June 10, 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.