1993 Atlanta Braves Retrospective: The Last Pennant Race

[selmaborntidefan]

May 28, 1993
Atlanta Braves 7 (W: Avery, 5-2: SV: Stanton, 18)
San Francisco Giants 4 (Burkett, 7-1)
28-21
2nd place
3 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 29, 1993
San Francsico Giants 6 (W: Brummet, 1-0; SV: Beck, 12)
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Smith, 2-4)
28-22
2nd place
4 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 30, 1993
San Francsico Giants 4 (W: Burba, 5-2; SV: Beck, 13)
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Glavine, 7-1)
28-22
2nd place
5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 31, 1993
Atlanta Braves 3 (W: Maddux, 5-4)
San Diego Padres 1 (L: Mason, 0-2)
29-23
2nd place
4.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 1, 1993
San Diego Padres 2 (W: Brocail, 1-0)
Atlanta Braves 1 (L: Smoltz, 4-5)
29-24
2nd place
5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 2, 1993
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Avery, 6-2; SV: Stanton, 19)
San Diego Padres (L: Benes, 7-4)
30-24
2nd Place
5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 3, 1993
San Diego Padres 12 (W: Greg Harris, 6-6)
Atlanta Braves 4 (L: Smith, 2-5)
30-25
3rd Place
5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 4, 1993
Los Angeles Dodgers 5 (W: R. Martinez, 5-3; SV: Gott, 7)
Atlanta Braves 4 (L: Glavine, 7-2)
30-26
4th Place
5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 5, 1993
Los Angeles Dodgers 5 (W: Kevin Gross, 5-4)
Atlanta Braves 1 (Maddux: 5-5)
30-27
4th Place
6 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 6, 1993
Atlanta Braves 2 (W: Smoltz, 5-5)
Los Angeles Dodgers 0 (L: Candiotti, 3-5)
31-27
4th Place
6 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 7, 1993
Atlanta Braves 4 (W: Avery, 7-2)
San Diego Padres 0 (L: Benes, 7-5)
32-27
3rd Place
5.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 8, 1993
San Diego Padres 5
Atlanta Braves 4
32-28
4th Place
5.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 9, 1993
TRAVEL DAY
32-28
4th Place
6 games behind

The Atlanta Braves return to Georgia for a seven-game homestand against the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. A little more than 1/3 of the way through the 1993 season, and we can make the following observations thus far:

1) Biggest surprise

Without question, the Philadelphia Phillies having the best record in baseball has to be the most stunning development of the early part of the season. This is a team that finished in last place in 1992 and only two teams, the Dodgers and Mariners, had worse records. And it's largely the same team, the same starters at virtually every position, four of the same five starters (although the pickup of Danny Jackson from Pittsburgh definitely helps as he has a habit of being with winning teams). Lenny Dykstra is healthy, but in all honesty, this is a team that probably was not as bad as last year's team and probably not as good as this year's is thus far. Whether they can maintain their excellent start remains to be seen. The Giants are also a surprise, but it was pretty well a given that adding Barry Bonds was going to lurch them forward in the standings, just not as much as we see thus far.

2) Biggest disappointment

The Cincinnati Reds have gone from World Series winners just three years ago to a season lost to injuries to a lost pennant last year to a suspended owner and fired Latino manager after a trial run of only 44 games. A contending team that failed to live up to expectations, the Reds are the biggest disappointment, but there's a close second here as well.

Remember how just two months ago the Atlanta Braves were going to run away with the division flag, win the NLCS with ease, and finally capture that elusive World Series championship? They may still do so, but the Braves, most notably their lack of offensive punch, are four games above .500 but have to be seen as the biggest disappointment. It's not that they are playing terribly, but a five-game losing streak was supposed to be impossible with their mound staff, and the Braves have had a five-game skid that followed a 1-4 record in five games earlier. The Braves have lost four games in extra innings and in 33 of their 60 games, they've been held to 3 runs or less, bailed out only by the stellar starters. And their overall run total is inflated as 38 of their 233 runs (16%) came in three games in Colorado.

3) Marked by Tragedy

The Cleveland Indians were expected to move towards the front this year, but the deaths of two of their pitchers and injuring of another in the boating accident in March have inhibited the chances of Cleveland to do much in 1993.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 10, 1993
Cincinnati Reds 3 (W: Belcher, 4-4; SV: Dibble)
Atlanta Braves 1 (L: Glavine, 7-3)
32-29
4th Place
6.5 games behind

BRAVES WOES CONTINUE IN 3-1 LOSS TO REDS

Tim Belcher scattered 6 hits over 8 innings and got his second win in a row over the Atlanta Braves, 3-1. Atlanta starter Tom Glavine, who began the season 7-0 saw his record fall to 7-3 with his third straight loss. Belcher, who pitched a one-hitter against the Braves on May 26, left after giving up a home run to Terry Pendleton leading off the ninth, but closer Rob Dibble was his usual flame throwing self as he got the last three outs by retiring David Justice, Ron Gant, and Greg Olson around a walk to Sid Bream. Glavine likely didn't earn any admiration from his teammates in the postgame interview when he intoned, "It was another brilliantly lackluster performance by the Braves." Glavine went on to say there was no spark on the bench, no aggressiveness on the basepaths, and that "we all should be embarrassed." He's not wrong, but this won't help matters much. Belcher had a perfect game until Mark Lemke beat out an infield chopper in the 6th. Rain is expected in the Atlanta area tomorrow night, but hopefully it won't affect the dazzling projected matchup between Jose Rijo and Greg Maddux.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 11, 1993
Atlanta Braves 6 (W: Stanton, 2-2)
Cincinnati Reds 5 (L: Pugh, 3-8)
11 innings
33-29
3rd Place
6.5 games behind

BRAVES WIN ANOTHER LATE INNING DRAMA

This time, it was the Braves who bailed out Greg Maddux.

In 13 previous starts this season entering tonight's game, Maddux has shown himself to be among the best pitchers in the game. He leads the league in innings pitched, is third in hits allowed, second in strikeouts, and he has a 2.82 ERA. Oh, and a 5-5 record despite ten quality starts, largely because his team has one of the worst offenses in baseball. Tonight, Maddux dug an early hole against Cincinnati ace Jose Rijo but was bailed out by a bottom of the 9th two-out rally against Reds closer Rob Dibble and smart 11th inning baseball that scored Otis Nixon - whose name is coming up daily in trade rumors thanks to Deion Sanders - with the winning run as the Braves edged the Reds, 6-5. Although Maddux wasn't around to get the win, he also didn't get the loss.

Maddux got off to a horrid start as three of the game's first four hitters crossed the plate with runs mere minutes into the game. Bip Roberts singled, stole second, move to third on a Hal Morris ground out and then scored on an RBI single by Barry Larkin. Kevin Mitchell then socked a two-run home run and just like that, the Reds had a 3-0 lead with their best pitcher on the mound. The Braves got one run back in the second when Ron Gant singled, stole second, and came home on a Mark Lemke double. But the Reds regained that run when Mitchell moved one base at a time around the horn, including advancing to third from second on a rare Maddux error. A Jeff Blauser double and a David Justice single scored Blauser to cut the lead to 4-2 in the third, and Damon Berryhill socked a solo home run in the fourth to narrow the gap to one. Three seventh inning singles off Maddux scored another Reds run and spelled the end for Maddux, and the game went to the bottom of the 9th with the Braves trailing by two runs. As has happened so often the last two seasons, the Braves kept the crowd around with yet another miracle rally.

Down to their last out, the Braves had pinch-runner Rafael Belliard on first when Deion Sanders doubled him to third and both came around to tie the game on Jeff Blauser's single. Mark Wohlers came on for Atlanta and needed last out help from Mike Stanton to preserve the tie into the 11th. That's when Sid Bream singled to right to lead off the inning, and Nixon replaced him on the basepaths. Greg Olson walked, so Lemke bunted both runners ahead to put two runners in scoring position with only one out. Pinch-hitter Brian Hunter singled to center, and Nixon crossed the plate for the winning run. The Braves remain 6.5 games out of first, but they did move up to 3rd in the standings.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 12, 1993
Atlanta Braves 7 (W: Smoltz, 6-5)
Cincinnati Reds 2 (L: Smiley, 3-8)
34-29
3rd Place
6.5 games behind

John Smiley probably never wants to face the Atlanta Braves again. Coming into tonight's game, Smiley's regular season career record against the Braves - yes, even the bad Braves of 1987-90 - read like this: 4-5, 5.85 ERA, and surrendered seven home runs. He also bears the brunt of Pittsburgh's failed attempt to make the 1991 World Series as Smiley, who finished third in that year's Cy Young voting, was saddled with two of the Pirates' four losses and only retired two hitters in his start in the winner-take-all Game Seven. Tonight did not go much better for Smiley.

The Braves greeted the lefty with the 36-17 record and 3.15 ERA the last two years with four runs in the bottom of the first, three off of a Ron Gant home run, as Smiley again pitched poorly against the Braves and again lost to John Smoltz, leaving in the fifth inning trailing 5-0 with the bases loaded and Brian Hunter - yes, the same Hunter who drilled an upper deck pennant winning shot off Smiley in that same Game Seven - batting. With seven runs of support, Smoltz was never in any danger of losing as he scattered 5 hits in 8 innings while striking out 7 in Atlanta's 7-2 romp over Cincinnati. His lone bad pitch to Jeff Branson landed in the seats for Cincinnati's only runs of the contest on a two-run homer. Just for good measure, Gant drilled a solo shot off Smiley in the third. The win extended Smoltz's scoreless innings streak to 20.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 13, 1993
Atlanta Braves 9 (W: Avery,8-2)
Cincinnati Reds 2 (L: Roper, 1-1)
35-29
2nd Place
6.5 games behind

Steve Avery extended his win streak to a career-high seven in a row while Mark Lemke drilled a three-run home run that gave the Braves all the offense they would need in a 9-2 thumping of the Cincinnati Reds. The result lifts the Braves to 2-0 since a team meeting held Friday night after Atlanta had gone 5-10 in their previous 15 games and fallen from second to fourth place. Today's win puts them back in second albeit 6 1/2 games behind the Giants. The Braves, who had scored only 45 runs in those three games, smashed out 22 runs in the final 3 games of their series with Cincinnati. Jeff Blauser added a solo shot, and David Justice hit a triple and then scored on an error by leftfielder Kevin Mitchell. Avery allowed nine hits while striking out six but not walking anyone. John Roper, who won his debut against the Colorado Rockies on May 16, got the first loss of his major league career.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

June 14, 1993
New York Mets 7 (W: Tanana, 4-5)
Atlanta Braves 4 (L: Smith, 2-6)
35-30
3rd Place
7 games behind

BRAVES AND METS STREAKS END IN SAME GAME;
AVERY NAMED NL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

39-year-old Frank Tanana is in the final gasp of a respectable baseball career, but he can still summon the strength of youth on occasion. He did it tonight in Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium, going 7 innings, scattering 9 hits while striking out 8 and leaving the game with a 7-1 lead as the Mets ended their six-game losing streak and Atlanta's three-game winning streak on the back of two RBIs by Bobby Bonilla and two hits by rookie Doug Saunders. Although the bullpen gave up three cosmetic runs in the final two innings, the Mets held on for a 7-4 win over the Braves. Lefty starter Pete Smith's 1993 woes continued as he dropped to 2-6 on the year after giving up four runs in 4.1 innings. The Mets banged out 13 hits against six Braves pitchers without a single home run. Damon Berryhill and Terry Pendleton both hit their fourth dingers of the year for the Braves.

Steve Avery and Gary Sheffield shared NL Player of the Week honors for games of 7-13 June. Sheffield hit a sizzling .609 (14 for 23) with a home run, 5 RBIs, and five runs scored. Avery went 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, striking out ten and walking none in 16 innings.