1995 Atlanta Braves Retrospective

[selmaborntidefan]

May 8, 1995
Philadelphia Phillies 3 (W: Abbott, 1-0; SV - Slocumb, 5)
Atlanta Braves 2 (L: Glavine, 1-1)
6-5
2nd place
2 games behind

PHILS SWEEP BRAVES IN ATLANTA;
BRAVES MANAGER BOBBY COX ARRESTED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The Philadelphia Phillies sent notice to the Atlanta Braves that they will not be pushovers in 1995, completing a four-game sweep in Atlanta thanks to a quick start that gave them a three-run lead off Atlanta starter and losing pitcher Tom Glavine. A leadoff walk to Len Dykstra and a Gregg Jefferies two-run home run gave Philly starter David West a 2-0 lead before the took the mound, and the Phils manufactured a third run with a Mickey Morandini single, a sacrifice bunt from West, and a single from Dykstra that scored Morandini. Atlanta manufactured runs in the third and sixth with small ball that included a Chipper Jones baserunning blunder (in the third), and the anemic Atlanta attack continues to have problem scoring runs. The Atlanta defense also made three errors. Heathcliff Slocumb got his fifth save of the year, and the Phillies leave town in first place on a high. And with apologies to Forrest Gump (just released two weeks ago on VHS after a successful run in theatres in the summer of 1994), "That's all we have to say about that." The major news concerned what happened before today's game (and after last night's game) that intersects with the justice system, the social problem of domestic violence, public relations, and the woes of the Braves thus far in 1995.

According to Cobb County police, Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox was arrested last night around 10:15 pm at his home in Marietta and subsequently charged with simple battery for punching his wife and pulling her hair in a domestic dispute. The police report states that Cox's wife, Pamela, called the police and met them at the door with visible swelling and redness on the side of her face. Cox was also clearly intoxicated according to the report. Cox was released on $1,000 bond and faces a court hearing on May 26. Mrs. Cox said her husbandd and some guests were drinking at their home when he spilled a drink on the carpet, and she made a comment about it. Then, after the guests left, she alleges, he hit her in the face with his fist and pulled her hair. Pamela Cox further stated that "this has occurred many times before, but (she) never called the police because of possible media attention" as well as "the effect on their children." The police report said their youngest daughter, Skyla, 13, was home and witnessed the attack. Cox admitted that he pulled his wife's hair and called her a name (said to be one that rhymes with "rich" as Barbara Bush put it), but he denied hitting her. He further stated that she has also been violent in the past, and that he "hit her in reflex to her assault on him." Cox declined comment. Cox did, however, say that her flush face was not from him hitting her but from her vomiting as she was intoxicated as well.

Pamela Cox further added to the confusion today when she stated he had NOT, in fact, struck her, and that she had used a poor choice of words. She conceded they were arguing and that she had called 911 at the height of their dispute, but she revised her story to say he had, in fact, pulled her hair, but he had not struck her. She also said that she "looks a mess when I've been crying" and that while Bobby was, in fact, intoxicated, that had nothing to do with their dispute at all.

“Since spring training we’ve been under a lot of pressure because of family problems,” she told the newspaper. “This has been steaming for months. It has nothing to do with alcohol.I am as guilty as he is. I put my daughter’s pregnancy before spring training. I should have been there at spring training." There are multiple problems here, but we hasten to add that no rush to judgment needs to occur, either. The current context, however, does not look favorable for Bobby Cox.

For starters, Pamela Cox's response is almost the classic textbook case of a victim of domestic violence first reporting the issue to the police and then later blaming herself* for the escalation of the conflict to the point of violence. Making it worse, Bobby Cox's own words are also textbook: minimize what occurred, admit to a lesser infraction while denying striking the person, and blaming the victim. All of these would be horrible under any circumstances, but there is another light shining into the room that may produce results not to the liking of either Cox: the ongoing OJ Simpson trial is, at its core, not a murder case so much as it is a domestic violence case that ended with the murder of the victim at the hands of the abuser. (Side note: and let's not kid ourselves, regardless of the verdict of the jury later this year, everyone knows exactly what happened in that case - Simpson murdered his ex-wife and an eyewitness). The daily stream of revelations in the case going back 11 months now show a number of cultural issues, including mistrust of police, the privilege of celebrity, the limitations of forensics, race, misogyny, attorney malpractice, and finally but most importantly domestic violence. The larger public social context of the Simpson trial turns what is already a bad situation into something one hundred times worse thanks to the spotlight of scrutiny.

It is entirely possible this was a marital fluff that got out of hand and wound up with charges and counter-charges being made in an effort to win an argument. But there is also the very real possibility (verging towards probability) that Bobby Cox is - and there's no gentle way to put it - a wife beater. Time will tell if Bobby and Pamela Cox were a marital fight that escalated to police involvement or whether Cox has been abusing his wife for years. Abusers do not magically stop abusing just because the police came to the house. Time may serve as Cox's best ally so long as nothing like this ever happens again. It may also serve to wreck the career of one of the greatest managers baseball has ever seen if he is, in fact, an out of control perpetrator of domestic violence. The clock has begun ticking towards either healing or the next time Cox is arrested for the same thing. Let's hope for the sake of all involved - including his children - that Pamela Cox's second version of events is closer to the truth than her first. But let's also not dismiss the possibility that her preservational instinct may be the reason for the revision as well.


* - this is not to dismiss the fact that in rare cases men ARE the victims of domestic violence. However, the overwhelming majority of domestic violence cases are men abusing women.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 9, 1995


7-5
2nd place
2 games out

CHIPPER'S FIRST MLB HR LIFTS BRAVES TO 3-2 WIN OVER METS, ENDING 4-GAME LOSING STREAK

The more the Atlanta Braves change, the more they stay the same.

Ever since the Braves drafted then shortstop Chipper Jones out of The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida with the #1 overall pick of the 1990 baseball draft, he has been touted as having the potential to be one of the greatest major leaguers the game has ever seen. The problem thus far aside from the injury that shelved him for the 1994 season has been finding him an every day position on a National League team. He has settled in at third base this year with the departure of Terry Pendleton, and he made his first stride tonight towards, well, who knows how this is going to turn out? With the Braves, though, it's the same formula every game: get a good start by a phenomenal pitcher, score early but not often, watch the bullpen frighten the fan base by giving up runs, and the Braves win the game more often than not with late-inning heroics. Tonight, Chipper Jones's first-ever major league home run was a ninth-inning game-winner that lifted the Braves to a 3-2 win over their division rival Mets and ended a four-game losing streak. The Mets extended their own losing streak to three games, and it was the fifth game the Mets have lost in the last at-bat in the season's first two weeks.

Steve Avery pitched well for six innings, getting the better of two-time Cy Young Winner Bret Saberhagen despite the fact Saberhagen pitched longer and better than Avery, he just made one bad delivery to light-hitting former Mets catcher Charlie O'Brien, who drilled a two-run home run in the second that gave the Braves a 2-0 lead. Saberhagen also helped himself with the bat when he doubled leading off the bottom of the sixth, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by former Brave Brett Butler and then scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Edgardo Alfonso. Greg McMichael replaced Avery in the seventh inning, but in the bottom of the eighth he surrendered a game-tying home run to Jeff Kent. With Josias Manzanillo working the ninth, Chipper crushed a 2-0 pitch into the right-field seats for the home run that gave the Braves the lead they would never relinquish. Although Brad Clontz did hit Todd Hundley leading off the inning, he navigated the trouble, and the Braves won the game, 3-2. Chipper said that the first home run of his career "was a heavy weight off of my shoulders." The Braves played the game without both David Justice and Ryan Klesko who are out with injuries. Atlanta wasted a solid effort by Avery, but they ultimately prevailed.

Steve Trachsel is 1-9 at Wrigley Field during his two years with the club, but he's now 9-1 on the road thanks to a 3-0 win over the Cardinals where Trachsel went six innings and gave up only three hits while striking out six. A first-inning grand slam by Dante Bichette was enough momentum to help the Rockies' erratic pitching staff overcome two bombs from Matt Williams as Colorado roared to a 9-0 lead after the third inning and then held on for a 10-6 triumph at home in Coors Field. Mickey Morandini went 4-for-5 as the Phillies won their sixth in a row with an 8-3 triumph over the Expos.

In the AL, the Cleveland Indians' prolific offense turned six hits and three walks into eight blistering runs.
Then they went out and took the field for the top of the second inning.

Spotted an 8-0 cushion, Orel Hershiser went eight innings and gave up only four hits as the Tribe thumped the Royals, 10-0. Pinch-hitter Wes Chamberlain homered with one out in the ninth at home in Fenway to give Boston a 4-3 win over Baltimore. Jim Abbott, who signed with the White Sox as a free agent this year, retired the first nine batters he faced en route to a 6-1 win over the Twins. And the Brewers and Tigers were halted with the game tied at 2 in the ninth - right after Cecil Fielder tied it with a home run - due to rain. The game will be completed tomorrow.

Braves highlights begin at 7:24.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 10, 1995


BRAVES BULLPEN WOES CONTINUE IN 5-2 LOSS TO METS;
MLB ATTENDANCE DROPS 18%
7-6
2nd place
3 games behind

You'd think a team with five years to figure it out could, well, figure it out.

The heavily favored 1995 Atlanta Braves took the field for the 13th time yesterday. For the eighth time, they scored four runs or fewer. For the fourth time, their bullpen gave up run(s) in the 8th or 9th inning. And for the sixth time - including the 5th in the last 6 games - the Braves left the field with another entry in the "L" column. And yet they generally continue to get excellent starting pitching supported by a lackluster offense and a bullpen that gives new meaning to the word "misadventure." In the process, the entire team wasted a noble effort by starter Kent Mercker as they imploded late and turned a 2-0 lead into a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Mets in Shea Stadium tonight.

Jeff Blauser, who appears to be pulling out of his early season slump, doubled in the fourth and then moved to third on an infield ground out by Chipper Jones and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Fred McGriff. Chipper continued his rookie year story with his second home run in about 24 hours as he nailed a solo shot in the sixth, giving Atlanta a 2-0 lead (see video below at 4:47). Then in the seventh with one out, Mercker walked Ricky Otero. Presumably knowing his pitcher was tiring or done, Braves skipper Bobby Cox replaced Mercker with Mike Stanton, who immediately balked Otero to second. Jose Vizcaino's double scored Otero and cut the Atlanta lead in half. After Stanton walked Kelly Stinnett, he induced Brett Butler to line out to left field. Chipper, substituting for the injured Ryan Klesko, made a splendid catch to prevent disaster (see video at 4:59) . With two outs, Stanton got the hook in favor of the flame throwing Mark Wohlers. Wohlers walked Rico Brogna to load the bases for Jeff Kent and then settled Atlanta anxiety everywhere by getting an inning ending ground out to Jeff Kent. In the bottom of the eighth, though, Wohlers's luck ran out as did the Braves.

Wohlers struck out Bobby Bonilla to start the eighth, but a wild pitch on the third strike put Bonilla at first. Wohlers then walked Todd Hundley to put two on with nobody out. Carl Everett attempted to bunt both runners over and not only did that, he reached safely with an infield bunt past Wohlers, loading the bases with nobody out. It got worse as Wohlers walked pinch-hitter Joe Orsulak to score the tying run. Having seen Wohlers's wildness, Cox yanked him and sent out Steve Bedrosian, who gave up a broken bat single to center by Vizcaino that scored two runs and put the game away. In an amusing epitaph, it was the Shea Stadium sprinkler system that put out the fire when it suddenly erupted and began watering the outfield right after Vizcaino's single. Pinch-hitter David Segui then bunted both runners into scoring position, and Orsulak scored on a short single by Butler. Presumably - with no moves - the Braves basically gave up, leaving Bedrosian in the game, but he responded well. Though Butler stole second, Bedrock struck out Brogna and Kent to at least leave the deficit at only three runs. It didn't matter as the Braves went 1-2-3 in the ninth and turned a seeming win into yet another agonizing loss.

The loss was compounded by the fact the Phillies won their seventh game in a row, a 10-1 shellacking of the Expos that saw Darren Daulto and Tony Longmire go 4-for-5 and Jim Eisenreich got 3-for-5 supporting newcomer Tyler Green (2-1) who struck out six and only gave up three hits in six innings. Kevin Jarvis (who?) is the pitcher to throw the first complete game shutout of the 1995 baseball season, a record late date given the late start to the season. Jarvis surrendered only two hits and struck out three as the Reds, apparently gaining some positive momentum after a disastrous start, won, 3-0. Joe Girardi's hot streak with the Colorado Rockies continues as he went 4-for-4 while both Larry Walker and Jason Bates slugged two-run homers in a 5-4 win over the Giants at Coors Field. Girardi is 12-for-16 with 9 RBIs in Wednesday games so far this year while hitting 11-for-38 on the other six days of the week. I wouldn't want to be a team that has to open against the Rockies at Coors Field if they make the playoffs.

In the junior circuit, John Wetteland blew the save, but Bernie Williams bailed him out with an 11-inning two-run shot that propelled the Yankees to a 6-4 win over the Blue Jays at SkyDome. Mark McGwire, Scott Brosius, and Ruben Sierra homered while Rickey Henderson added a two-run double to help starter Steve Ontiveros beat the Mariners, 7-4. Ontiveros signed a one-year, $900K contract prior to the game. Trailing 2-1 in the ninth against Kansas City, the Indians rallied for a tying run against closer Jeff Montgomery and then won it in the tenth on a Manny Ramirez single, 3-2. The Tigers prevailed in the tenth innning of the continuation of yesterday's suspended game with Milwaukee, 6-4, and then got hammered, 13-2, in the scheduled game.

Baseball attendance woes are hurting the owners now. It's bad enough the owners themselves held a six-hour meeting to consider ways to get fans to come back out to the ballpark. Attendance is down 18% across the league - and bear in mind two mitigating factors: 1) the Colorado Rockies' presence and daily sellouts keep that number from being even lower than it would otherwise; 2) that's including fans who have attended games with either reduced rate or completely free tickets given away by almost every MLB team. The gaping hole the strike tore in the game is affecting sponsorship deals and advertising as well. This may at least serve as an impetus to the owners AND players to avoid a strike later in 1995, which at this point is still a conceivable possibility.

It's almost as though the MLB owners, every single one of them richer than the average fan can imagine, thought that the basic rules of economics applied to everyone except them. The owners have lost well over $1 billion (losses they have managed to at this point pass on to the players with lower salaries), and those losses continue to mount daily. The only common denominator in the baseball players' strike and the baseball umpires' strike is - wait for it - the OWNERS!!! Player salaries will suffer for years to come except for the elite players, which will drive down salaries even more for the rank and file. It is hoped that the long-term consequences of this will be a better game and that the off-the-field stuff can remain off-the-field.


Braves highlights begin at 4:47:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 11, 1995
New York Mets 5 (W: B Jones, 2-1; SV: Franco, 4 )
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Smoltz, 1-2)
7-7
3rd place
3 games behind

NY 13-HIT ATTACK BEATS SMOLTZ; MLB HIRES NEW LAWYER TO FIGHT INJUNCTION

Demonstrating new ways of losing baseball games, the Atlanta Braves lost their second straight series, 2-1, to the Mets tonight thanks to less than spectacular starting pitching by John Smoltz, an offense that is slightly above offensive at best, and just for good measure, two errors. Mets starter Bobby Jones scattered six hits over eight innings - the same number as Mets starters Rico Brogna and Joe Orsulak had combined - as the Mets beat the Braves, 5-3, in a game they never trailed. The Mets took the lead in the bottom of the first on a Brett Butler double, Jose Vizcaino bunt, and double by Brogna for a quick 1-0 score. Singles by Orsulak and David Segui, followed by a sacrifice fly by Todd Hundley made it 2-0 at the end of two. A two-out double by Marquis Grissom scored Mark Lemke to cut the lead in half in the third, and in the fourth, Dwight Smith homered to tie the game. Given a reprieve for his early struggles, Smoltz gave up a single to Brogna, and after getting a double play following a Bobby Bonilla single, Brogna scored on the twin killins to give the Mets the lead they never reliquished. Just to make sure the Braves had no chance of coming back, Brad Woodall relieved Smoltz in the seventh and let the Mets score two to put the game out of reach. John Franco closed it out and while he made the Mets fans nervous - the Braves had the tying run at first with one out and at second with two outs - Franco nailed down the save by striking out Grissom to end the game.

And speaking of the end of the game...Douglas Leslie, a law professor at the University of Virginia, was sent back by the owners to appeal the injunction issued last month by U.S. District Judge Sonia Sotomayor that ended the strike. The same three-judge panel that questioned Frank Casey questioned Leslie, but were far more respectful and less cynical about Leslie's appeal than Casey's. Daniel Silverman, director of the New York office of the National Labor Relations Board, said after the 40-minute argument that the problem wasn't the ruling or the lawyers - but the simple facts of the law. The ball is now in the owners's court with a pending administrative hearing on May 22.

The Expos smashed the Phillies, 13-1, to end the seven-game winning streak of the NL East leaders. The Braves return home for a ten-game homestand tomorrow against the rapidly ascending Cincinnati Reds, the stars of baseball Colorado Rockies and, well, the Florida Marlins. The Braves have lost six of seven but tomorrow's game is a dream match between Jose Rijo and Greg Maddux.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 12, 1995

7-8
3rd place
4 games behind

ONE STRIKE FROM WIN, BRAVES LOSE ON GANT'S HR IN 11

Continuing to invent new ways to lose (or old ways brought back as flashbacks), the Atlanta Braves tonight played a game that is a microcosm of their season thus far. Greg Maddux - baseball's best pitcher certainly over the last three seasons - was sporting a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning and pulled with a 4-3 lead in the 8th only to see the bullpen blow the game not once but twice as former Atlanta outfielder Ron Gant - in his very first game in Atlanta since his departure from the team following a 1994 motorcycle accident - slugged the game-winning home run in the top of the tenth inning off Steve Bedrosian, leaving the Braves one game below .500 for the first time since May 5, 1993. To make matters worse, the Braves had the Reds down to one strike in the ninth only to give up an RBI single to Eddie Taubensee that tied the game at four.

Maddux may still be suffering the lingering effects of an injury while running to first his last start or perhaps the lack of spring training innings due to chicken pox as he gave up (for him) an inordinate number of hits. He did not give up an unusual number of runs until late in the contest. He gave up a bunt single to Deion Sanders to start the game, and Sanders moved to second on a Barry Larkin bunt and then stole third with only one out. But Maddux worked the batters, walking Ron Gant, who stole second, but giving up no runs despite two runners in scoring position. He settled into a groove until the fifth inning, by which time the Braves had a 3-0 lead courtesty of a two-run shot by Chipper Jones and then a back-to-back home run bomb (measured at 446 feet) from Fred McGriff off Reds starter Jose Rijo. In the sixth, Maddux found trouble again from Sanders, who bunted for yet another base hit, stole second, and then scored the first Reds run on a double by Larkin. Lenny Harris singled to left scoring Larkin, cutting the Atlanta lead to 3-2. But in the bottom of the seventh, Charlie O'Brien launched a solo home run that gave Atlanta a 4-2 lead, but Maddux tired in the eighth and gave up a double to Larkin, who stole third and then came home on an infield ground out. Brad Clontz came in and closed out the eighth, so the Braves led, 4-3, needing only three outs to win.

Lenny Harris singled to right to open the inning and moved to second on a successful sacrifice bunt by Brett Boone. Clontz got Reggie Sanders to pop out, but Taubensee lined a two strike single to center that scored Harris and tied the game. In the top of the 11th, Ron Gant drilled a 1-1 pitch into the seats for what proved to be the game-winning run as the Braves got the tying run to third in the bottom of the inning only to see Mike Kelly line out to end the game. Maddux's 7.2 innings is the longest outing by a Braves starter this year. The loss is Atlanta's 7th in the last 8 games, the first time Atlanta has gone 1-7 in an eight-game stretch since September 1990. After the game, the Reds placed catcher Benito Santiago on the 15-day disabled list for an inflamed elbow.

In other games, the Padres dropped their 9th game in the last 11 thanks to Sammy Sosa's double and two singles that drove in three runs in an 8-3 Chicago win for starter Jamie Navarro. Jeff Fassero became the majors' first four-game winner as the Expos ripped eight extra base hits in a 9-6 win over the Mets. Mike Lansing's three-run homer was the difference in scoring. All the tickets were free, but the stadium was still half empty on a Friday night in the Astrodome to see Curt Schilling and Heathcliff Slocumb combine with Darren Daulton's two-run double to cool off the high-scoring Astros, 8-2. Doug Drabek took the loss. Vinny Castilla's six RBIs on two homers plus Larry Walker's fourth home run in five games helped the Rockies improve to 11-4, tid with the Phillies for the best record in baseball. Denny Neagle settled down after surrendering two early runs to pitch lights out the rest of the way and get immense offensive support in a 9-4 win over the Giants that saw Matt Williams homer twice.

In the AL, Cleveland held on for dear life and Jose Mesa got his second save as the Tribe edged the Orioles, 3-2, behind a solo home run by Jim Thome. Leading 2-0 entering the eighth at Fenway, the Yankees exploded for ten runs in the last two innings to beat Aaron Sele and the Red Sox, 12-2, aided by three Boston errors. Milwaukee put together innings of 4, 5, and 5 runs each in a 14-5 decimation of the Blue Jays. And the Twins knocked Dave Stewart out early with 7 runs in the second and third innings combined to give Twins starter Kevin Tapani his first win of the season, 9-5. Mark McGwire hit his 5th home run of the season in the contest.

Braves highlights start at the beginning of the video:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 13, 1995
Atlanta Braves 9 (W: Glavine, 2-1; SV: Borbon, 1)
Cincinnati Reds 6 (L: Smith, 0-1)
8-8
3rd place
4 games behind

6-RUN INNING LIFTS BRAVES TO 9-6 WIN OVER REDS; GRISSOM HITS FIRST HOMER AS BRAVE;
BORBON GETS FIRST MLB SAVE

Struggling with a .179 batting average as the leadoff hitter on the NL pennant favorites, Marquis Grissom broke out of his early season slump in a big way tonight with his first home run as a Brave, a three-run shot that blew open a six-run fourth inning and lifted the Braves to a 9-3 lead en route to a 9-6 win over the Reds. Cincinnati shortstop Barry Larkin slugged two home runs, and the Reds got the tying run to the plate against the shaky Atlanta bullpen. But Pedro Borbon came on and earned his first major league save, and it appears Brad Clontz, who began the season as the closer, may have lost his job already.

It must have been really weird for the Braves to look out on the field at the Reds tonight. FIVE of Cincinnati's nine starters, including starting pitcher Pete Smith, were all members of the Braves team that won the 1992 pennant over...Cincinnati (Deion Sanders, Ron Gant, Damon Berryhill, Brian Hunter). And this Reds team, which has pulled out of the early season slump, took but two batters to jump out to a lead like those 92 Braves often did as Deion Sanders singled to right field and Barry Larkin launched his first home run of the night into the seats off starter Tom Glavine to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. But Larkin's error helped give one of the runs back in the second when Dwight Smith doubled and moved to third on the error that allowed Jose Oliva to reach base. Javy Lopez drove Smith home with a sacrifice fly to center, and the lead was cut in half.

Another Reds error got the other run back when Tom Glavine bunted for a hit in the first inning, and catcher Damon Berryhill threw wildly, moving Glavine all the way to third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly to Sanders in center to tie the game at two. Moments later, Chipper Jones smacked his fourth home run in the last five games to give Atlanta their first lead of the contest. A Reggie Sanders double and Mark Lewis single tied the game at three heading into the bottom of the fourth, but it all but ended for Smith and the Reds at that point.

Dwight Smith doubled to right and then beat Deion Sanders's throw him on Jose Oliva's single to make it 4-3. Rafael Belliard and Tom Glavine both followed with one-out singles, the former scoring Oliva to extend the lead to two runs, and then Grissom launched his first Braves home run to move the lead out to 8-3. Walks to Jeff Blauser and Jones, followed by a Fred McGriff single lifted it to 9-3, although he was thrown out trying to extend his single into a double. With a 9-3 lead and Glavine on the mound, it was hopeless for the Reds.

But the Atlanta bullpen still gives Bobby Cox nightmares, and this time it was Greg McMichael's turn to put the heat on Atlanta. He came in and gave up Larkin's second home run and then gave up a second run in the inning when Thomas Howard reached base, moved up on two ground outs, and scored on a two-out single by Reggie Sanders. Then came the dramatic ninth.

Clontz game in to close out the game and was greeted by a Jeff Branson double. Branson moved to third on a Berryhill fly out to right, and he scored on an infield ground out, making the score, 9-6. But when Clontz walked Sanders and Larkin both - and a double steal put both in scoring position - Clontz got the hook in favor of Borbon, son of former Reds pitcher Pedro Borbon. He struck out Howard to end the game, and the Braves could breathe a sigh of relief.


Braves highlights are at the start of the video below:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 14, 1995
Cincinnati Reds 5 (W: Carrasco, 1-3)
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Clontz, 0-2)
10 innings
8-9
Third place
5 games behind

BRAVES BULLPEN BLOWS BALLGAME...AGAIN
GANT HAUNTS FORMER TEAM AND LARKIN LEADS WITH LEGS

Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Clinical psychologists may define the Atlanta Braves management as insane because no matter how easy it looks to fix the problem, the Braves can't seem to do the obvious. Instead, they keep the same formulas that have not yet worked and hoping the result will be different. And yet it comes out the same, and the Braves do...more of the same. It was more of the same on Sunday afternoon at Fulton County Stadium as the Braves dropped their third series in a row, lost their second extra inning game out of two on the season, and watched their bullpen give up runs for the 12th time in 17 appearances (which includes five blown saves and four losses) while simultaneously watching an anemic offense struggle to score. The Braves have scored 6 runs or more six times and are 6-0 in those games. They've scored four or fewer runs nine times - and are 1-8 despite having a pitching staff that should give up fewer than four runs per game. Tonight, the Braves got held to three runs in ten innings, saw the bullpen blow another decent effort by Steve Avery, and then watched a former teammate end their night with a colossal clout. The Reds even overcame a first-inning ejection of Davey Johnson for arguing a strike call on leadoff batter Marquis Grissom. (If this were the days of Manager Pete Rose, speculation would center on whether he was trying to follow his gambling picks).

Barry Larkin got going early with a one-out double in the first but was stranded at third. In the bottom of the inning, Marquis Grissom was ruled to have checked his swing by first base umpire Rich Rieker, and when Johnson came out to raise a fuss, home plate umpire Steve Rippley ejected him. In the third, Larkin walked, stole second, and came home ahead of Reggie Sanders on the latter's two -run shot to left field to give the Reds the early lead. The Braves got one of the runs back in the fourth when Fred McGriff singled and then with two outs stole - yes, I said McGriff stole - second base and then scored on Mike Kelly's double. A Mark Lewis home run in the sixth gave the Reds a 3-1 win lead, and Avery was lifted in the seventh for a pinch-hitter. Avery didn't pitch badly - giving up only five hits (four to Larkin and Smith combined), but two of the bad pitches were home runs. Avery also picked Lewis off to end the Cincinnati third. Then in the bottom of the eighth, the Braves made a game of it. More precisely, the Reds pitching staff suddenly couldn't find home plate with a compass and guided missile technology.

Grissom led off the inning with a single, stole second, and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Eddie Taubensee. Chuck McElroy came on and promptly loaded the bases with two walks to Chipper Jones and McGriff. Jeff Brantley came in to pitch as part of a double switch and retired Jose Oliva for the second out. But then he walked Dwight Smith, forcing Grissom home with the second run and then tied the game when he hit Charlie O'Brien with a pitch that brought Chipper in to tie the game at three. It seemed as though the Reds were TRYING to make the game entertaining. Brantley then struck out Javy Lopez, pinch-hitting for Rafael Belliard, and the game went into the ninth. Neither team scored in the ninth but in the tenth, the Reds put the game away. Larkin got his third hit of the night (to go with three stolen bases) and then former Brave Ron Gant delivered judgment on his old club again, drilling a 2-run shot to deep center field over Grissom's head that sealed the game for the Reds and the loss for Clontz, 5-3. McGriff did lead off the bottom of the tenth with a single, bringing the tying run to the plate. Dwight Smith's single brought the winning run to the plate. Twice. But O'Brien struck out and Mark Lemke grounded out - and the Braves were out of outs. The Braves lost their third series in a row (Philly, Mets, and Reds) and now at the worst possible time are playing the hottest team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies.

Highlights of the Braves game begin the video below:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 15, 1995
Atlanta Braves 4 (W: Mercker, 1-1)
Colorado Rockies 0 (L: Olivares, 1-2)
9-9
3rd place
4 games out

BRAVES SILENCE ROCKIES BATS IN 4-0 WIN; COX SUGGESTS MOVING SMOLTZ TO BULLPEN

One year ago this week, the NBC comedy "Seinfeld" aired their season finale that featured perpetual loser George Costanza suddenly finding success the moment that he does the opposite of every instinct he has ever followed. The episode climaxes with Costanza tearing into New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner so viciously that Steinbrenner (played by writer Larry David) looks at an assisnant and says, "Hire this man!" Tonight in Fulton County Stadium, the Atlanta Braves did a pretty fair imitation of Costanza in that the game was the opposite of almost everything the Braves season has been thus far. Facing the most potent offense in the National League thus far, their fifth starter (yes, their fifth starter) held the potent Colorado attack to a measly four singles in a season long eight innings, the Rockies never got a runner past second base, and the Atlanta bullpen nailed down the victory by retiring Colorado by facing only four batters as the Braves won a 4-0 shutout. And no, Chipper Jones didn't homer, but Javy Lopez did, and starter Kent Mercker singled home the only run he would need after Mark Lemke doubled to lead off the bottom of the fourth. That run gave the Braves a 3-0 lead, and although Mercker was thrown out trying to advance to home on a double play, the Braves added a run in the seventh when speedy Marquis Grissom singled and then scored on a double by Chipper Jones. Mercker was pulled to start the ninth, and Pedro Borbon retired the first batter and Mark Wohlers the last two to seal the deal. Atlanta had lost eight of their last ten games.

After the game, Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said he is considering moving starter (and 1992 NLCS MVP) John Smoltz to the bullpen to solve his late-inning problems. Smoltz is open to the idea if he can help the team win games, but both Cox and Smoltz said that - for now - they favor keeping the tall righty in the rotation. Smoltz has actually fallen to fifth on Atlanta's pitching depth chart following elbow surgery during the strike. Smoltz will face Juan Acevedo tomorrow. The Braves are 23-2 in games against the Rockies since Colorado began playing in the league in 1993.


Braves highlights appear in the video below starting at 4:55

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 16, 1995
Atlanta Braves 15 (W: Smoltz, 2-2)
Colorado Rockies 3 (L: Acevedo, 1-2)
10-9
Third place
4 games behind

BRAVES BLAST ROCKIES AS JUSTICE RETURNS WITH HOME RUN;
PENDLETON EJECTED AND SUSPENDED

The Atlanta Braves found a way to sidestep their bullpen woes thus far this year: let your starter pitch 8 innings while your offense bangs out 20 hits and 15 runs in a battering so bad that Skip Caray must have gone through 70% of his extraneous material to keep fans watching the game tonight. Atlanta also held the Rockies, who have the best hitting team in baseball thus far this year, to only six hits, once again proving the adage that good pitching does generally beat good hitting. A crowd of 25,000 fans - a partial sellout in the Caray vocabulary - saw David Justice return to the lineup, and he was just the spark the Braves needed.

All did not start well for Atlanta, however. With two outs in the top of the first, Larry Walker singled and Andres "The Big Cat" Galarraga launched a two-run blast that put the Rockies out in front before the first Brave even batted. As it turned out, the first Atlanta batter, Marquis Grissom, flied out and before the night ended he would be the only Atlanta starter other than pitcher John Smoltz to not get a hit. With two outs in the first, Chipper Jones doubled and then scored on Fred McGriff's single to cut the lead in half. David Justice, in his first at bat since May 6, drilled a two-run shot and just like that the Braves had a lead they never relinquished the rest of the game. Justice did a lot of damage himself, with four hits and 4 RBIs, the sixth time in his career he has driven in that many runs. They chased Colorado starter Juan Acevedo with a four-run second courtesy of a Jeff Blauser solo home run and a two-out two-run bomb by Jose Oliva. With Smoltz pitching well and a 7-2 lead, the Braves broke open the bats and chased 8 more runs across the plate, including another solo home run by Chipper Jones, his fifth of the year. Steve Bedrosian came on the ninth and after walking Galarraga retired the last three batters in order.

Around the National League, the Phillies gave up a two-out game tying grand slam to Gary Sheffield in the bottom of the ninth (see at 3:04 in the video below) and then turned right around and won when the Marlins fell apart in the top of the tenth. After a leadoff walk to Kevin Stocker, Lenny Dykstra singled over second. As Stocker raced towards third, Sheffield gunned the ball to Terry Pendleton. The throw was off line though it beat Stocker by several steps. Pendleton dove to get Stocker at the bag and umpire Bob Davidson (the guy who missed the triple play in game 4 of the 1992 World Series) called Stocker safe. This enraged Pendleton who jumped up and in the process of arguing bumped the umpire twice, resulting in his immediate ejection. Marlins Manager Marcel Lacheman was also ejected when he argued the call. (Note: it appears he is out, but it is not 100% certain based on the angle shown). Stocker then beat the throw home from Jeff Conine on the next play to give Philly the lead, and they added another run to win, 9-7. The win keeps them four ahead of Atlanta while holding the best record in the majors at 14-5. It was also a tad unfair that the guy who gave up the grand slam wound up winning the game, but Heathcliff Slocumb does currently lead the majors with eight saves. Jamie Navarro allowed only three hits over 8.2 innings in a 2-0 Cubs win over the Giants that is the best start for Chicago in ten years. The Mets beat the Astros and Padres beat the Cardinals both by 1-0 scores, Tony Gwynn scoring the sole San Diego run in the bottom of the ninth.

In the AL, Mo Vaughn hit two home runs to extend his league-leading total to ten as the Red Sox beat the Brewers, 5-0, in a game that saw starter Erik Hanson toss a complete game four-hitter. Kenny Rogers won his third consecutive start but perhaps not knowing when to walk away or when to run, he pulled a hamstring in the Rangers' 6-1 win over Toronto. Terry Burrows came on and earned his first career save for Texas. Albert Belle went 3-for-4 with a double and home run and Manny Ramirez and Paul Sorrento both homered in Cleveland's 10-5 win over the Yankees and starter Jimmy Key. Baltimore got back-to-back home runs by Rafael Palmeiro and Cal Ripken, but still lost to Detroit, 9-8. And Mark McGwire extended his career longest hitting streak to 13 games as he went 2-for-2, including the go ahead home run, in a rain shortened 7-1 Oakland win over Chicago that concluded after five innings.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 17, 1995
Colorado Rockies 6 (W: Holmes, 3-0; SV: Ruffin, 6)
Atlanta Braves 5 (L: Maddux, 2-1)
10-10
3rd place
5 games behind

ROCKIES POUND MADDUX FOR RARE W AGAINST ATLANTA BEHIND KINGERY'S 3 RBI;
MLB MAY STAND FOR MORE LABOR B.....

You could hardly blame the Colorado Rockies if they entered tonight's game in Atlanta figuring they had no chance to win the contest. After all, they'd just gotten blown out, 15-3, the night before, they have lost 23 of 25 games to Atlanta, and they had to contend with the guy generally considered the best pitcher in baseball, Greg Maddux. They also had to contend with an Atlanta offense that appeared to wake up the night before, and the result was a game so emotional that Colorado celebrated the final out as if they'd just won the division title. The only thing missing was the champagne in the clubhouse.

Maddux entered the game with a 2-0 record and 2.31 ERA after a shortened spring training where he only made one start due to chicken pox. And Maddux didn't even pitch all that poorly save compared with his own lofty standards, but he got into trouble early and then lost the game late. The Rockies banged out four hits and scored three runs - all with two outs in the top of the first. Mike Kingery's single plated two runs to give Colorado a quick 3-0 lead. The Braves came right back in the bottom of the inning with two quick runs, but their failure to execute cost them a big inning. Marquis Grissom led off with a double to left and came home on a triple by Jeff Blauser. When Chipper Jones singled to score Blauser and then Fred McGriff walked, the Braves had the lead run on first base with nobody out and David Justice coming to bat. But Colorado starter Bill Swift struck out Justice, got a force out at second on a Dwight Smith grounder, and induced Charlie O'Brien to ground out 5-3. The Braves still trailed but not for long. With one out in the second, Maddux singled followed by Grissom and then Blauser launched a three-run home run that put the Braves into a 5-3 lead. Surely nobody at this point thought Colorado had a chance against Maddux. But the Rockies battled right back.

Walt Weiss led off the third with a single, stole second, and scored two ground outs later to cut the lead to 5-4. Maddux then hit his typical groove and allowed only one hit in the next three innings, a bunt single to Swift. In the seventh, however, Fred McGriff let a ground ball that would have been the third out go through his legs (eerily similar to Bill Buckner's famous faux pas), allowing Eric Young to score and tie the game. Not wanting to turn over the precarious situation to his faltering bullpen, Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox took the "might as well die with your best pitcher on the mound" approach. And in the top of the eighth that's exactly what happened.

Andres Galarraga led off the inning with a single and then moved over to second on a sacrifice by Joe Girardi. Mike Kingery got to Maddux again, with a single to right field that scored "The Big Cat" for what proved to be the winning run. In the last two innings, the only Atlanta baserunner was slow-footed catcher Charlie O'Brien, who walked to lead off the inning and was replaced by Mike Mordecai on the basepaths. But Atlanta mustered no offense against the shaky Colorado bullpen, and the Rockies prevailed, 6-5. The loss drops the Braves back to .500 and five games behind Philadephia, who continues with the best record in baseball while the Rockies lead the NL West.

Philadelphia won yet another extra inning game against the Marlins, again off the bat of Mickey Morandini, who slugged a pinch-hit two-out two-run home run that lifted the Phillies to a 3-1 win over the Florida Marlins in 13 innings. Kevin Foster took a perfect game into the sixth inning but Barry Bonds launched a two-run home run off the empty upper deck in right field for the only runs the Giants needed as they beat the Cubs, 2-1, in Pac Bell Park. Reggie Sanders homered and Ron Gant drove in the go-ahead run as the suddenly revived Reds handed Jeff Fassero his first loss of the season in a 6-2 triumph in Montreal. Reds superstar Barry Larkin, leading the big leagues with a .425 average, left the game after landing awkwardly at first base, and he is listed as day-to-day.

Randy Johnson left the game with soreness in his pitching arm in the fourth inning after he was unable to get loose following a 68-minute rain delay in Kansas City. Bob Wells replaced the Big Unit and got the win, a 4-0 shutout over the Royals. Former NL pitcher Kevin Gross got his first-ever AL win but it was a doozy. He gave up three home runs to Toronto as the Rangers were in a 5-0 hole, but Dean Palmer homered in both the 2nd and 3rd and Gross recovered to pitch long enough to nail down a 12-7 win at the new Ballpark In Arlington. Baltimore came from four runs down with a five-run sixth inning that included the first home run by Jeff Manto since 1991 as they beat Detroit, 7-4. Cecil Fielder had two home runs for the Tigers. Aaron Sele gave up five hits in six innings and Mo Vaughn had three RBIs as Boston beat Milwaukee, 8-2. Jose Canseco was placed on the Red Sox 15-day DL for a strained right groin. The Indians and Yankees were rained out and will play a doubleheader on August 10.

The Rockies go for a series split tomorrow with the Braves as Tom Glavine faces former Brave Marvin Freeman.



Braves highlights begin at 3:35 in the video below:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 18, 1995
Atlanta Braves 3 (W: McMichael, 3-0; SV: Borbon, 3)
Colorado Rockies 2 (L: Munoz, 0-1)
11-10
3rd place
4 1/2 games behind

BRAVES DOMINANCE - AND BULLPEN WOES - CONTINUE IN SERIES WIN OVER COLORADO;
AL TEAMS COMBINE FOR 18 HOME RUNS
WHITE SOX SIGN KRUK WHILE RANGERS AVOID ARBITRATION WITH PUDGE

The Atlanta Braves have zero chance at winning the World Series this year.

That's a provocative statement to make less than one month into the baseball season, but until the day the Braves get somebody - anybody - who can close out a game and seal the deal, they are going to suffer the fickle finger of the fates that have haunted them for the previous four years. It's too bad the Braves can't play the Rockies in the World Series because it would probably be no contest.

We are 21 games into the 1995 baseball season, and Atlanta's fine starting rotation has surrendered 47 runs in 129 innings. The bullpen, by contrast, has surrendered 44 runs in 75 innings, meaning that if the bullpen keeps the current pace they will surrender 75 runs when they reach 129 innings. And bear in mind that bullpens usually tend to face the lesser hitters in a team's lineup and only once, so their numbers should be substantially better, particularly in day games when they often face players who have been out in the sun for 2-3 hours. Atlanta's bullpen is not cutting it even in the games they're winning. Indeed, bullpen failures are why the winningest pitcher on the Braves thus far is Greg McMichael, who faced 7 batters tonight and gave up three hits and a Larry Walker home run that flew into Cobb County and threw a wild pitch...but got the decision after that mediocre performance because Atlanta's other problem (an anemic offense) contributed to Tom Glavine pitching pretty good for any pitcher not named Tom Glavine or Greg Maddux but leaving without a win. It's better than a loss, but so is not even pitching.

It remains to be seen how Atlanta will fare when they travel to Colorado for the return set of games in a month, but the Braves have absolutely owned the Rockies since the expansion franchise entered the league in 1993. Tonight they ran their record to an astonishing 24-3 against the young upstarts with the powerhouse offense by holding them to two runs on 11 hits and taking the series, 3-1, that saw Atlanta's world class pitching staff (sans bullpen) hold the Rockies to 11 runs across four games (6 in one contest), and shut them out in the opener. Bear in mind the Rockies have scored at least TEN RUNS IN ONE GAME no less than 7 times (they're 5-2 in those games) and eight runs in a game three other times in 21 contests where they now hold a 13-8 record.

Glavine got off to his typical slow start today, but he managed to limit the damage to only one run. Ellis Burks led off with a double and then Larry Walker lived up to his last name on a base on balls with one out. A single to short right by Andres Galarraga loaded the bases with only one out and brought up the slugging Dante Bichette. Glavine induced a sacrifice fly to center that plated Burks, but he got out of the inning by getting Joe Girardi to pop out to second.

But Atlanta's below par performance at the plate continued through the first five innings. In the sixth, Chipper Jones singled home Dwight Smith, who scored with an excellent hook slide around Girardi to tie the game. In the seventh, David Justice singled and stole second and then Javy Lopez drilled his fourth home run of the year, a 446-foot bomb, to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead. Greg McMichael was already on the mound and - apparently not wanting the crowd to leave early - he gave up a 450-foot moon shot into the right field seats by Larry Walker that cut the lead to 3-2 Atlanta. After giving up a double to Bichette that put the tying run at second with one out, McMichael got the hook and Mark "Bay City" Wohlers came on. Wohlers got an infield ground out and a pop out to end the eighth. Naturally after that decent performance, there was no way Bobby Cox was going to leave Wohlers in the game.

Except, of course, he did, and once again it nearly backfired spectacularly.

After retiring Eric Young on a line out to left - where Mike Kelly had conveniently replaced the just returned Ryan Klesko for defensive purposes - Wohlers gave up a single to pinch-hitter Mike Kingery. Wohlers then threw a wild pitch to put Kingery at second and the potential winning run game to the plate in the form of Ellis Burks. Wohlers got Burks to strike out, but he then walked Walt Weiss, bringing the ever dangerous Walker up the plate again with a chance to steal the win. Cox yanked Wohlers and brought in the newest attempt at a closer, Pedro Borbon Jr. Borbon then balked both runners ahead one base, putting the go ahead run at second and the dangerous Walker, hitting .339 with 6 HR on the year, at the plate. Borbon hung a curve that Walker launched to deep left field, but the ball came down on the warning track in the glove of Kelly about a step from the wall (he actually ran into it at a slowed speed). The game was over, and the Braves escaped despite an erratic bullpen again with a 3-2 win. The win keeps the Braves in third place and lifts them to one game above .500.

In Los Angeles, Nelson Liriano got his first 4 RBIs of the season, and Rich Aude hit a tie-breaking two-run HR as the Pirates beat the Dodgers, 7-4, to give Jason Christiansen - who faced only one batter and retired him - his first ever MLB win. Todd Williams took the loss for LA. Bobby Bonilla hit his fifth home run of the season as the Mets beat Doug Drabek for the first time in three years in an 8-1 rout of Houston that gave rookie Dave Mlicki (and his 1.40 ERA) the win. Bernard Gilkey's 10th inning RBI double followed by a Ray Lankford sacrifice fly was enough to overcome yet another Barry Bonds homer and help the Cardinals end a 3-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Giants.

In the AL, baseballs were flying out of the park like the birds flying South for the winter. The most timely was Rusty Greer's grand slam in the bottom of the 8th in Texas that lifted the Rangers over the Brewers, 6-2, at the new Ballpark in Arlington. Mike MacFarlaine's bottom of the 8th home run over the Green Monster off Jim Poole was enough to lift the Red Sox to a 4-3 win over the Indians. Carlos Baerga went 3-for-4, but he also botched a double play that led to the Red Sox taking a 3-2 lead in the sixth. The Kansas City Royals left 23 men on base - including six at third base - but they got just enough to beat Seattle in 14 innings when Jon Nunnally hit a walkoff that turned Jim Converse into the losing pitcher in KC. And a wild one unfolded in Minnesota, where the Angels had a seven-run third inning and a 10-1 lead that fell victim to the Twins' own seven-run sixth inning that narrowed the gap to 10-8 beore California pulled away in a 15-9 triumph. Six balls left the Homerdome, including two by the slumping Andy Allanson.

Former Phillie Jon Kruk, coming off surgery for testicular cancer, signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox, while the Rangers avoided salary arbitration by coming to an agreement with Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. Details were undisclosed. The Florida Marlins arrive in Atlanta tomorrow for a three-game series. Steve Avery, Kent Mercker, and John Smoltz are the projected starters for the Braves.

==========

Braves highlights for 5/18/95 start at 8:19 in the video below. (You might enjoy the faux pas by the ESPN announcer referring to Braves pitcher Greg McMichael as STEVE McMichael, apparently thinking of the Chicago Bears. In May).

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 19, 1995
Atlanta Braves 4 (W: Avery, 1-1)
Florida Marlins 0 (L: Veres, 0-1)
12-10
2nd place
3 1/2 games behind

WALK OFF GRAND SLAM LIFTS BRAVES, AVERY TO WIN OVER MARLINS;
JUDGE RULES ON COX ARREST

Steve Avery entered tonight's game with a career record of 58-40. It is a career marred by repeated cases of Avery pitching gems but the Braves unable to score runs to help him win. Avery first burst onto the national scene in the 1991 NLCS, when he didn't allow the Pirates a run in 16 1/3 innings as he went 2-0 and won half the games Atlanta needed to make it to the Worst-To-First World Series. In those games, Avery got the absolute minimum run support any pitcher can get to win two games, one run each time. His 1992 record of 11-11 (but a better ERA than his 18-8 in 1991) was largely because the Braves scored 2 runs or less in nine of his starts. And it seemed like old times in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium tonight.

Avery threw a complete gem, allowing only five hits while walking four and striking out seven. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate and hit a triple. It was Atlanta's first nine inning complete game of the year and Avery's sixth career shutout. As amazing as that was, Marlins starter Bobby Witt nearly matched Avery pitch for pitch, going seven innings and surrendering only four hits. Witt was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the eighth, but it was the bold decision Bobby Cox made to let Avery hit for himself with one out in the bottom of ht eighth - and sending him back out to the mound - that helped the Braves win. Whether Cox had a lot of confidence in Avery to complete the ninth or no confidence in his bullpen - or some combination of both - Cox made all the right moves tonight, including whom he sent up for the pinch-hit that won the game.

Prior to the contest, Braves outfielder Dwight Smith strained a ligament in his upper arm in batting practice last night, and it resulted in a huge hematoma. Smith was clear to Cox - he could not play the field, but he could pinch-hit or pinch-run. In the bottom of the ninth, Jeff Blauser doubled to right and moved to third on a Chipper Jones sacrifice bunt. With the win at third and one out, the Marlins walked Fred McGriff and David Justice - sluggers both - intentionally to take their chances with slugger Ryan Klesko and set up the force at any base. Jose Oliva pinch-hit for Klesko (???) and struck out. Dwight Smith then came on for Charlie O'Brien and golfed a 3-1 pitch from Richie Lewis into the right field seats for a game-winning grand slam. The win is Atlanta's fifth in seven games, and they gain one game on the Phillies, who lost to the Mets, 5-1, largely on Rico Brogna's home run. Mets starter Bret Saberhagen left in the fifth with shoulder stiffness. Matt Williams slugged two home runs for his league-leading tenth as the Giants beat the Cardinals, 6-5, in San Francisco. Tony Eusebio's first career grand slam and Jeff Bagwell's two-run home run led the Astros to a 10-2 blowout win over the Expos that saw Houston compile a seven-run inning. Pete Schourek pitched eight strong innings as the Reds shut out the Rockies, 2-0, to reach .500 for the first time this year after starting 0-6. And Andre Dawson was ejected from the Marlins-Braves game tonight for arguing balls and strikes with umpire Angel Hernandez.

In the AL, the Red Sox were one out away from extending their win streak to six games when the Indians exploded for six runs in the ninth to turn a 5-3 loss into a 9-5 win at Fenway. Both Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez went yard while Kenny Lofton went 3-for-3 and scored four times, including the go ahead run on a Carlos Baerga single. The Baltimore Orioles weren't quite as impressive as they scored "only" four runs in the ninth, three on a Brady Anderson home run, to turn their 5-3 loss to the Yankees into a 7-5 win. Closer John Wetteland got his first loss of the season. Twins rookie Marty Cordova homered for the fourth straight game to lead Minnesota to an 8-6 comeback win over the Mariners. Shawn Green and Ed Sprague homered on the first two pitches of the seventh inning to lift Toronto to a 4-2 win over the Tigers that ended a three-game losing streak and resulted in a win for "Rent-A-Player" David Cone. Terry Steinbach went 4-for-5 as Oakland pounded the Royals, 10-3, to give Ron Darling his first win of the year.

Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox may escape serious charges in his domestic violence situation if he: a) completes a violence counseling course and; b) submits to an alcohol evaluation. Cox agreed to the stipulations through his attorney, which results in a 90-day delay of filing charges. Former Brave Terry Pendleton was suspended for four games for his contact with an umpire last week.

Braves highlights are in the video below at 11:25:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 20, 1995
Atlanta Braves 8 (W: Wohlers, 1-1)
Florida Marlins 7 (L: Nen, 0-3)
13-10
2nd place
3 1/2 games behind

CHIPPER'S BLAST RALLIES BRAVES TO 2ND STRAIGHT NINTH INNING WIN

He was only trying to reach first base, but Chipper Jones touched them all in the bottom of the ninth inning after taking Marlins closer Rob Nen 448-feet deep into the seats to give the Braves an 8-7 win over Florida to help them keep pace with the first-place Phillies in the NL East. The 1-0 breaking ball didn't break, and Jones's sixth career home run became his first walkoff. The blast made a winner out of Atlanta reliever Mark Wohlers, who retired the only batter he faced in the top of the ninth. But it was an important batter as slugger Gary Sheffield came to bat in a 7-7 tie game with runners on first and third. The Marlins were left befuddled after getting the first two batters of the inning on base against Mike Stanton, botched a sacrifice attempt, and Terry Pendleton forced Florida's fastest runner (Quilvio Veras) at second base. What would have been a Marlins rally became their tomb when they failed to score and Chipper had his heroics. Florida has to be shaking their heads at the loss after leaving 14 runners on base, banging out 12 hits while adding 9 walks, and getting a runner on an Atlanta error but still losing the contest.

Kent Mercker started for Atlanta against Pat Rapp, but neither pitcher made it past the fifth nor did either pitch well. Mike Kelly led off the bottom of the first in place of Marquis Grissom and singled, moving to second on an infield out by Jeff Blauser and then scoring on a Chipper single to make it 1-0. Mercker got two outs in the second and then gave the lead right back by walking Charles Johnson and Jerry Browne to face Rapp, the pitcher, who laced a double that scored both runners and gave the Marlins the lead. Strangely, in the bottom of the inning, it looked like deja vu all over again.

Ryan Klesko walked and then Mercker game to bat with two outs. He promptly gave Rapp a dose of his own medicine with a double that scored Klesko to tie the game. Moments later, Mercker scored when Kelly singled to center and Atlanta regained the lead. In the fourth, David Justice led off with a walk, moved to third on a Klesko single and then scored on a double play to give the Braves a 4-2 lead. But Mercker, perhaps fatigued from actually having to run around the basepaths, only faced one more batter, and after he walked Sheffield, he was gone and replaced by Steve Bedrosian. Bedrosian gave up a single to Greg Colbrunn before retiring the next two batters, but he walked Johnson to load the bases and then gave up a single to right. Sheffield scored to cut the score to 4-3, but Justice gunned down Colbrunn at home with a perfect strike to Javy Lopez and preserve the Braves lead. But Bedrosian, still ineffective, gave up singles to pinch-hitter Alex Arias and Quilvio Veras and then surrendered a three-run opposite field home run to former Brave Terry Pendleton that thrust the Marlins out into a 6-4 lead. Bedrosian was gone at that point, and changeup specialist Greg McMichael came on and retired the Marlins in order to close out the top of the sixth.

Atlanta clawed back in the bottom of the inning. Fred McGriff singled off reliever Matt Dunbar and then went to second on a wild pitch. Justice walked but Klesko popped out an infield fly (note: a REAL one this time). Lopez singled McGriff home, but the Atlanta rally fizzled when Lemke's grounder forced Lopez at second, and pinch-hitter Dwight Smith struck out to end the inning with Florida still leading, 6-5. Rookie Brad Clontz, highly ineffective even in his saves, came on and gave that run back immediately by walking Kurt Abbott, who moved to second on a bunt and then scored on a Jerry Browne single to make extend the Marlins lead to 7-5.

Yorkis Perez came on for Florida in the bottom of the eighth and struck out McGriff leading off but then walked both Justice and Klesko. Closer Rob Nen was thus summond early, but a single by Lopez and infield ground out by pinch-hitter Jose Oliva tied the game at seven and set the stage for Chipper's heroics.

Mickey Morandini's 3-run home run and Kevin Stocker's 4 RBIs led the Phillies to their 13th win in 16 games in a 10-8 win over the Mets. Ron Gant drove in five runs, including a two-out RBI single in the 10th to lift the Reds to a 10-9 win over the Rockies. A bases loaded walk to Dave Magadan lifted Houston to a 2-1 win over Montreal in the 10th inning in the Astrodome. Seven unearned runs capped by Royce Clayton's three-run double lifted the Giants to a 10-7 win over the Cardinals. The Giants also traded pitchers Salomon Torres and Steve Frey to Seattle for two minor league pitchers in separate trades.

In the AL, Marty Cordovoa continued his home run streak as he tied Minnesota's franchise record (Harmon Killebrew) for homering in five straight games, but Jay Buhner's two homers and 5 RBIs lifted Seattle to a 10-6 win. Cleveland overcame a two-run deficit with a four-run eighth paced by home runs by Albert Belle and Jim Thome. Todd Stottlemyre retired 22 straight batters as Oakland pounded the Royals, 10-1, in KC. Mickey Tettelton's single scored Otis Nixon in the 11th inning to lead Texas to a 7-6 win. A five-run third paced by Mike Stanley and Danny Tartabull ended a four-game Yankee losing streak in their 7-2 win over Baltimore. The Yankees also placed Jimmy Key on the 15-day DL due to an inflamed rotator cuff. Key had surgery on his arm last October.

John Smoltz faces John Burkett tomorrow in the finale of a series the Braves have already clinched. After a day off on Monday, the Braves had a 9-game road trip scheduled with stops in Houston, St Louis, and Chicago.


Braves highlights for 20 May 1995 begin at 1305. The Jones walkoff home run is at 13:20.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 21, 1995
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Smoltz, 3-2)
Florida Marlins 1 (L: Burkett, 3-3)
14-10
2nd place
3 1/2 games behind

BRAVES HOLD MARLINS TO 2 HITS IN 5-1 WIN TO COMPLETE SWEEP;
ROGERS SHUTOUT STREAK REACHES 26 INNINGS

The game was over within the first five battters; the rest was just Sunday afternoon entertainment.

John Smoltz and Mark Wohlers combined to allow just two Marlins hits today as the Braves won their fourth game in a row, 5-1, to complete a three-game sweep of the Florida Marlins and complete a 6-3 homestand that began by losing 2 of the first 3. The Braves now head out on the road after a day off with a three-game set scheduled in St Louis, followed by three in Houston and three more in Chicago.

After Smoltz retired the first three Marlins, the Braves went right to work. Mike Kelly led off with a single and stole second. Walks to Jeff Blauser and Chipper Jones brought up Fred McGriff with the bases loaded, and he drilled a line shot to second that was caught. But David Justice doubled home Kelly and Jones, and the Braves were ahead, 2-0, with runners at second and third and only one out. Ryan Klesko then struck out, but Javy Lopez was hit by a pitch to load the bases and bring up Mark Lemke. Lemke grounded out to first, and Atlanta had a 2-0 lead that should have been more.

It didn't matter. Smoltz was firing on all cylinders. Chipper singled home two runs in the fourth to give the Bravs a 4-0 lead, Smoltz scoring the fourth run, and the tall righty took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Quilvio Veras doubled with one out and then scored on a single by Jerry Browne, but Smoltz then retired Gary Sheffield and Terry Pendleton to retire the only threat the Marlins ever made. The back-to-back hits were the only two Florida got all afternoon. Javy Lopez latered homered to add to the final tally, but the Braves were never in trouble as Wohlers came on for a 1-2-3 ninth, and the Braves won, 5-1.

Their division rivals, the Phillies, continue to be the hottest team in baseball, going 17-6 thus far, and they won yet another one with a 5-3 triumph over the Mets that saw Charlie Hayes drive home two runs while Michael McMimbs pitched six innings. Tripp Cromer, a rookie filling in at shortstop for Ozzie Smith, hit his second home run in two games that ignited a Cardinal rally and resulted in a 9-7 St Louis win over the Giants. Cromer was hitting .117 entering yesterday's game. The Giants banged out 17 hits - and still lost. Vinny Castilla, John Vander Wal, and Mike Kingery all drilled solo home runs in Colorado's 5-2 win over the Reds, a win that lifts the Rockies to 2-12 all-time at Riverfront Stadium. Craig Biggio's two-run homer led Houston to a 5-2 win over Montreal to complete a three-game sweep and give pitcher Greg Swindell his first-ever win over the Expos. Denny Neagle's five-hitter lifted Pittsburgh to a 6-1 win over San Diego that was Neagle's third straight win. Sammy Sosa's 13th inning solo home run - his 8th of the year - led the Cubs to a 2-1 win over the Dodgers, who managed only five hits despite the extra innings.

In the AL, the Rangers beat the Brewers, 6-0, as Kenny Rogers extended his streak of scoreless innings to 26, the most ever for a Texas lefty. He's still a long way from Orel Hershiser's record of 59, though. Detroit had no hits for five innings off Al Leiter and then three pinch-hitters came through in the sixth against Danny Cox to lead the Tigers to a 2-1 win over the Blue Jays. Sterling Hitchcock pitched a four-hitter for his first career shutout and the Yankees' first complete game of the season in a 5-0 win over Baltimore. Randy Johnson struck out ten and raised his record to 4-0 with a 5-2 win over the Twins. Johnson has a 1.21 ERA and leads the league with 49 Ks, and he stopped Marty Cordova's consecutive games with a home run streak at five, three short of the MLB record. For the third straight game, Cleveland rallied to beat the Boston bullpen, overcoming deficits of 6-3 and 9-6 to sweep the Sox, 12-10. And Mark McGwire's two-run home run extended his hitting streak to 18 games as the Athletics beat the Royals, 7-2, to complete a three-game sweep.

The Braves have a day off tomorrow before the nine-game road trip begins.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 22, 1995
Idle
14-10
2nd plac
3 1/2 games behind

CURRENT MLB LEADERS

Batting Average
AL - Manny Ramirez, .395
NL - Barry Larkin, .398

Home Runs
AL - Mo Vaughn, 11
NL - Matt Williams, 10

RBIs
AL - Mark McGwire, 29
NL - Matt Williams, 29

Stolen Bases
AL - Chuck Knoblauch and Rickey Henderson, 9
NL - Deion Sanders, 15

Wins
AL - Randy Johnson and Mike Butcher, 4
NL - Jaime Navarro, 4

Strikeouts
AL - Kevin Appier, 53
NL - John Smoltz, 34

Saves
AL - Lee Smith, 10
NL - Heathcliff Slocumb, 11

PITCHING PROBABLES FOR ATL AT STL
Game 1 - Greg Maddux vs Danny Jackson
Game 2 - Tom Glavine vs John Frascatore
Game 3 - Steve Avery vs Ken Hill

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 23, 1995
Atlanta Braves 7 (W: Maddux, 3-1)
St Louis Cardinals 1 (L: Jackson, 0-5)
15-10
2nd place
3 1/2 games behind

MADDUX HURLS COMPLETE GAME 5-HIT GEM IN 7-1 WIN OVER CARDS;
CABRERA RELEASED FROM MINORS;
FINLEY Ks 15 YANKS IN 10-0 ROUT

Overcoming his worst outing of the year, Greg Maddux gave his best. So far.

For five innings tonight, Maddux, who has won the National League Cy Young Award the past three sasons, was absolutely perfect, not allowing a single runner to reach base. Maddux, though, says the idea of a no-hitter never entered his mind, even going so far in the post-game press meeting as to say he doubts he will ever be able to throw a no-hitter. Why? "Because I throw too many strikes. I stay around the plate. You'll notice the guys who get a no-hitter are a little wild at times, but I rely on location." Maddux, arguably the best pitcher in baseball today, not only has never thrown a no-hitter, he's never even come close. He's thrown eight three-hitters - and that's his personal best.

A no-hitter, though, might be the only thing Maddux is missing from his resume aside from a World Series ring. He gave it his best effort tonight, going five perfect innings and giving up five hits over the last four as the shaky Atlanta bullpen got the night off in a complete game performance. In fact, Maddux was so in control that the Cardinals only hit one ball out of the infield in those five innings. David Justice drilled a two-run homer in the fourth, which was all the offense Maddux would need on this night. Just to be sure, though, the Braves ran five more runs across the plate, three on a Mike Kelly home run in the sixth and two more via small ball and a wild pitch in the top of the ninth. The Braves were never in danger of losing the game, never getting more than two baserunners at a time and scoring their only run on back-to-back singles by Jose Oquendo and Ray Lankford. Oquendo came home on a double play ball by Todd Zeile, and that's all the Cardinal offense could muster. The win is Atlanta's fifth in a row and 8th in the last ten games. It helps the Braves keep pace with first-place Philadelphia, who currently has the best record in all of baseball (18-6).

Philly rallied in the bottom of the ninth as Rod Beck blew his third save in a row and again missed a chance to notch his 100th career save. Trailing 5-4, Gregg Jefferies and Dave Hollis walked, and Darren Daulton singled home Jefferies to tie the game. Eventually, Kevin Stocker hit a sacrifice fly to center with the bases loaded that ended the game with a 6-5 Phillies win. Hideo Nomo took the league lead in strikeouts with 47, but he got his fifth straight no decision, even though the Dodgers beat the Mets late, 6-4. Mike Lansing's first career grand slam came in the first inning and sent Montreal on their way to a 6-4 win that made Jeff Fassero the majors' first five-game winner. Darryl Kile's Astros banged out 13 hits but only scored five runs in a 10-5 loss to the Reds in Cincinnati. Six long balls - three for each team - left Coors Field, but the Rockies came up a run short against the Cubs, 7-6. And the Marlins raced out to a 5-0 lead en route to a 6-1 win over the Pirates at Three Rivers.

Jose Mesa got his sixth save and Jim Thome hit his fifth home run of the season as the Tribe beat the Brew Crew, 5-3. Rafael Palmeiro's eighth home run of the season lifted Kevin Brown to his fourth win an 8-1 Orioles rout over Oakland. Trailing 4-0 in the fifth, the Red Sox came back to win, 5-4, in ten in the Kingdome in Seattle. And Chuck Finley went the distance, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out 15 batters in a 10-0 blowout of the Yankees in Anaheim.

Francisco Cabrera, forever known as the hero whose base hit drove Sid Bream across the plate with the run that won Atlanta the 1992 NL pennant, was released from AAA Richmond. Cabrera, 28, has not played in the majors since Game 5 of the 1993 NLCS, is a lifetime .254 batter, but his dramatic flair will remain with Braves fans forever. Though his best-known hit is the single that won the playoffs, Cabrera is also credited with delivering the turning point in the Braves' franchise from chumps to champs when he drilled a dramatic three-run home run with two outs in the ninth off Rob Dibble in Cincinnati to tie a game the Braves eventually won in 13 innings. And he also hit a grand slam in Atlanta's 14-2 rout of the Cardinals on July 21, 1993. That's a pretty good legacy for a man who had only 346 major league at-bats.



Highlights for games of May 23 are below.
There are no Braves highlights for the day.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 24, 1995
Atlanta Braves 9 (W: Glavine, 3-1)
St Louis Cardinals 5 (L: Frascatore, 1-1)
17-10
2nd place
3 1/2 games behind

IT WAS THE BEST OF TOM, IT WAS THE WORST OF TOM;
MCDOWELL THROWS 7 NO-HIT INNINGS BUT LOSES;
ECK GETS SAVE #300

Braves lefty Tom Glavine exhibited his own version of "A Tale of Two Glavines" tonight in St Louis when he surrendered four first-inning runs and then retired 18 batters in a row en route to his third win of the season, a 9-5 Atlanta triumph over the Cardinals that saw Glavine waste a 4-0 lead with a shaky first inning and then recover to pitch lights out until he was pulled after the seventh. It always seems this way with Glavine. In six starts this season, he has allowed 16 runs - and 13 of those have come in the first inning. Last season, Glavine surrendered 76 runs in the strike shortened campaign of which 18 were in the first. If you get to him early, you can beat him, but if you don't get to him early, you have no chance. His choke starts in game 6 of the 1992 NLCS and the 1992 All-Star game are vivid in the memory, but Glavine sails through the first more than he finds trouble. Glavine proposed his own theory after tonight's game: it may be because he rarely uses the fastball in the first inning. And if his changeup and slider are not hitting their spots, hitters walk and the patient power hitters make him pay. That's exactly what happened tonight.

It seemed as though Glavine was going to have an easy time of it. By the time he took the mound for his first pitch, he was ahed, 4-0, a lead which is safe with almost any member of the Atlanta starting rotation on the hill. Three first-inning doubles by Marquis Grissom, Chipper Jones, and Ryan Klesko sandwiched around a walk to Jeff Blauser put Atlanta up by four early against Cardinal starter (and losing pitcher) John Frascatore. But Glavine walked the first three Cardinal batters (Bernard Gilkey, Jose Oquendo, and Ray Lankfod) and then gave up a two-run RBI single to Todd Zeile that cut the lead in half. After retiring Brian Jordan on an infield grounder that moved the runners up a base, Glavine was in a tie game courtesy of a double by catcher Danny Sheaffer. On the verge of getting blown off the mound in the first inning, Glavine recovered to retire Tripp Cromer and Frascatore to leave the score tied. And the Cardinals didn't get another hit until there was one out in the bottom of the seventh by which time they were trailing, 9-4.

Despite the shock of the rapid Cardinal comeback, the Braves immediately regained the lead when Marquis Grissom singled with one out in the second, stole second base, stole third as part of a double steal with Jeff Blauser, who was gunned down at second, and then raced home on an error by Jose Oquendo to give Atlanta a lead they never relinquished. Glavine then drove in a run himself in the third as part of a two-run inning that lifted the Braves to a 7-4 lead. A walk to Chipper and a bomb by Fred McGriff in the fourth made it 9-4, and the Braves cruised from that point. The Atlanta bullpen, so wretched at times this year, was splendid as Greg McMichael gave up two hits and struck out two in two innings.

Lenny Dykstra, the catalyst of the Phillies, missed his second straight game with spinal stenosis, but the Phillies didn't miss him too much. Replacement leadoff batter Dave Gallagher went 3-for-3 and scored the winning run in the 8th as the Phillies beat the Giants, 2-1, and Heathcliff Slocumb earned his league-leading 12th save. Hal Morris returned from a pulled hamstring injury that had him in the rut of an 0-for-15 streak at the plate by busting out four hits that helped the Reds complete a three-game sweep over the Astros by the final score of 4-2. Henry Rodriguez made his debut in Montreal, and he didn't disappoint, either. Rodriguez came over with Jeff Treadway two days ago in exchange for Roberto Kelly, and he slammed a two-run home run in his first Expos at bat to give his team a 3-2 win over the Padres and frustrate the excellent start of San Diego starter Joey Hamilton, who retired 17 hitters in a row before he tired in the eighth. A throwing error allowed Shawon Dunston to score what proved to be the winning run as the Cubs beat the Rockies, 5-3, at Coors Field. The Pirates-Marlins contest was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on August 18.

Speaking of doubleheaders, the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox played the longest pair of games in nine-inning doubleheaders in MLB history today, totaling 7 hours and 39 minutes. The teams split the games, Chicago winning 10-8 in the opener and Texas taking the night cap, 13-6. The games saw 32 walks and eight wild pitches. There were no wild pitches only a wild outcome in Anaheim when new Yankees ace Black Jack McDowell went 7 innings without allowing a hit. Even the first one he did allow was questionable, a close call at first base that could have gone either way thanks to a slide by Chili Davis. Moments later, the Yankees were undone when Greg Myers doubled Davis home and Spike Owen's single scored Myers with Owen making it all the way to third on a Bernie Williams error. The Angels spoiled the pitching show, 3-1. Brady Anderson tied the record of "most consecutive steals without a caught stealing" by stealing his 32nd base in a row, but Baltimore still lost to Oakland, 5-3. Dennis Eckersley became the 6th pitcher in MLB history to save 300 games, a feat made all the more amazing by the fact that when Eck broke into the big leagues 20 years ago, there were only 25 total pitchers with ONE HUNDRED career saves. The game has indeed changed. (Note: in 1975, when Eck came into the league, the Boston Red Sox won the AL pennant with pitchers throwing 62 complete games - which was only third in the big leagues. The Reds, who beat the Red Sox in the series that year had the fewest in the league with 22. Two years ago in the last full MLB season the leader was the Angels - with 26). Detroit won their fifth in a row with a 14-3 pasting of the Twins. And the Red Sox scored six while Mike Blowers drove in eight all by himself in Seattle's 15-6 romp over Boston.

Ozzie Smith has been placed on the DL and may need surgery on a sore shoulder. Darren Lewis became the first big leaguer this season to actually win his arbitration case against the Giants, awarded nearly $800K more than the Giants were offering. The White Sox purchased John Kruk's contract from AAA Nashville and designated DH Chris Sabo for assignment.

Steve Avery takes the mound for Atlanta against Ken Hill tomorrow at 1230 St Louis time.

Braves highlights for May 24, 1995 begin at 8:09 below:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 25, 1995
St Louis Cardinals 4 (W: Hill, 3-0; SV: Henke, 9)
Atlanta Braves 1 (L: Avery, 1-2)
16-11
2nd place
3 1/2 games behind

CARDS END ATLANTA'S SIX-GAME WIN STREAK BEHIND HILL, JORDAN

Ken Hill pitched 6 2/3 innings while giving up six hits and drove home a run with a sixth-inning single as the St Louis Cardinals ended Atlanta's six-game winning streak, 4-1, before a crowd of just under 24,000 at Busch Memorial Stadium tonight. Despite striking out only batter during his time on the mound, Hill limited the damage to one run that Ryan Klesko scored following Hill's own wild pitch in the fourth. Tom Henke, 37, notched his 284th career save as the Cards lifted their record to 12-16, six games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Atlanta starter Steve Avery did not pitch poorly, but he was undone by two Tom Pagnozzi doubles and Hill's single that led to the four Cardinal runs. Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox noted that Avery only gave up one stinging hit all day, one of the Pagnozzi doubles, and praised his performance, saying that "Avery is 1-2, and he ought to be 5-0." Avery, who has been slumping since September 1993, often pitches well but comes up on the short end of a score either by one bad pitch, a lack of offensive support, lack of bullpen support - or as often as not some combination of all three.

The Braves lost no ground in the standings as the Phillies lost to Mark Leiter and the Giants, 3-1, in a game called in the sixth inning due to rain. The loss ended a five-game Philly winning skein. The San Diego Padres ended a 15-game losing streak against the Montreal Expos with a 4-3 win at Olympic Stadium. Ken Caminiti's two-run home run was the difference along with Scott Sanders pitching brilliantly for 7.2 innings. The Reds, who began the season 0-6, won for the 14th time in 17 games thanks to a two-run double by Eddie Taubensee and a Reggie Sanders home run. John Smiley navigated a rough first inning and then pitched well for the win while Xavier Hernandez got his 2nd save. Pittsburgh won at home for only the second time this season when an Orlando Merced double in the eighth scored Jay Bell that led to an eventual 3-1 Pirates win over the Marlins. Tom Candiotti and the Dodgers shut out the Mets, 3-0.

In the AL, J.T. Snow's grand slam helped the California Angels completed a three-game sweep with a 15-2 shellacking of the New York Yankees for their seventh win in a row that puts the Angels 3.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners kept pace with the Angels by blowing their game open early with Boston. Singles by Mike Blowers and rookie Alex Rodriguez followed by a Chad Kreuter double and a Luis Alicea error led to a three-run inning that Seattle held onto in a 4-3 win over Boston, the fifth loss in six games for the Red Sox. Terry Steinbach's eighth inning grand slam lifted the Athletics over Baltimore, 9-6 and made a winner out of Rick Honeycutt. Mark Guthrie fanned 12 Tigers in only six innings as the Twins ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over Detroit. The Twins won with single runs in each of the last three innings. Gary Gaetti and Pat Borders homered to lead Kansas City to a 3-1 win over the Brewers in Milwaukee. The Brewers recalled minor leaguer Mike Matheny to the big leagues prior to the contest. And the Arizona Diamondbacks sold naming rights to home runs to be called "Bank One Boomers" when they begin play in 1997. Bank One already has the name sponsorship of the new stadium in Phoenix.

Braves highlights begin at 4:57 below:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 26, 1995
Atlanta Braves 8 (W: Mercker, 2-1)
Houston Astros 3 (L: Swindell, 3-2)
17-11
2nd place
3 1/2 games behind

5-RUN 2ND GIVES BRAVES WIN; GRIFFEY OUT AT LEAST 3 MONTHS

Three Atlanta home runs combined with an effective enough five-inning start by Kent Mercker and a bullpen that gave up only one hit in the final four frames combined to gives the Braves an easy 8-3 win over the Astros in Houston tonight. Atlanta took over the game from the first batter and never looked back, scoring six runs in the first two innings to chase starter Greg Swindell after he retired only 4 of the 13 hitters he faced as the Braves won for the eighth time in their last ten games. The Astros extended their losing streak to four and are now one game below .500.

Marquis Grissom got the Braves going quickly when he doubled to start the game, stole third on the pitch that struck out Jeff Blauser, and scored on a Chipper Jones single. The roof - figuratively in the case of the Astrodome - fell in on Swindell in the second. A Scott Servais error put Javy Lopez on third as the leadoff batter of the inning, and Mike Kelly then popped a two-run homer to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead. Mark Lemke doubled and after a failed sacrifice bunt, Grissom ripped a two-run home run to left that just cleared the wall to give the Braves a 5-0 lead. Consecutive singles by Blauser and Chipper and a Fred McGriff double put runners at second and third with one out and a 6-0 Atlanta lead. The Astros walked David Justice to load the bases - and got out of the inning when Javy Lopez grounded into a rally-killing double play.

Atlanta starter Kent Mercker gave one run back in the bottom of the second thanks in part to a Chipper error. Derek Bell scored the run after a walk, the Jones error, a steal of third, and a Servais single. Chipper got that run back with a moon shot into the second deck in right field, but Houston narrowed the gap substantially when Jones made another error to start the bottom of the second that eventually plated two unearned Astros run that cut the lead to 7-3. Mercker was pulled from the game when he led off the top of the sixth. The pinch-hitter, Mike Mordecai, doubled, moved to third on an infield ground out, and scored on a McGriff single to close out the scoring for the game. The Atlanta bullpen sent out three pitchers, who struck out 6 of the 14 batters they faced and sealed the deal for the Braves. Atlanta remains 3.5 games behind the Phillies, who won, 2-0, over the Padres on a two-hitter by rookie Mike Mimbs. The loss was the tenth straight negatie decision against San Diego starter Andy Benes. Tommy Gregg, Kurt Abbott, and Charles Johnson each clubbed solo home runs as the Marlins beat the Cubs, 5-3, to grab just their fourth win in the last 18 games. Barry Larkin's two-run single that erased a 3-1 deficit lifted the Reds to their fifth straight win and 9th of 11 in a 4-3 win over the Cardinals.

Baseball's biggest draw might miss most of the summer. Ken Griffey Jr. broke his left wrist making a spectacular catch in the 7th inning of Seattle's 8-3 win over the Orioles at the Kingdom. Griffey had already slugged his 7th home run of the season when he used his foot to cushion his collision with the wall and then fell down on the warning track. Seattle's trainers met Griffey before he even made it back into the dugout, and he will undergo surgery tomorrow to have a plate inserted into the wrist. The Mariners won and Randy Johnson struck out a season-high 13, but the loss of Griffey might eliminate any dreams the Mariners had of a post-season, too. Terry Steinback homered for the third straight game to lift Oakland to a 4-3 win over the Yankees.

Tell me if this one sounds familiar: two outs in the ninth and the tying run on base, Kirk Gibson drills a walkoff game-winning home run. It happened again tonight as the Tigers beat the White Sox, 8-7, but without the theatrics surrounding his most famous homer. Gary Gaetti's two two-run homers lifted Kevin Appier to his league-leading sixth win in Kansas City's 8-3 triumph over the Brewers. And Will Clark homered and drove in three runs while Otis Nixon had his third career four-hit game as Texas edged Minnesota, 6-5.

Jose Canseco, already on the DL, will be out until at least the All-Star break. The Red Sox have recalled knuckleballer Tim Wakefield from AAA Pawtucket to take Jose's spot on the roster. And John Schuerholz announced the Braves have begun formal talks on an extension for Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox to be signed sometime during the season. Tomorrow, it's a rematch of Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS as John Smoltz takes the hill for Atlanta to be opposed by Houston's Doug Drabek.


Braves highlights for May 26 begin at 10:47 below:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 27, 1995
Houston Astros 3 (W: Hudek, 2-0)
Atlanta Braves 2 (L: Stanton, 1-1)
10 innings
17-12
2nd place
4 1/2 games behind

MOUTON'S 10TH INNING WALKOFF WASTES NOBLE EFFORT BY SMOLTZ

Well, it happened yet another time.

John Smoltz pitched eight innings and rung up 11 strikeouts only to fall victim to shoddy run support and a key error that tied the game followed by a bullpen collapse that served up the game-losing gopher ball while Smoltz was sitting helplessly on the bench pondering his wasted effort. The comeback win snapped a four-game Houston losing skid that combined with Philadephia's own walkoff single in the tenth dropped the Braves to 4.5 games behind Philly in the NL East.

It was a pitching rematch of three games of the 1992 NLCS - most notably including the finale - as Smoltz squared off against Houston's Doug Drabek. Atlanta got an early run in the second when Fred McGriff doubled, moved to third on a Ryan Klesko fly out to right, and scored on a Mark Lemke single. Unfortunately for Atlanta, David Justice, who had walked between McGriff and Klesko, was gunned down at home to leave Smoltz with a lead of just one run. The Braves added a run in the fourth when Chipper Jones drew a walk, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a double by Justice to make it 2-0. But the Braves weren't hitting well, and though Smoltz was pitching into and out of trouble, he finally weakened in the sixth when singles by John Cangelosi, Jeff Bagwell, and Dave Magadan cut the Atlanta lead in half. After Ryan Klesko struck out in the seventh, rookie Mike Kelly replaced him for defensive purposes, which took on the form of cruel irony in the eighth.

With one out in the 8th, Luis Gonzalez walked and then Kelly's errant throw on Derek Bell's single allowed Gonzalez to put runners at the corners with one out. Smoltz then induced what appeared to be an inning-ending double play ball to Chipper at third. He tossed to Mark Lemke, who forced Bell at second. But Bell caught Lemke on the knee - with his head no less - and the second sacker couldn't complete the throw to first. Gonzalez scored to tie the game, and Bell left with a headache due to the collision and was replaced by James Mouton. Cruel irony visited the Braves just two innings later.

Mark Wohlers replaced Smoltz for the ninth, and while he allowed two hits, he kept Houston from winning the game. John Hudek came on to relieve for the Astros in the tenth, and he retired the Braves in order, getting pinch-hitter Dwight Smith for the last out. Mike Stanton came on and retired Luis Gonzalez with a line out to right. His 0-1 pitch to Mouton - again, only playing because Bell got hurt on the force at second - landed in the left field bleachers for a game-winning home run to waste Smoltz's fine effort. Granted, Drabek pitched well, too. Or perhaps the batters hit poorly as there were 26 total strikeouts in the 10 inning affair.

Charlie Hayes led Philly to victory with a single over the drawn-in outfield that lifted the Phillies to a 5-4 win over the Padres. The Phillies led early, 3-0, blew the lead, but came back to win. Former phenom Fernando Valenzuela started for the Padres. Sadly, a line drive off the head of Philly reliever Norm Charlton led to his exit from the game, and X-rays showed a fractured frontal sinus. He was released from the hospital and is expected to be back in uniform tomorrow. Denny Neagle won his fourth straight start, and the Pirates supported him with an eight-run inning to send Colorado to their fourth straight loss, 9-4. Jose Rijo shut the Cardinals out for 7 innings, and the Reds held on for a 5-2 win over St Louis, their sixth win a row (and second six-game winning streak in May after starting the year 0-6). And speaking of six, the Mets ended their six-game losing streak as former two-time Cy Young winner Brett Saberhagen pitched New York's first complete game of the season with a 6-3 win over the Giants. Rookie Carlos Perez - brother of Pascual and Melido, pitchers both - is 4-0 after scattering eight hits in 7 innings while striking out six in a 2-1 Expos win over the Dodgers. And the Cubs beat Florida, 3-1, after a two-hour rain delay.

In the AL, Kenny Rogers extended his scoreless innings streak to 33, got his fifth straight win, and lowered his MLB-leading ERA to 1.42 as the Rangers survived the Twins, 3-1, thanks in part to some sloppy Twins base running. In the first, Rogers fielded Kirby Puckett's sharp grounder and alertly noticed Chuck Knoblauch racing home. Knoblauch got caught in a rundown and out - and then Jeff Reboulet got caught trying to make it to third with the rundown ongoing to complete a 1-2-5-4-6 double play and perserve the streak. Steve Ontiveros threw a one-hitter while Ruben Sierra homered to give Oakland a 3-0 win over the Yankees, who dropped their fifth game in a row. Ron Karkovice homered - and that was it - as the Chicago White Sox and Jason Bere beat the Tigers, 1-0. Lance Parrish hit a three-run homer and Al Leiter and the bullpen combined for a 3-0 shutout over the Cleveland Indians. Cal Ripken Jr went 4-for-5 as the O's beat the Mariners, 11-4, at home. And the Royals-Brewers contest was postponed due to rain with no makeup date set.

The Braves and Astros will decide their series tomorrow as Greg Maddux faces Darryl Kile.

Braves highlights begin at 4:45 below: