1993 Atlanta Braves Retrospective: The Last Pennant Race

[selmaborntidefan]

May 9, 1993
Atlanta Braves 12 (W: McMichael, 1-1)
Colorado Rockies 7 (L: Reed, 1-2)
18-15
3rd place
2 games behind

BRAVES SWEEP ROCKIES IN FRONT OF MILLIONTH FAN

The Atlanta Braves found the cure for anemic offense: take your vacation in Denver. The Braves came into Denver dead last in baseball in hitting (.222) and then proceeded to drill 11 home runs, score 46 times, and bat .327 en route to a four-game sweep over the expansion Colorado Rockies. Of course, that goes in both directions, too, as Atlanta's league-best pitching staff also gave up 22 runs in the series (an average of 5.5 runs per game in Denver after giving up only 3.8 in their first 29 games of the year. The Braves also saw Greg McMichael get his first major league win for pitching 3 effective innings after starter Tom Glavine was chased two outs short of qualifying for the win.

Glavine faced off against Andy Ashby, and Colorado took only 3 batters to score as Eric Young opened the game with a triple and then scored on an infield ground out in the bottom of the first. Ashby got through the first two innings hitless, but in the third it was only some lousy Atlanta baserunning combined with Terry Pendleton's continued poor hitting that kept the contest close for a few more innings. Greg Olson doubled leading off the third and then tried to advance to third on Mark Lemke's infield bouncer to first. But Andres Galarraga fired across the diamond to nail the slow-running Olson on a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning. Glavine then singled to left and Lemke tried to make it to third only to also be thrown out at the same bag moments after Olson. Otis Nixon drew a walk and then Jeff Blauser hit a single to the pitcher that loaded the bases with two outs. Despite facing five batters in the inning and not retiring a single one, Ashby got out of the jam when Pendleton flied out to center to end the frame. Ashby then got some help when a single, two doubles, a triple, and a sacrifice bunt scored three more Colorado runs. The Rockies were so aggressive that Vinny Castilla actually attempted to steal home, although he was thrown out. But Ashby couldn't hold it for even one inning as the Braves managed their second comeback from four runs or more in less than 24 hours. Yet again, Atlanta seemed more lucky than a team that has finally broken out of the doldrums.

Olson and Lemke walked and then moved ahead on a sacrifice by Glavine. But Ashby then got Nixon to bounce out for the second out of the inning, bringing Blauser, Atlanta's best hope, to the plate. He delivered, too, with a single that scored two runs and cut the lead in half. Pendleton then singled to center to score Blauser, and survived an errant pickoff throw to move to second. A home run by David Justice put Atlanta ahead, 5-4, and chased Ashby. But Glavine immediately gave up the lead by giving up doubles to Jerald Clark and Galarraga. Glavine retired Charlie Hayes and then walked Dale Murphy, leaving the game with runners at first and second. Castilla singled home the go-ahead run and Marvin Freeman, who had replaced Glavine, threw a wild pitch followed by a walk that loaded the bases. But Freeman got Young to ground out, leaving Atlanta just a run down. In an effort to tie the game, Freeman gave way to rookie Ryan Klesko with a runner on, but the big guy lined out to center to end the inning. Greg McMichael came on and was his usual ineffective self for the first three batters after retiring Alex Cole. All three singled, and Clark eventually scored on an infield ground out. The Rockies led, 7-5, going into the seventh, but the game was over by the time they reached the stretch.

Nixon walked, Blauser singled, and Pendleton doubled to left, scoring Nixon to cut the lead to one. Justice then launched his second home run of the game, a three-run bomb that gave Atlanta a two-run lead. Ron Gant then drew a walk, Sid Bream reached on an error, and the Braves had the bases loaded with two outs when Manager Bobby Cox sent McMichael to the plate for only his third career at-bat. Of course, if you had Steve Bedrosian in your bullpen, you'd do the same thing. McMichael struck out to end the inning, but the third strike went wild, meaning Gant scored from third to give Atlanta their second five-run inning of the game. Aided by two more wild pitches in the 8th, the Braves tacked on two runs and left Colorado with a 12-7 win, a sweep, and a smaller deficit in the NL standings. The Braves have won 6 of their last 7 and now head to Houston for a three-game series against the team directly ahead of them in the standings.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 10, 1993
Houston Astros 5 (W: Hernandez, 2-0; SV: Jones, 7)
Atlanta Braves 2 (L: Howell, 1-2)
18-16
3rd place
2.5 games behind

BULLPEN COLLAPSE WASTES STELLAR MADDUX EFFORT IN 5-2 BRAVES LOSS;
MLB PASSES RIDICULOUS TV PLAN THAT WILL REDUCE VIEWERS

Greg Maddux gave up only 2 hits to the Astros over 7 innings, struck out six, and walked none. For his efforts, he was rewarded with the latest example of why Bobby Cox needs to go out and get a lights out closer as Jay Howell and Mike Stanton, the so-called firemen, became arsonists in the Astrodome in Atlanta tonight and gave away the game with an 8th inning that should serve as a warning. After Maddux gave up a leadoff double to Eddie Taubensee in the bottom of the 8th, Rick Parker came on as a pinch-runner while Howell came out of the bullpen with the Braves holding a precarious 2-1 lead. He got Jose Uribe out on a sacrifice and struck out Craig Biggio, needing only to retire .091 hitting Casey Candelae to dodge the bullet. Instead, Howell gave up a run-scoring double and then left after intentionally walking Jeff Bagwell. Stanton came on and unintentionally walked Eric Anthony, gave up a two-run double to Ken Caminiti and then allowed Anthony to score on a wild pitch that made it 5-2 in favor of Houston. Doug Jones came on and retired the heart of the Braves' order 1-2-3 to notch his 7th save and give Houston the division lead over third-place Atlanta after the Giants lost to Colorado, 7-4, and fell out of first. Houston had only five hits - less than half of Atlanta's 11 - but they made theirs count more. Ron Gant drove both Atlanta runs home with a double in the third. It was Atlanta's first loss in the Astrodome since June 25, 1991.

Mets 1 Marlins 0
Brett Saberhagen ended a three-game losing streak with a three-hitter. The Mets only got 3 hits, too, but a sacrifice fly by Eddie Murray in the first drove home the game-winning run.

Phillies 5 Pirates 1
Darren Daulton's 7th-inning grand slam marked the second game in a row the Phillies won thanks to a slam. Mariano Duncan's yesterday was the difference in a 6-5 win. The Phillies are off to their best start in franchise history (23-7).

Reds 6 Padres 5
Tom Browning got his third straight win while Kevin Mitchell and Barry Larkin drove in two runs each.

Cubs 6 Dodgers 2
Greg Hibbard took a no-hitter into the sixth and settled for a three-hitter while Dwight Smith drove in three runs.

Rockies 7 Giants 4
Home runs by Dante Bichette and pitcher Armando Reynoso and Reynoso's 13-hitter complete game ended Colorado's losing streak. Giants Manager Dusty Baker and Colorado 3B Charlie Hayes were both ejected in separate incidents.

Tigers 2 Yankees 1 (10 innings)
Gary Thurman's bases loaded single in the bottom of the 10th lifted Detroit.

Orioles 2 Red Sox 1
Baltimore won their third straight and 8th of 12 when Mark Leonard's sacrifice fly in the 8th broke the tie.

White Sox 13 Mariners 2
Chicago shelled rookie Mike Hampton for six runs in two innings and drilled five bombs in a rout.

Rangers 7 Athletics 4
Oakland lost their third straight and Charlie Leibrandt improved to 4-1 thanks to a Juan Gonzalez homer.

Twins 13 Angels 3
Shane Mack and Dave Winfield each had four hits as part of a 22-hit barrage as the Twins routed California. Mack and Mike Pagliarulo homered.

THE STUPID TV PLAN THAT MAY KILL BASEBALL
The contract with CBS ends after this year's World Series, which is about the only thing which we can be thankful. Realizing that years of post-season games that start late on the East Coast may imperil future interest in the game, baseball came to an agreement with a joint venture of ABC and NBC known as The Baseball Network that will (wait for it) start games on the East Coast at 720 pm but only on weekends. (The other good news is that Bob Costas is apparently not interested in this idea, which would spare all of us from that same story about how he carries Mickey Mantle's baseball card everywhere).

Making this idea even more preposterous, the playoff games will be held at the same time. After 24 years of building the LCS in both leagues into "Must See TV" (sorry), now baseball has decided to move up some games early, but you can only see one of them instead of both of them. Rest assured, this is about to get worse: the rumor is out there that baseball will likely go to a six-division setup next season with a wildcard. Such is subject to approval by the players as well as the owners, but the TV contracts have included options for an extra round of playoff games for many years (which is why baseball was able to pull it off in 1981 after the strike).

The final nail in this coffin is that baseball polled 1400 people about their post-season idea and 54% said a nonspecific "some change would be desirable." But this poll was a sick joke. It gave the few people who answered it three options: 1) no change; 2) four divisions with winners vs runners-up; 3) six divisions with a wildcard.

The results? Get ready:

43% no change
30% four divisions
24% six divisions with wildcard

The owners looked at that poll, decided that 54% want change - and will likely go with the LEAST POPULAR OPTION!!! The owners are about to impose the least popular option and blame the fans for it. That's nothing; just wait until 1994 when these same owners will force the players into a strike - and blame the players for it.

And what gives rise to this? Well, you know the answer: money. Owners are looking at the TV ratings and saying, "They're low." OF COURSE THEY'RE LOWER THAN THEY WERE!!! More baseball is on more channels than any time in history, which (I can't believe I have to explain this) SPLITS THE AUDIENCE!! The Rockies just set a record pace to one million fans and may top 4 million before the end of the year. More tickets are being sold than any time in history as Baltimore and Toronto will easily to 3 million this year, the Phillies are on their way to a record year, and the lowly Mariners lead the AL West in attendance with nearly 1/2 million fans for a .500 team that is mostly Ken Griffey Jr.

This is a horrible TV idea, and I doubt it will last for very long.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 11 1993
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Smoltz, 4-3; SV: Stanton, 12)
Houston Astros 4 (L: Drabek, 3-4)
19-16
3rd place
2 games behind

BRAVES OVERCOME 3-0 EARLY LEAD, SMOLTZ BLISTER TO BEAT HOUSTON;
CARDS TURN TRIPLE PLAY
CLASS-A PR DIRECTOR EJECTED FOR "TWILIGHT ZONE"

John Smoltz is the reigning NL strikeout king (215 in 1992) who has only struck out 7 batters in his last 3 starts, including two tonight. He's also maybe the hardest luck pitcher in baseball over the last 3 seasons, but he finally got a break tonight. Good thing, too, as Smoltz has been dealing with a blister on his pitching hand that has undermined his effectiveness, so much so tonight that he gave up three runs in the bottom of the first after loading the sacks with two walks and a single and then watching Kevin Bass clear the runners ahead of him with a ringing double. But the tall righty settled down from that point on and got just enough bullpen help to sustain a 5-4 win for the Braves that lifts them to 6-2 on the current road trip that will conclude in the Astrodome tomorrow night.

Ron Gant began the Atlanta comeback in the second as he walked, stole second, and came home on a Mark Lemke single to cut Houston's lead to 3-1. Otis Nixon followed a similar path in the third, singling before he stole second, and he came home on a double by Jeff Blauser, Atlanta's best hitter so far this season. Blauser then scored after moving up to third on an infield ground out and then tying the game on a sacrifice fly by David Justice. Two innings later, Blauser doubled Nixon to third, and the speedster scored on an infield ground out by Terry Pendleton that gave the Braves their first lead of the game. A solo Gant home run in the sixth padded the Atlanta lead to 5-3, but back-to-back hits by Luis Gonzalez (a double) and Jeff Bagwell (single) trimmed the Braves' lead to one. Smoltz left the game with Bagwell aboard, but Kent Mercker got the Braves out of the inning still ahead. There was also a lot of typical Braves bullpen drama in the two innings that remained.

After Mercker got the first two batters out in the eighth, Andujar Cedeno walked, chasing Mercker and bringing in the rookie of questionable-at-best effectiveness, Greg McMichael. McMichael walked Chris James and then seemingly ended the inning with a strikeout of Casey Candaele. But the ball got away on strike three, and all three runners advanced, loading the bases for the tough out Craig Biggio. But McMichael bore down and struck him out, lifting Atlanta and devastating Houston. On came Mike Stanton for yet another ninth-inning highwire act. Stanton walked Gonzalez to begin the inning and then retired Jeff Bagwell, Eric Anthony, and struck out Ken Caminiti to end the contest and give the Braves a 5-4 win. For all of my justified criticism of Stanton, he performed well tonight after the walk. After the game, Gant said the Braves are regaining the confidence that enabled them to win the pennant the last two years. Speaking of that, poor Doug Drabek lost yet again in a game against Smoltz even if this game lacked the drama of last fall's Game Seven of the NLCS.

Giants 5 Rockies 3
Bill Swift won his fourth in a row as the Giants ended their three-game losing streak and regained first place.

Pirates 8 Phillies 4
Four straight seventh-inning hits off former NL Cy Young winner Mark Davis (1989) led to three runs and a pull away win for Pittsburgh. Philly still has baseball's best record by four games.

Cardinals 7 Mets 4
Todd Zeile hit his first homer of the season, and the Cards turned baseball's first triple play of 1993 as St Louis raced out to a 6-0 lead and then held on for a 7-4 win. Lee Smith got his 11th save.

Expos 6 Marlins 4
Two-run doubles by both Marquis Grissom and Moises Alou carried Montreal to the win.

Cubs 2 Dodgers 1 (10 innings)
Rey Sanchez singled with the bases loaded to give Chicago the victory.

Reds 4 Padres 2
Four San Diego errors spoiled the return of Wally Whitehurst from elbow surgery. He surrendered only one earned run, but his defense saddled him with the loss. Tim Belcher was forced to leave early when Tony Gwynn lined a batted ball off the pitcher's forearm. \

Athletics 6 Rangers 0
Bobby Witt tossed a three-hitter - two by Jose Canseco - to stifle the Rangers' league-leading offense.

Red Sox 4 Orioles 0
Roger Clemens struck out 13 and earned his 35th career shutout, lowering his season ERA to 1.73 and ending Boston's three-game losing streak.

Tigers 12 Blue Jays 7
Bill Gullickson's return from January elbow surgery was a success as Alan Trammell's 3 RBIs and Milt Cuyler's four hits.

Mariners 4 White Sox 3
Randy Johnson pitched a two-hitter and sent the ChiSox to only their third loss in 14 games and cut Chicago's lead to 1/2 game in the AL West.

Yankees 5 Brewers 1
Mike Witt scattered three hits over seven innings as he continued his comeback from major elbow surgery.

Royals 7 Indians 6
Three straight successful pinch-hits, the last by Mike MacFarlane, drove home two runs in the 7th and lifted Kevin Appier's record to .500.

Angels 5 Twins 3
Kent Hrbek's fifth home run was not enough to overcome Scott Sanderson's effective pitching.

Nolan Ryan will miss his next start due to a hip muscle strain. Jerry Burkot, the PR director for the Greensboro Hornets (Yankees) was led from the stadium in handcuffs by order of the umpire after he played the theme from "Twilight Zone" after a called third strike. Burkot had been warned not to play the music before the game.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 12, 1993
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Avery, 2-2; SV: Stanton, 13)
Houston Astros 2(L: Swindell, 4-4)
20-16
3rd place
2 games behind

BRAVES COMPLETE 7-2 ROAD TRIP WITH WIN;
BARRY AND BOBBY BONDS BOTH BOOTED;
ECK AND HENKE BLOW SAVES - IN THE SAME GAME

Otis Nixon stole the show and four bases off Greg Swindell, going 2-for-5 and scoring two runs as the Braves completed highly successful 7-2 road trip with a 5-4 series-clinching win over the Houston Astros that lifted Steve Avery's record to 2-2 and saw Mike Stanton convert his 13th consecutive save. Andjust in time, too, as the Braves head home for a six-game series of three games apiece against the two best teams in the NL East, Philadelphia and Montreal.

Two hits and a steal in the bottom of the first plated Luis Gonzalez and gave the Astros a 1-0 lead, but Avery retired 13 of the next 14 batters, giving up only a single to Craig Biggio, who was caught stealing. The Braves tied it in the second when Francisco Cabrera, giving Sid Bream a break at first, hit a solo home run. And a pitcher's duel unfolded until the seventh as Swindell averaged giving up one hit per inning but no runs. But four straight Atlanta singles with two outs in the seventh scored two Braves runs and sent Avery back to the hill leading, 3-1. He retired only one batter before running into trouble and giving up an RBI double to Andujar Cedeno that cut the lead to 3-2 and put Cedeno in scoring position. Greg McMichael came on and retired the next two batters to take the lead into the 9th. That's when Atlanta tacked on two insurance runs. Ryan Klesko drew a walk and then went all the way to third when Jeff Bagwell's error put Nixon at first. Tony Tarasco came on to run for Klesko, Nixon stole second, and Jeff Blauser drove both home to give closer Mike Stanton a 5-2 lead, and he retired Houston in order to notch the save. After an off day tomorrow, the Braves open at home against Philadelphia on Friday as Tom Glavine takes the hill against Terry Mulholland.

Phillies 4 Pirates 1
For the second time in three games, Darren Daulton smashed a game-winning home run after a 2-hour, 13-minute rain delay. Tommy Greene improved to 4-0 and went the distance.

Giants 8 Rockies 2
Like father, like son? With the game already over at 7-2, the crowd booed when Mike Jackson hit Colorado's Jerald Clark with a pitch. Benches emptied but order prevailed. That's when Barry Bonds channeled his inner jerk (who am I kidding?) and got agitated, emptying the benches again and getting both Barry and dad Bobby a chance to beat the traffic. Clark and Rockies Coach Ron Hassey were also ejected.

Reds 3 Padres 2 (5 innings)
Kevin Mitchell, like Noah, beat the rain. Moments before the downpour that got the game called, Mitchell tripled and then scored what proved to be the winning run. Jose Rijo improved to 5-1 even if he did give up a home run to opposing pitcher Andy Benes.

Marlins 10 Expos 7
Chuck Carr hit his first MLB home run, a grand slam, and Charlie Hough scored his first run since September 17, 1979 after spending the last several years in the American League.

Cardinals 6 Mets 5
Luis Alicea's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the 9th provided the victory.

Dodgers 9 Cubs 3
A seven-run 8th inning and 16 hits helped the Dodgers overcome 3 errors.

Twins 5 Angels 2
Three errors, one called a hit, and two mental blunders make one wonder why the Angels only lost by 3 runs. It's called, "we are playing the Twins, who aren't very good."

Tigers 13 Blue Jays 8
For the seventh time this season, Detroit hit double digits, this time thanks to a pair of home runs each by Cecil Fielder and Kirk Gibson.

Red Sox 2 Orioles 0
Danny Darwin and two relivers helped Boston shut out the Orioles for the second night in a row, a feat no team has accomplished in a decade. And speaking of a decade ago, Fernando Valenzuela took the loss although he pitched well for 8.1 innings, his longest outing since his last big-league win that occurred on September 14, 1990. Scott Fletcher belted a homer off Fernando to start the game, but the portly veteran pitched well. The last time Baltimore was shut out in consecutive games was May 20-21, 1983 by the Blue Jays. And yes, that's also the last time the O's won the World Series, too.

White Sox 6 Mariners 5
Chicago raced out to a quick 5-0 lead that was 6-0 entering the 7th inning stretch. But Seattle rallied and had the tying run at first when Omar Vizquel decided to steal second and was thrown out to end the game.

Athletics 8 Rangers 7
Texas raced out to a 4-0 lead in the third only to give it back in the bottom of the inning. Dennis Eckersley, clearly with his best days long behind him, needed only two outs to seal the win when he plunked Jose Canseco and then gave up a two-run shot to Juan Gonzalez that put Texas ahead by one. After getting the next two out, it was Tom Henke's turn to earn the save. He gave up a single to Lance Blankenship, retired Ruben Sierra on a fly, and then walked Mark McGwire. Troy Neel singled Blankenship home and then Ron Darling came on to pinch-run for McGwire at third base. Kevin Seitzer hit one to third, and Darling was out at home attempting to win the game. With two outs and the winning run at second, Brent Gates doubled, scoring Neel, and giving Eck the win and Henke the loss as two of the best closers of the 80s both managed to choke away the same game.

Indians 6 Royals 2
A five-run second, keyed by a Carlos Baerga two-run single, ended Cleveland's five-game losing streak.

Brewers 4 Yankees 1
Bill Wegman and two relievers held New York to five hits while B.J. Surhoff stole home.

The Phillies placed 40-year-old reliever Larry Andersen on the DL for 15 days due to an inflamed shoulder. The Rockies deactivated Bryn Smith from the DL and optioned Steve Reed to AAA.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 13, 1993
Off day
20-16
3rd place
2.5 games behind

IS THIS A PLAYOFF PREVIEW?
BRETT SOCKS #300

The baseball season is barely 1/5 of the way over, but the media cannot avoid asking one of the lamest questions out there: "Is this weekend's Philadelphia at Atlanta series a playoff preview?" This is an interesting question in light of the fact the Braves aren't even leading the division but are in THIRD PLACE after following a 2-5 homestand with a 5-2 road trip (that's .500 in 14 games for those of you keeping score at home). And while right now the Phillies have the best record in baseball (24-8) and are playing with the joy often found among the weekend softball beer league, all one has to do is go back to one year ago today, when the Braves were floundering at 16-19 and four games out in fourth place - on their way to baseball's best record and 98 wins. It will only take one stretch of being consistently bad for Philly to come back to earth. But in a world where only division winners advance - and in the first year since 1976 that the NL is playing a "balanced schedule" - it's basically easy column day to wax eloquent about a playoff preview between two teams that may or may not play each other in October. And that even if they do may have added free agents for the chase.

Yet there's a certain logic to discussing the matchup at this point because it so challenges the traditional narrative. You know all those stories about how bad Atlanta's offense has been so far? Well, the Braves have actually scored one run more than the Phillies have. And the Phillies, whose pitching is the most suspect portion of their team, have actually permitted 12 runs less than the Braves' "greatest pitching staff ever." Of course, there's a context to both findings: a) the Phillies have not yet played in Colorado; and b) the Braves have played four additional games. Allotting for extra innings, which Philly has played 3 more than Atlanta has, there's still 33 additional innings that Atlanta has played and Philly has not.

The Phillies are trying to emulate the Braves and Twins of two years ago and become only the third team in modern baseball history to go from last in one season to a pennant the next. They've gotten off to the best start in Philly history, too, absolutely manhandling the NL West to the tune of a 16-4 record that includes three-game sweeps of Houston, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati as well as a two-game sweep of San Diego. They've also played a lot of close contests already, going 6-0 in extra innings and 10-1 in one-run games. Atlanta, for all of their bad press on offense and with their shaky bullpen, is 8-7 in one-run games and 2-4 in extras. The difference, of course, is Philly has settled on Mitch Williams, who saved 29 games last year, as their closer. "Wild Thing" has been, as always, a high-wire act, setting down the Cubs in order to close out a save on April 10 and then giving up four runs in the ninth of a non-save situation that the Phillies salvaged eight days later. He seems to give up runs or unnecessary walks even when he accomplishes the end goal of saving the game. On April 30, Williams entered the game in Los Angeles with a 7-5 lead and gave up a double, a run-scoring single, a walk, and a single that had the winning run at second while the bases were loaded with nobody out. Williams then exited a phone booth wearing a big red "S" on his chest by getting an unassisted double play at second and a force out on a ground ball for yet another daring escape. In 15 appearances so far this year, he has given up 7 runs (5 earned) and yet is 1-0 with 13 saves, the sole win coming in the game where he gave up four runs in the bottom of the 9th. Atlanta's Mike Stanton also has 13 saves and an overall record of 1-1, and he has also looked less than stellar in most of his appearances. Nineteen times Stanton has come in to pitch and given up 15 hits and 7 walks as well as 8 runs. He's blown a four-run lead in the ninth and blown another save by giving up four runs in the 11th, and given up four runs in the 8th inning to put a game out of reach of his team's ability to come back.

In short, both teams have questionable bullpens, but Williams has been more reliable than Atlanta's bullpen by committee and Stanton. Tom Glavine and Terry Mulholland will square off in the opener tomorrow night. Last year, Philly split the 12-game series despite finishing last while in 1991, the Phils were 7-5 against the "worst to first" version. In fact, the Braves have not beaten the Phillies in the regular season series since 1989.

Royals 7 Indians 3
On his way to a first ballot Hall of Fame selection, Kansas City legend George Brett joined a list of the game's greatest players by socking his 300th home run to give KC a 6-3 lead in the sixth en route to a 7-3 win over the Tribe in a game marred by a bench-clearing brawl. Brett joins Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Carl Yastrzemski, Al Kaline, and Stan Musial as the only players with 300 home runs and 3,000 hits. The homer also tied Reggie Jackson for 12th on the all-time list with 1,075 extra base hits. Despite roaring out to a 3-0 first-inning lead, Cleveland lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Yankees 4 Brewers 2
Jim Leyritz singled home the go-ahead run in New York's four-run and later got into a bench clearing argument after the game ended with Milwaukee's Kevin Reimer.

Rangers 9 Athletics 5
Three RBIs by Butch Davis provided the margin of victory for Texas.

Blue Jays 6 Tigers 5
Toronto avoided the sweep with a two-run bottom of the ninth courtesy of Paul Molitor's game-winning double. Detroit has still never swept Toronto in SkyDome.

Reds 7 Padres 1
John Smiley finally won his first game as a member of Cincinnati as he scattered five hits by the slumping Padres. Smiley was 0-5 entering the game after winning 20 games just two years ago. Kevin Mitchell hit the first home run shot into the upper deck by a Red since George Foster did it in 1981.

Giants 13 Rockies 8
Another football score from Mile High as Darren Lewis drove in 3 runs and John Burkett became the league's first six-game winner. San Fran banged out at least 13 hits in all four games in Denver.

Expos 5 Marlins 4
The Expos scored three runs in the last two innings, the last one a close play at the plate where Mike Lansing scored for the win.

Mets 4 Cardinals 0
Pete Schourek went 8 innings and allowed 5 hits as the Mets avoided a three-game sweep.

Andres Galarraga was placed on the 15-day DL for a torn right hamstring. Mark Grace's wife filed for divorce and is demanding $20 million because that's what ex-wives do. Bernie Williams and Don Mattingly were also placed on the 15-day DL with injuries for the Yankees. Twins shortstop Scott Leius will have rotator cuff surgery and miss the rest of the season. Leius has only appeared in 10 games and went 3-for-18 with four strikeouts.

Milt Jordan, who appeared in 8 games for the Detroit Tigers in 1953 and who also served his country in the armed forces in WW2, died today in Ithaca, NY at the age of 65.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 14, 1993
Atlanta Braves 10 (W: Glavine, 5-0; SV: Stanton, 14)
Philadelphia Phillies 7 (L: Mulholland, 4-4)
21-16
3rd place
1.5 games behind

BEST AND WORST OF GLAVINE AND GANT FEATURED IN 10-7 BRAVES WIN;
FREGOSI EJECTED

Don't look now, but here come the Braves. Despite well documented offensive woes that appear to be receding quickly, it appears the Braves may be past that phase and, if they are, everyone look out. After spotting Philly a 4-0 lead before the first Brave took a swing at a pitch, Atlanta rallied at home for six runs in the first two innings to chase starter Terry Mulholland and then put up a four-spot in the fourth to take a 10-4 lead en route to a 10-7 final score that Mike Stanton closed out with his league-leading 14th save to give the Braves their 7th win in 8 games and take a 1-0 lead in this weekend's three-game series against the team with baseball's best record. Victory came, but it didn't come easy.

Tom Glavine has from time to time had early-inning woes where he cannot find a rhythm while the opposing batters do, and tonight was one of those nights. Philly was aided by two first-inning misplays by Ron Gant that put the Braves immediately in a hole. Glavine had early control problems as he walked Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk around a ground out to Mariano Duncan that moved Dykstra to second. Dave Hollins forced Dykstra at third to put two on and two out when Darren Daulton doubled, scoring both runners and giving Philly a 2-0 lead. That's when Gant made consecutive fielding blunders on a liner by Pete Incaviglia and a dropped fly ball at the wall by Wes Chamberlain that gave Mulholland a 4-0 lead before he threw his first pitch and elicited boos from the 48,000-plus Braves fans who came out to watch Gant look like he was back to playing the infield like it was 1988. But the Braves have made comebacks an art form in recent years, and a 4-0 deficit in the first wouldn't be the end for most teams just as it wasn't tonight.

Terry Pendleton, who has been in a season-long slump, may have found his batting stroke again as he went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs tonight starting by following Otis Nixon's walk and Jeff Blauser's single with a base hit that scored Nixon with Atlanta's first run. It appeared Mulholland would navigate the rally when he got Gant and David Justice to fly out and bring up Francisco Cabrera with two on and two out. But Cabrera and Greg Olson both laced run-scoring singles and just like that the Braves were only trailing by a run as Mark Lemke lined out to end the inning. Then in the second, Atlanta repeated their first-inning success and chased Mulholland after Glaving seemingly found his groove.

Glavine opened the bottom of the 2nd with a walk and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Nixon and third on a ground out by Blauser. Needing only to retire the slumping Pendleton, Mulholland lost his finesse and gave up an RBI double that tied the game and then watched helplessly as Gant made up for the two runs he had helped cost the Braves by slamming a two-run bomb that just like that gave the Braves a 6-4 lead and chased Mulholland as the inning ended. Mike Williams then replaced Mulholland and got through the third, but in the fourth, Atlanta put the game - seemingly - out of reach.

Nixon walked leading off the fourth - the third Atlanta leadoff hitter of an inning to walk - and became the third one to score moments later when the suddenly hot Pendleton doubled to center to score the speedster and make it 7-4 in favor of the Braves. Gant followed with another double that scored Pendleton, and David Justice ended Atlanta's scoring with a home run of his own that put the Braves up 10-4 with their left-handed ace on the mound. At this point, the game seemed over, but it wasn't.

Philly rallied in the top of the fifth for two quick runs when Dykstra and Kruk singled, Hollins doubled Dykstra home, and Kruk then scored on a ground out by Daulton. Just like that, the Phillies were only four down, and Glavine's effectiveness was gone and when the Braves batted in the bottom of the fifth, so was Glavine for pinch-hitter Tony Tarasco. That's when Braves Manager Bobby Cox decided - hoped? - to get a few innings out of fifth starter Pete Smith to get Atlanta to the ninth, and he was largely correct. Well, except for the first batter.

Smith gave up a leadoff home run to Chamberlain in the sixth, narrowing the gap to 10-7, but he retired three of the next four batters, giving up but a single to Dykstra. He then retired Philly in order in the seventh, and Phillies' manager Jim Fregosi retired himself when, in what looked like a lame attempt to rally his team to victory, he got tossed for arguing that Dykstra had caught Lemke's single to center that was ruled a trap. It was typical overly animated Fregosi and had almost no positive effect on his team. Stanton came on with a runner on and two outs in the eighth to retire Ricky Jordan, and nerves jangled as the game went into the 9th. Stanton gave up a leadoff single to Dykstra, but he retired the next 3 batters in order to save the game, his 14th, and give Atlanta the win. San Francisco's 3-1 loss to San Diego moved the Braves to just 1.5 games behind. Tomorrow night's game features a battle of staff aces as Greg Maddux squares off against Curt Schilling.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 15, 1993
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Maddux, 3-3; SV: Stanton, 15)
Philadelphia Phillies 3 (L: West, 0-1)
22-16
3rd place
1.5 games behind

BRAVES RALLY BAILS OUT MADDUX IN 5-3 ATLANTA WIN;
MARLINS RECORD FIRST SHUTOUT IN FRANCHISE HISTORY

Greg Maddux losing control is a rarity, but it does happen on occasion. It happened tonight in Fulton County Stadium as Maddux walked Darren Daulton with the bases loaded to put the Braves in a 3-2 hole in the 8th inning, but Bobby Cox, probably sensing (correctly) that nobody in the bullpen has Maddux's ability to withstand the pressure, stuck with him. Maddux retired Wes Chamberlain and this time it was the Atlanta offense that bailed Maddux out with a three-run bottom of the 8th - all with two outs - and lifted the Braves to a 5-3 win over the Phillies. The win is the fourth in a row for the Braves, now only 1.5 games behind the first-place Giants in the NL West.

Curt Schilling and Maddux matched each other pitch-for-pitch through the first five innings, neither team scoring and the Braves being held without a hit (the Phillies had four). But with two outs in the sixth, Terry Pendleton singled for Atlanta's first hit and moved to third on a single by David Justice. That's when Schilling lost his concentration and balked home the first run of the game to give Maddux a 1-0 lead. But the lead only lasted two batters or until Darren Daulton tied the game with a solo home run in the seventh. Light-hitting Mark Lemke then stunned everyone as he does every so often with a solo shot that gave the Braves a 2-1 lead entering the 8th. And that's when Maddux lost control.

After striking out Mariano Duncan to lead off the eighth, Maddux inexplicably walked Jim Eisenreich, who was pinch-hitting for Schilling. Eisenreich then tied the game by racing all the way around on Lenny Dykstra's double, and the Phillies had the go-ahead run on second with one out. Maddux struck out Mickey Morandini, intentionally walked John Kruk and then - unintentionally - walked both Dave Hollins and Daulton to give Philly the lead. It appeared for all the world that Maddux had lost the strike zone due to the intentional pass. After retiring Chamberlain, the Braves came to bat with an anemic offense and trailing, 3-2. That the Braves won wasn't so much a tribute to their offense as it was to the lack of Philly defense.

David West came on to relieve Schilling and retired the first two Braves before giving up a single to Pendleton. Justice then bounced what appeared to be an inning-ending ball to Hollins, who threw wildly past second, allowing Pendleton to go to third and bringing Ron Gant to the plate. Gant doubled to centerfield to tie the game, and pinch-hitter Bill Pecota followed with another double that scored Justice and Gant both to give the Braves a two-run lead. Greg McMichael came on in the ninth but allowed two baserunners while recording two outs and turned it over to Mike Stanton, who got his 15th save of the season on three pitches, the last lined by Dykstra to Justice to end the contest.

The Cubs slammed four homers among their 19 hits to rout the Pirates, 14-5. Ryan Bowen goes down in history as the first pitcher in Florida Marlins history to record a shutout, 8-0, over the Cardinals. The Marlins are 6-0 in Saturday baseball games. The Reds are over .500 for the first time since April 7 thanks to Kevin Mitchell's RBI single in the seventh to beat the Rockies. The Reds have won six straight while Colorado has lost 10 of 11. Montreal beat the Mets, 2-1, on a sacrifice fly by Frank Bolick and later a squeeze bunt by Darren Fletcher that scored Bolick. The Mets have now lost 15 of 19 while the Expos have won 4 of 5. Andujar Cedeno's three hits and three RBIs carried the Astros to their 8th straight win over the Dodgers, 7-1. Homers by Barry Bonds and Robby Thompson carried the Giants to a 3-0 listless win over San Diego.

Alan Trammell's go-ahead single with two outs in the 8th lifted the Tigers to a 5-3 over Baltimore and lifted Trammell's season batting average to .308. Dennis Cook replaced sore-armed Charles Nagy after Nagy surrendered a three-run bomb to Greg Vauhgn in the first, and the Tribe rode a Carlos Martinez three-run bomb to a 9-5 win over Milwaukee. Mike Stanley's 2 RBIs on three hits pushed the Yankees to a 4-3 win over Toronto, New York's third win in the last 13 games. Two homers by Dave Winfield and one by Kent Hrbek gave the Twins and Jim Deshaies a home win over Boston, 7-4. The Mariners overcame three errors, but they couldn't overcome a bases loaded walk to Lance Blankenship in the bottom of the 9th that helped the Athletics edge Seattle, 2-1, for Oakland's 16th straight home win against the Mariners. Scott Lewis pitched five adequate innings and rookie J.T. Snow smashed his ninth home run and Wally Joyner hit his second of the year as the Angels topped the Royals and Mark Gubizca, 5-3.


The entire game may be viewed below. The Phillies error that aided the Atlanta rally occurs at 2:13:00.

May 15th, 1993 - Phillies vs Braves (youtube.com)

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 16, 1993
Philadelphia Phillies 5: (W: Jackson, 4-1; SV: Williams, 14)
Atlanta Braves 4 (L: McMichael, 1-2)
22-17
3rd place
2.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 17, 1993
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Avery, 3-2; SV: Stanton, 16)
Montreal Expos 2 (L: Martinez, 2-5)
23-17
3rd place
2.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 18, 1993
Montreal Expos 1 (W: Heredia, 1-0; SV: Wetteland, 5)
Atlanta Braves 0 (L: Smith, 2-3)
23-18
3rd place
3.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 19, 1993
Atlanta Braves 1 (W: Glavine, 6-0)
Montreal Expos 0 (L: Shaw, 0-1)
24-18
2nd place
3.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 20, 1993
Off day
24-18
2nd place
4 games behind

DEION RETURNS AS BRAVES HIT THE ROAD

San Francisco's three-game sweep of the Houston Astros in the City by the Bay the last few days has pushed them down in the standings and sees the Atlanta Braves four games behind the Giants in the NL West. The defending champion Toronto Blue Jays are 4 1/2 back of Detroit in the AL East, and it's amusing how it's considered too early to write off the Blue Jays while the same media outlets act like the Braves are a horrific disappointment who should maybe fire half the people in the organization. And yes, their offense has been horrible, including five shutouts and seven games where they scored only one run (those 12 of Atlanta's 42 games are nearly 1/3 of the schedule). But it's worth noting, too, that Atlanta's pitching has been so outstanding that they have administered six shutouts of their own and won 2 of the 7 games where they scored only once. Despite all their problems, the Braves are on a 93-win pace that would have won their division 8 of the last 11 years (including last year) and tied another time. If they get it going, they promise to be a problem for the surprising Giants and Phillies or anyone else who may contend. (Houston is generally given better odds at contending than the Giants - at least prior to last week). And then there's the ongoing saga of Deion Sanders.

Sanders left the team on April 28 to attend his father's funeral, a noble gesture and one that has to be supported. Then he began to claim he was upset with his playing time and opted to not return. And now he has announced that his wife is pregnant with their second child, yet another log on the fire of family stress. We should extend to Sanders the kindest of human compassion and would - if he didn't make it so damned impossible at times. Sanders has shown - in brief spurts - that he can play well when needed. His .533 batting average (along with five stolen bases) led all players in last fall's 1992
World Series, and he led the National League in triples last year (14) despite playing only 97 games. At the same time, his baserunning blunder in Game Three, where the Braves were tagged for a triple play and save only from their fate by a horrible umpire call, combined with his throwing water on Tim McCarver in vindictiveness after the Braves won the pennant and - most important - violating his word when he assured the Braves he would not play in the NFL until the season was over were distractions. And sadly, he continues to bring distractions to the Braves.

And here's the catch: Sanders is eligible for NFL free agency at the end of this year's NFL season. There is no way a competitor like Sanders is going to stay with an organization that has less cache' than the travel agency that booked flights on "The Hindenburg." This fact means it is only going to get worse for the Braves organization to keep him around. With his value about as high as it will ever be in BASEBALL right now, the Atlanta front office needs to find a willing sucker to take this guy off their hands, even if they have to pay some of the contract just to be rid of the nuisance.

Atlanta heads for three on the road at Shea Stadium and then three in Cincinnati.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 21, 1993
Atlanta Braves 4 (W: Maddux, 4-3)
New York Mets 2 (L: Hillman, 0-2)
25-18
2nd place
3.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 22, 1993
New York Mets 6 (W: Gooden, 5-4)
Atlanta Braves 1 (L: Smoltz, 4-4)
25-19
2nd place
4 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

May 23, 1993
Atlanta Braves 2 (W: Avery, 4-2; SV: Stanton, 17)
New York Mets 1 (L: Saberhagen, 3-5)
26-19
2nd place
4 games behind

BRAVES TOP METS, 2-1, ON AVERY 2-HITTER;
CHISOX RELEASE DAVE STIEB;
PINIELLA WINS 500th AS MANAGER


One thing you cannot deny, the Atlanta Braves have outstanding pitching, and it's often enough to enable them to win despite an early-season offense that looks like mononucleosis has infected the entire team when they come to bat. Two-timer former Cy Young (AL) winner Bret Saberhagen by no means pitched badly, scattering seven hits in a complete game effort and being undone by a third inning Jeff Kent error that wound up making the difference as the Braves held on to prevail, 2-1, behind eight strong innings from Steve Avery and a harrowing bottom of the 9th where the Mets brought the winning run to the plate with one out in the form of future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray and today's good player Bobby Bonilla only to see Mike Stanton induce fly outs to right from both to close out his 17th save of the season, more than any other closer has at this point of the season.

Jeff Blauser took first when Saberhagen hit him as the second batter of the game and then scored the game's first run when David Justice doubled with two outs. Blauser then scored Atlanta's only other run when Kent's error and back-to-back singles by Ron Gant and Justice plated him in the top of the third. Blauser would later single and lead the Braves in assists for the night as he had a good game. Avery, meanwhile, held the Mets at bay until Stanton came on the close out the ninth and immediately ran into trouble. After a leadoff ground out, Stanton gave up a double to speedster Vince Coleman who made it a one-run game when Charlie O'Brien singled and went to second on Gant's error. Wayne Housie replaced O'Brien for more speed at second, but he ended the game there when Stanton got Murray and Bonilla to end the game. The Braves are now 14-5 in their last 19 games.

Atlanta's win kept them apace with the San Francisco Giants, who left the field with a walkoff win that concluded a horrendous 1-6 West Coast trip for the Reds. Former Red Todd Benzginer, who caught the last out of Cincinnati's 1990 World Series triumph, drew a bases loaded walk from Greg Cadaret to give the Giants a 3-2 win. Craig Biggio had four hits that included two home runs and 3 RBIs as the Astros ended a five-game losing streak with a 9-7 win over San Diego in a game Houston led early, 8-1. Lee Smith blew his second save in three days but go the win despite giving up a first batter home run to Kevin Young in the bottom of the 9th. Smith got through the inning and two singles and a sacrifice fly plated Ozzie Smith in the tenth for the go-ahead run. Mike Perez navigated a difficult tenth to notch his second save. Ramon Martinez threw his first shutout in nearly a year, yielding only three hits in a 4-0 Dodgers win over the Rockies. Jack Armstrong outdueled Frank Castillo as the Marlins beat the Cubs, 4-2, denying Chicago skipper Jim Lefebvre his 100th career managerial win. Four Darren Daulton hits helped the Phillies pummel the Expos, 14-7, to maintain their best record in MLB.

Pat Hentgen's pitching and Alfredo Griffin's double lifted Toronto to a 2-1 win over Minnesota, the seventh straight loss for the Twins. Duane Ward got the final four outs for his 11th save. Mickey Tettleton's homer just over Kenny Lofton's outstretched glove lifted Detroit to their 10th win in 13 games in a 4-2 Tigers win over the Cleveland Indians. Tim Salmon's 4 RBIs lifted California to a 6-2 win over the Rangers to take the series. George Bell smacked a two-run homer in the 8th and then tripled off of Rich Gossage in the tenth to score Joey Cora and rally the White Sox to a 5-4 win over Oakland. Kevin Reimer's bases loaded single off Fernando Valenzuela was the key blow in a three-run inning that enabled Milwaukee's 9-1 rout of the Orioles. Mo Vaughn homered twice as the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 5-2. Tied at 7 in the ninth on the road, Seattle's three-run rally off Kansas City closer Jeff Montgomery gave Lou Piniella his 500th career win as manager by a final count of 10-7.

The Chicago White Sox only signed one free agent starter this past offseason, and he's history. Dave Stieb, one of the best (if unrewarded with hardware) pitchers of the 80s has been cut by the Sox after four starts that saw him fall to 1-3 with a 6.04 ERA. Stieb, 35, is likely done as a major league pitcher. A key asset in the rise of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1979 also-rans to defending world champions, Stieb finally obtained his championship ring last year despite missing the World Series with injuries. He also threw a no-hitter in September 1990.