October 2, 2004: Steve Finley’s grand slam ends Dodgers’ playoff drought

When Steve Finley came to bat with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning on the afternoon of October 2, 2004, he had 35 home runs, tying a career high, and his Los Angeles Dodgers had just rallied to a 3-3 tie with their longtime rivals, the San Francisco Giants. Quickly, he snapped both ties and eliminated the potential of another.

Finley hit the second pitch from San Francisco’s Wayne Franklin into the right-field stands at Dodger Stadium to lift his team to a 7-3 victory that clinched the National League West Division championship and extinguished the possibility of the teams finishing in a tie and needing a playoff.

And Finley’s game-winning blast capped a regular season few had expected. The Dodgers hadn’t made the playoffs since 1996 and had gotten a new owner in Frank McCourt and a new general manager in Paul DePodesta just before spring training. Still, they managed to lead the division for most of the opening months and made a key move by getting Finley from the Arizona Diamondbacks just minutes before the trade deadline.

Finley was a two-time All-Star who would retire with five Gold Glove Awards and more than 2,500 hits, and become one of only two major leaguers to hit at least 300 homers, 425 doubles, and 100 triples, and steal at least 300 bases. The other is Willie Mays.

At the time of the trade, Finley was batting .275 with 23 home runs, 48 RBIs, and an .828 OPS. He was still a good defender and played in all 162 games, despite being 39 years old. He had rejected deals to go to Florida and San Francisco. However, “right at the deadline came the opportunity to play in LA. I’ve always liked big markets, and this was just a perfect fit.”1

Finley played in 58 games for his new team, posting a slash line of .263/.324/.491 with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs, and the last of his home runs pushed Los Angeles over the finish line in this next-to-last game of the regular season.

The Dodgers held a three-game lead over the Giants going into the final three-game series at Dodger Stadium – a classic matchup of heated rivals with the division title and playoff participation at stake. A crowd of 54,594 watched the action.

San Francisco had to sweep the series to force a playoff, and took the opener 4-2. In the second game, the Giants started Brett Tomko, who had gone 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA over his previous seven starts. The Dodgers countered with Elmer Dessens, who had done well in relief since being traded from Arizona on August 19 but was making his first start for Los Angeles because the rotation had lately suffered from injuries and ineffectiveness.

Former Dodger Eric Karros, color analyst on the Fox Sports telecast, predicted that “[i]f the Dodgers can get Tomko out early and get to that bullpen, they could fare a bit better.”2

Tomko did not leave early, but the Dodgers did fare better when they finally got into the Giants’ bullpen, which had been inconsistent all season. Tomko lasted 7⅓ innings, allowing just four hits and no runs. Meanwhile, San Francisco got a two-run single from Marquis Grissom in the fourth inning to help chase Dessens, and Grissom hit a solo homer off Duaner Sánchez in the seventh to make the score 3-0.

Tomko finally exited with one out in the eighth after Olmedo Sáenz and Jayson Werth had singled. Reliever Scott Eyre got Finley to ground out, and Giants manager Felipe Alou brought in closer Dustin Hermanson, who had earned the save the previous night, to face Adrián Beltré. The strategy worked, as Beltré grounded out on the first pitch to end the threat.

Hermanson, though, wasn’t sharp in the dramatic ninth inning. Shawn Green led off by flaring an opposite-field single that Giants left fielder Barry Bonds just missed catching. Robin Ventura walked on a 3-and-2 pitch; Alex Cora struck out; and José Hernández walked on another 3-and-2 pitch to load the bases. Hee-Seop Choi pinch-hit for pitcher Yhency Brazobán and also went to 3-and-2 before walking to force in Ventura and make the score 3-1. At that point, Karros remarked, “You have to wonder if bringing in Hermanson in the eighth inning to face Beltré may have affected him. He came back out and had nothing left here in the ninth – no command.”3

Hermanson was pulled in favor of Jason Christiansen after throwing 30 pitches in the inning, and Antonio Pérez ran for Choi. Christiansen induced César Izturis to ground a 1-and-1 pitch to the right of shortstop Cody Ransom, who had been inserted for defense. Ransom charged the ball, crossed over and tried to scoop it, but it went just under his glove for an error that enabled Ventura to score.

Reviewing the play, Karros said, “You’ve got to get one out here. [But it’s] a tough play. You don’t know if you can get the runner at second or the one at first. It’s almost a do-or-die play, and … he died.”4

Right-hander Matt Herges then entered to face Jayson Werth, who fouled off several pitches and worked the count to 2-and-2.

“[Werth] is set up now,” Karros said. “He’s probably looking for a fastball away. If they come back with a fastball on the hands, they’ll get him.”5

However, though Giants catcher Yorvit Torrealba indeed set the target down and in, Herges’ pitch leaked to the outside, and Werth reached out and lined it into right field for a single that scored Hernández, tied the game and sent the sellout crowd of 54,594 into another level of delirium.

Karros: “The idea was right, but the execution wasn’t. Anything inside would have tied him up. Great job of hitting by Werth.”6

That brought up Finley, who had had only four hits in his past 24 at-bats before the game. Giants manager Alou turned to Wayne Franklin, the fourth pitcher he called on in the ninth inning. A walk, a base hit or even a productive out would have won the game. The Dodgers just needed a fly ball deep enough to score Pérez from third base to win, but Finley provided much more.

“I was dreaming about it, and it happened,” Finley said afterward. “I knew I was going to get it done. When I walked to the plate, I knew the game was over.”7

Asked about it years later, Finley said, “I remember that Franklin in warm-ups didn’t throw a pitch near the plate for a strike. Then the first pitch was right down the middle, and I thought, ‘Are you kidding??’”8

But the next pitch was a fastball above the belt. Finley belted it, and Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully exclaimed, “High fly ball to deep right field. Wherever it goes, the Dodgers have won!”9

It went over the 375-foot sign to give the Dodgers a franchise-record 53rd come-from-behind victory in the season and the division championship. Thirteen of the team’s last 14 wins were comeback victories, and it won 26 in the final at-bats.10

“Can you believe this finish?!” Fox play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman exclaimed.11

“We do it the Hollywood way – that’s for sure,” Dodger closer Eric Gagné said afterward. “It’s amazing.”12

Brennaman said, “[Finley was] unquestionably the biggest acquisition any team made at the deadline.” Karros agreed: “Clutch hits, exciting defense, and he’s a proven winner. He’s been a godsend.”13

The Dodgers lost to St. Louis in the National League Division Series, but that didn’t dim the thrill of the division clincher.

One fan posted, “I was in Palm Desert after going to the previous 2 games. My wife [was] sleeping on (the) couch pregnant with my now 13 [year-old] daughter. When he hits that GS I quietly get up, go outside, walk about 25 feet away from the condo and scream[ed] like a little girl.”

Another wrote, “That was the first game I ever went to. I remember everything about that game. … Oh, good memories.”14

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN200410020.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2004/B10020LAN2004.htm

Notes

1“Steve Finley and Shawn Green Relive Some Big Moments from the 2004 Dodgers Pennant Chase,” IsoLate Night with Scott Rogowsky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=3yxEzhbfAck.

2Fox Sports telecast of game, “Giants vs. Dodgers (10-2-2004, Dodgers clinch NL West,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LbAGISAgTY.

3Fox Sports telecast.

4Fox Sports telecast.

5Fox Sports telecast.

6Fox Sports telecast.

7“L.A. Wins West,” Washington Post, October 3, 2004. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/10/03/la-wins-west/f150bdfe-03fe-44de-bcce-b627055389b2/.

8IsoLate Night with Scott Rogowsky.

9“Giants vs. Dodgers (10-2-2004, Dodgers clinch NL West,” MLB, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5NdnmQ_XSA.

10“L.A. Wins West,” Washington Post.

11Fox Sports telecast.

12Associated Press, “Finley’s Slam Gives Dodgers West Crown,” Spokane Spokesman-Review, October 3, 2004: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2004/oct/03/finleys-slam-gives-dodgers-west-crown/.

13Fox Sports telecast.

14“Greatest Dodger Moments: A Grand Slam from Steve Finley for the NL West Crown,” dodgersnation.com, March 3, 2013: https://dodgersnation.com/greatest-dodger-moments-a-grand-slam-from-steve-finley-for-the-nl-west-crown/2019/03/13/.