Braves 1993 Atlanta Braves Retrospective: The Last Pennant Race

[selmaborntidefan]

August 16, 1993
Travel Day
72-47
2nd place
7.5 games behind

ONE WEEK TO GO

On July 20, the Atlanta Braves acquired Fred McGriff from the San Diego Padres and their stadium caught fire. So, too, did the Braves, the offense igniting from the league worst to one of the league's best, and the Braves have fired off a 19-6 record since the trade, a blistering .760 pace that if kept for an entire season would net Atlanta 123 wins and shatter the all-time record. You would think that such a jolt would lift a team either well into first place, into a pennant race, or at least wipe out much of a deficit with a division leader. You'd think that, but you would be wrong.

The San Francisco Giants, who were 9 games ahead of the Braves when the trade was finalized, are still a solid 7.5 games ahead of the Braves. And thanks to the addition of two expansion teams to this year's schedule, the Braves can sweep all six of their remaining games with the Giants and would still trail by 1.5 games with a month left in the season. One week from tonight, the Giants and Braves will square off with six ballgames against each other over the next ten days, three in each team's home ballpark, and the Giants are sitting pretty knowing that the Braves have no choice but to win at least five of the six contests or be at the mercy of the Giants' opponents. Basically, the Giants opened up their lead in the West during three periods of Atlanta in the doldrums, a 3-6 mark in April (that included 3 head-to-head losses to the Giants), a 1-6 streak in early May that included five straight losses, and 3-8 homestand against the three teams on the West Coast that included the Giants. When the Giants finishing taking five of seven games between the two teams on May 30, they had a five-game lead. Between hot and cold spells for both teams, it now stands at 7.5, and the Braves have been no closer than that since June 18.

What may be missing in this discussion is the fact very few are even talking about the Giants and what a spectacular season the team is having as a whole. Much of the coverage centers more around "what's wrong with the Braves" than "what's good about the Giants this year." And the Giants have played spectacularly well. In May, the team as a whole hit .294 and in July they did even better by hitting .296. And the emergence of Rod Beck as a lights out closer has helped them preserve wins that might have turned into losses with a shoddy bullpen. Beck currently has 36 saves and has blown only two thus far. Even by his lofty standards, Barry Bonds is having an MVP season, hitting .338 with 36 home runs and 90 RBIs, a definite threat to win the Triple Crown...if Tony Gwynn ever has a deep slump. Matt Williams is also having a solid year at the plate. And while neither John Burkett nor Bill Swift would be rated more highly than Atlanta's Fab Four starters, both are having solid years. And as has been shown too many times, you only need two solid starters to win a World Series.

Can the Braves catch the Giants?

Well, it depends. It is to be remembered that Atlanta had the pennant race of all pennant races two years ago and prevailed. And even last year, they were 7 games behind at one point before catching fire and coasting past Cincinnati with ease in mid-September, when the Reds hit a nine-game losing streak that ended the challenge. The Giants to this point have not had a losing streak longer than 3 games. The Braves, by contrast, have had four 3-game losing streaks (to the Giants' three) and a five-game losing streak.

Which team has the advantage?

Well, position by position, you'd choose Fred McGriff, Jeff Blauser, Ron Gant, and David Justice from Atlanta as everyday starters while the Giants have the advantage at second (Robby Thompson), third (Matt Williams), left field (Bonds), and catcher (Kirt Manwaring). Atlanta has better depth on the mound and better starting pitchers, but the Giants are better in both middle relief and at closer. Atlanta's bench is probably a bit deeper, and you'd give Atlanta the nod (for now anyway) at skipper since Dusty Baker is a rookie.

Who will win? Well, we'll learn eventually.

And we'll also learn that this wouldn't even be a point of discussion if the wild card baseball has imposed on us next year started this year.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 17, 1993
Atlanta Braves 3 (W: Smoltz, 12-9; SV: McMichael, 8)
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 (L: R. Martinez, 8-8)
73-47
2nd place
6.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 18, 1993
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Bedrosian, 3-2)
Los Angeles Dodgers 4 (L: McDowell, 4-2)
12 innings
74-47
2nd place
6.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 19, 1993
Los Angeles Dodgers 7 (W: Kevin Gross, 8-11; SV: Gott, 23)
Atlanta Braves 5 (L: Glavine, 14-5)
74-48
2nd place
7.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 20, 1993
Chicago Cubs 6 (W: Morgan, 8-11; SV: Myers, 36)
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Stanton, 4-5)
74-49
2nd place
7.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 21, 1993
Atlanta Braves 6 (W: Freeman, 2-0; SV: McMichael, 9)
Chicago Cubs 3 (L: Plesac, 0-1)
75-49
2nd place
7.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 22, 1993
Atlanta Braves 4 (W: Smoltz, 13-9: SV: McMichael, 10)
Chicago Cubs 3 (L: Guzman, 11-8)
76-49
2nd place
7.5 games behind

SHOWDOWN IN SAN FRAN MONDAY NIGHT
BRAVES AND GIANTS RALLY FOR WINS TO SET
UP CRUCIAL NL WEST BATTLE

For what must have felt like just a few fleeting moments yesterday, the Atlanta Braves were about to head into their must win series with the San Francisco Giants only 6.5 games behind with six games between the two teams scheduled for the next nine days. But down to their last out, the Giants rocked all of baseball when two outs from defeat, Mark Carreon drew a walk and Robby Thompson drilled a game-ending two-run homer off Florida Marlins closer Bryan Harvey to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, 7-6, and carry momentum into the big series against Atlanta. It was an emotional jolt both for the Giants, whose fans and media have begun comparing Robby Thompson's homer with Bobby Thompson's homer that won the 1951 NL pennant, and the Braves, who must have been licking their chops knowing that a sweep, unlikely as it seems now, would put them less than one game behind the Giants, who have yet to have a major losing streak this year. It was all the more remarkable because the Giants were four runs down entering the 8th and got five runs in their final six available outs.

The Braves themselves were celebrating a rally that knocked off Jose Guzman, who took a 3-0 lead off John Smoltz into the fifth inning before Atlanta rallied for a four-run inning courtesy of a single by Otis Nixon, a two-run shot by Jeff Blauser, and then two doubles and a single by the heart of the Atlanta order that captured the lead that the Braves held the rest of the way. New closer Greg McMichael, who primarily throws change-ups, converted his 10th straight save opportunity.

And so now the stage is set: three games on the West Coast with the Atlanta Braves almost certainly needing to win 5 of the 6 contests just to get close enough to the Giants that they can hear the footsteps. Assuming no further damage is done in the "in between series" each team has, the Braves can get no closer at this point than 2.5 games even if a 1978 Boston Massacre pair of series occur. On the other hand, anything less than 5 of 6 won by the Braves will put the Giants in a solid position while the Giants winning at least 4 would probably end the race even against an experienced foe like Atlanta.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 23, 1993
Atlanta Braves 5
San Francisco Giants 3
77-49
2nd place
6.5 games behind

BRAVES TAKE ROUND ONE

Baseball's version of the heavyweight fight began tonight in San Francisco as the two-time defending NL champion Atlanta Braves entered the ring desperate for a full-on knockout to turn what appeared a month ago to be a rout into a pennant race. They succeeded and win round one with a 5-3 triumph that saw the baby-faced assassin Steve Avery go the distance and scatter 8 hits while striking out 4. The Braves teed off on Giants starter Trevor Wilson, and while the Giants were able to close a 4-0 gap to 4-3, the Braves led the entire way.

After a quick first inning where the Braves wasted a leadoff single by Otis Nixon when he was retired on a double play, Atlanta pushed 3 across in the second and never looked back. The key blow came from Avery himself, who with a 1-0 lead and two outs, laced a two-run double that gave Atlanta momentum early. The Braves added to that lead in the fourth when Jeff Blauser doubled with one out and scored on a single by Ron Gant. Armed with a 4-0 lead, Avery held it. Barely.

Royce Clayton led off the Giant 5th with a double, and he moved to third on a single by Kirt Manwaring. With the chance of turning a beating into a ballgame, Giant Manager Dusty Baker sent Steve Scarsone to pinch-hit, and he plated Clayton with a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 4-1. Avery then struck out Willie McGee but Robby Thompson, whose game-winning walkoff home run yesterday has the city of San Francisco dreaming of a pennant, drilled another two-run homer and just like that, the Braves' lead was down to 4-3 with Will Clark headed to bat. The 1985 Golden Spikes winner out of Mississippi State singled, but Matt Williams popped to center, and Avery exited the jam without having to face Giants slugger Barry Bonds with two on.

Bonds instead batted leading off the sixth with the chance to tie the game, and his single made Brave hearts skip everywhere. But Avery, while vulnerable to the stolen base, also has one of the best pickoff moves in baseball, and he executed it perfectly. catching Bonds in no man's land and forcing him to attempt to steal second, where he was tagged out. After walking Mark Carreon immediately after Bonds, Avery then hit his stride, retiring the last 11 batters to close out the game as an Atlanta win. Blauser socked an insurance solo home run with one out in the 9th, and Avery completed his mission with an Atlanta win, 5-3. The second round tomorrow night will match up Tom Glavine against Bryan Hickerson.

The series the Braves so desperately wanted is the series baseball desperately needs.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 24, 1993
Atlanta Braves 6 (W: Glavine, 15-5: SV: McMichael, 11)
San Francisco Giants 4 (L: Hickerson, 6-5)
78-49
2nd place
5.5 games behind

BRAVES NARROW GAP WITH 6-4 WIN OVER GIANTS

In the regular season equivalent of a "must win" game, the Atlanta Braves came up big again tonight. Three home runs, three doubles, and seven strong innings from starter Tom Glavine, who won his 15th, were enough to give the Braves a 6-4 win over the Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Braves will go for the sweep tomorrow in a rare weekday day game on the West Coast.

The second game of this three-game series looked a lot like the opener. The Braves took the early lead, the Giants rallied, but the rally falls short of a victory. Atlanta started quickly with two outs in the bottom of the first when Ron Gant drilled a solo homer off starter and loser Bryan Hickerson to give the Braves a quick 1-0 lead. The Giants attempted to tie the game when Matt Williams led off the second with double, but he was stranded at third as Glavine buckled down and retired the side. Then in the fourth, the Giants' normally astute defense made two errors that cost them another run.

Fred McGriff hit an easy fly ball to centerfielder Mark Carreon, who dropped it, and the Crime Dog was at second leading off the inning. A flare to right for a single by Terry Pendleton put runners at the corners with nobody out. David Justice then hit a shot to first, and Will Clark tagged first before gunning the ball to the plate. The throw beat McGriff, who wisely got into a rundown that put Pendleton on third with two outs before McGriff succumbed to the inevitable tag. It appeared the Giants would get out of the inning without any runs scoring when Damon Berryhill hit a routine grounder to Williams at third. But Williams uncharacteristically booted the ball, scoring McGriff and putting the Atlanta lead at 2-0. Then in the sixth, Pendleton all but ended it.

McGriff reached base again leading off the inning with a single to right. Pendleton then unloaded a two-run bomb that extended the Atlanta lead to 4-0 and the way Glavine was pitching had it pretty much sealed. The Braves even added an insurance run when Berryhill doubled with one out and then scored on a single by Mark Lemke. Lemke wound up at third when Kirt Manwaring committed a passed ball, although he didn't score. With a 5-0 lead entering the bottom of the sixth and the Giants playing unusually tight in the field, the game looked over. But the Giants refused to go quietly.

With two outs, Williams made up for his error with a triple and then scored on a single by Barry Bonds to cut the lead to 5-1. An inning later, a Glavine throwing error followed by Robby Thompson's homer in his fifth consecutive game had both the crowd and Atlanta bullpen stirring. Glavine finished the inning, but the Giants appeared to have the momentum.

David Justice broke that momentum with a solo shot in the 7th, giving Atlanta a 6-3 lead, so Manager Bobby Cox yanked Glavine and sent in the flame throwing Mark Wohlers. Wohlers got through the inning in order, which included walking slugger Bonds and retiring him on an inning ending double play. Because Greg McMichael has been money in August, Cox opted to send out his new closer with the wicked changeup. The Braves won. Barely.

After retiring Jody Reed on a fly ball, McMichael walked Todd Benzinger, who moved to second when Dave Martinez grounded out. One out from victory, McMichael gave up a single by Willie McGee, who moved to second on the throw, and Benzinger scored to cut the lead to 6-4 and bring - guess who - Robby Thompson to the plate as the tying run. McMichael, though, was up to the task, striking out the hero of Sunday's win over the Marlins to end the game and seal Atlanta's 6-4 win.

After the game, the Braves felt exhilarated. After all, this is the series they've needed for two months now, and they're looking good. Giants skipper Dusty Baker, however, cautioned that all it would take to right the boat was a Giants win tomorrow in the finale, which Baker rightly noted would leave the Braves six games behind. But while conceding the Giants played tight for whatever reason - pressure perhaps, Dusty? - the Braves are the team with all of the pressure on them. THEY, not the Giants, MUST win to even have a chance.

Tomorrow's contest will feature Atlanta ace Greg Maddux against Giants #2 starter Bill Swift.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 25, 1993
Atlanta Braves 9 (W: Maddux, 15-9)
San Francisco Giants 1 (L: Swift, 17-6)
79-49
2nd place
4.5 games behind

SIX HOME RUNS LEAD BRAVES IN ROUT OF GIANTS

When the San Francisco Giants go to sleep tonight, they will hear the approaching footsteps of the Atlanta Braves. What has been suspected all summer long may indeed prove to be true: if the Braves can just get close enough to the Giants to scare them, the pressure will cause the Giants to implode and slingshot the Braves into first place. That hypothesis is far from proven at this point, but the Braves just did everything possible to drive the point home, battering the Giants to the tune of 9-1, sweeping the road series and moving Atlanta closer to the Giants in the standings than they've been since May 29, when they lost to these same Giants.

The Braves administered an absolute beating against the team with baseball's best record, outscoring them, 20-8, out hitting them, 36-24, and winning the home run battle, 10-2. The series was so one-sided that the Giants never led at the end of a single inning and were only tied at the end of an inning after the first inning of Game One. Today's rout was a masterpiece of power hitting and solid pitching, as Greg Maddux earned his 15th victory by scattering six hits over 8 innings and striking out five while never being challenged virtually the entire game. The Braves, meanwhile, took the measure of 17-game winner Bill Swift, pulverizing his first pitch fastball into a rapid 6-0 hole from which the Giants had no hope of recovering against Maddux. It was a game where the scouting report was the key factor.

Swift is a talented pitcher, but he has a tendency to figure that most hitters early in the game are taking the first pitch, so he uses it to get quickly ahead in the count, 0-1. The Braves unloaded on Swift's first pitches, with Fred McGriff and David Justice hitting back-to-back home runs TWICE in the same game. And the first may have broken Swift's spirit because he surely thought he was out of the inning after giving up two singles that led to an Otis Nixon run but cleared the bases with a double play. But the two lefties homered and Maddux took the mound with a 3-0 lead. Three second inning singles gave the Braves a 4-0 lead and then came the fifth, when the Braves sealed the game.

After Ron Gant struck out leading off the inning, McGriff and Justice AGAIN went back-to-back, giving Maddux and the Braves a 6-0 lead and sending Swift to an early shower after he walked Terry Pendleton. Pendelton himself went deep in the 7th and then just to be sure, Damon Berryhill socked a two-run bomb with two outs in the 9th to give the Braves their final margin of victory, 9-1. The Braves now head home for a nine-game homestand against the Cubs, Giants, and Padres, while the Giants head to Florida for a rematch with the Marlins before heading to Atlanta for the return series.

Baseball needed a pennant race.

Now, they have one.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 26, 1993
TRAVEL DAY
79-49
2nd place
4.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

August 27, 1993
Chicago Cubs 9 (W: Boskie, 4-3; SV: Bautista, 2)
Atlanta Braves 7 (L: Wohlers, 5-1)
79-50
2nd place
4.5 games behind

BRAVES, GIANTS BOTH BLOW LEADS TO LOSE;
BRAVES GRAB MARTINEZ ON WAIVERS

Maybe both teams were exhausted from the hype surrounding their own showdown.

The Atlanta Braves remained 4.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West today after the Braves blew an early 5-1 lead and lost to the Cubs, 9-7, while the Giants jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over the Florida Marlins only to lose, 7-4. The Giants lost to the lesser foe, but the Braves took it on the chin by giving up four home runs, the last a Derrick May grand slam on Mike Stanton's first pitch upon entering the game that closed out a five-run inning.

After dominating the first place Giants, the Braves got off to a rocky start. After retiring Dwight Smith to start the game, Braves starter John Smoltz gave up a solo homer to Cubs superstar Ryne Sandberg, putting the Braves in an immediate hole. But the Braves, an entirely different team since the acquisition of Fred McGriff a month ago, responded immediately and devastatingly as the first three hitters singled, tying the score, and McGriff himself drilled a three-run homer to put the Braves ahead, 4-1. In the third, David Justice homered to extend the Atlanta lead to 5-1. But the Cubs were unfazed as Mark Grace led off the fourth with a solo homer and Jose Vizcaino added an RBI single that cut the Atlanta lead to 5-3. When Rick Wilkins socked a solo homer to right in the 6th to lower the Atlanta lead to 5-4, it was inevitable that Smoltz would get the hook when he batted in the bottom of the inning. The Braves added a run when Terry Pendleton singled, went to third on a single by catcher Damon Berryhill and then scored on Mark Lemke's 4-6-3 double play to increase the Atlanta lead to two. Smoltz gave way in favor of pinch-hitter Sid Bream, who struck out to end the inning. Mark Wohlers, who appears to have the speed to be a closer but lacks the movement on his pitches to do so successfully, took over for Smoltz and reminded everyone why his 100 mph fastball isn't enough by itself.

After retiring Vizcaino, Wohlers walked 38-year-old pinch hitter and former Kansas City Royals base stealing legend Willie Wilson. Smith singled to left and Sandberg then hit an apparent double play ball to McGriff at first, who threw it away, scoring Wilson and putting the runners at second and third. The Braves then opted to walk Grace, who had already homered, and loaded the bases for Derrick May. Stanton came on and hoped to get ahead in the count, throwing a pitch directly over the plate that was by his own admission "belt high and down the middle." May connected, hitting his first career grand slam and Chicago's first in 1993 and that quickly the Cubs suddenly led, 9-6.

But these are the Atlanta Braves, a team who keeps the fans around until the end, and so even with a devastating shot like the grand slam, the game didn't appear to be over. With two on and two out in the 9th, McGriff singled to make it 9-7, and Justice came to the plate with the chance to win it with another home run. But closer Shawn Boskie got Justice to line out to Sandberg at second, and the Braves' winning streak was over. The Braves were bailed out of losing pennant race momentum when the Giants blew the early lead and lost themselves. And the Braves also beat the Giants on the acquisition market.

Dennis Martinez has been a solid if unspectacular pitcher since coming up with Baltimore in 1976. He pitched a perfect game two years ago, finished 5th in Cy Young voting after leading the NL in ERA, and he won his 200th game just two months ago. The Giants, meanwhile, want to add another solid arm to an average at best pitching staff for the stretch run, so when the Montreal Expos made Martinez available on a waivers, the Giants claimed him. But this is a case where Atlanta's second place status helps them control the situation. In an effort to prevent Martinez from joining the Giants, the Braves claimed Martinez off of waivers because the waiver process is in inverse order of current record. Because the Braves have a lesser record than the Giants, they get first claim, and they made it. There's about zero chance Martinez joins the Braves, however, because he is a "10 and 5" man, and he can use this to leverage free agency after next season when his contract is up. It is a move that works well (potentially) for Martinez and the Braves - and leaves the struggling Giants holding a very heavy bag.