instead of calling for Eric Plunk. Mitchell responded with a single to left that scored Griffey for a 3-2 lead.

"It came down to Plunk facing Mackey Sasser or Lilly facing Mitchell," said Hargrove. "We didn't like the Plunk-Sasser matchup and if the truth be known, Lilly gets right-handers out better than lefties."

After Mitchell's single, Plunk relieved and ended the inning. Then the tension arrived.

Ayala struck out Alomar, but walked Ramirez on a 3-1 pitch. Kirby, the man who lost his right field job to Ramirez in the last days of spring training, pinch ran as lefty Kevin King relieved to face pinch hitter Thome.

Thome, who didn't start the game because Hargrove felt Johnson would overmatch him, doubled into the right-field corner as Kirby went to third. That's one for the indoor batting cages at Jacobs Field.

"I was hitting for 20 minutes before I went to the plate," said Thome. "That's something you couldn't do in the old park."

King intentionally walked Lofton to load the bases. Vizquel, the former Mariner, hit a hard grounder to second. Rich Amaral made the stop, and flipped to Fermin, who was thinking double play. But a hard slide by Lofton prevented him from throwing to first as Kirby scored to tie the game, 3- 3.

"The slide was the key to the game," said Vizquel.

Murray started the final rally in the 11th with a long double off the wall in left-center. He moved to third on Sorrento's fly ball to center. After Alomar was intentionally walked, Kirby lined King's 3-1 pitch down the left-field line.

"I don't want to sound like this is the end of the world," said Hargrove. "This is the first of 162. But I'm glad we won it because is sure beats the alternative."