Braves: 1993 Atlanta Braves Retrospective: The Last Pennant Race

[selmaborntidefan]

September 5, 1993
Atlanta Braves 3 (W: Maddux, 17-9)
San Diego Padres 2 (L: Martinez, 3-1)
86-51
2nd place
2.5 games behind

LATE ATLANTA RALLY CLOSES GAP ON GIANTS

For most of the afternoon, it appeared Atlanta starter Greg Maddux would pitch quite well and once again come up short of a victory. Scattering six hits but walking an unusually high - for him anyway - four hitters, Maddux went into the bottom of the 8th at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium today trailing, 2-1, only to get bailed out by the new acquisition who has changed the entire look of the Braves (Fred McGriff), and the hot hitting former Rookie of the Year closing in on 40 home runs, David Justice. When rookie Trevor Hoffman, acquired from the Marlins in the Gary Sheffield trade in June as part of San Diego's fire sale, walked McGriff with one out in the 9th, Padres Manager Jim Riggleman yanked him in favor of another rookie, Pedro Martinez, hoping the lefty facing the lefty Justice would prevail. But it was Justice who blasted a two-run shot into right centerfield for his 36th homer, giving Maddux a 3-2 lead that the staff ace held onto with a 1-2-3 ninth. Justice has now hit 7 homers in the last 11 games and has 20 RBIs in the last 14 for a total of 102 on the year. The Braves who won their fourth in a row, are 21-4 in their last 25 contests.

The Giants, meanwhile, let the Braves creep just a little bit closer by blowing two leads of 1-0 and 5-2 before tying the Cardinals in the 8th on a Matt Williams solo homer. But in the bottom of the 9th, two walks, a double, and a game-winning RBI single by Tom Pagnozzi sent the Giants down to defeat, 7-6. the loss cuts their lead over the Braves down to just 2.5 games, the closest the Braves have been to first place since May 15.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 6, 1993
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 (W: P. Martinez, 10-3)
Atlanta Braves 1 (L: Smoltz, 13-10)
86-52
2nd place
3.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 7, 1993
Atlanta Braves 1 (W: Avery, 16-4; SV: McMichael, 14)
Los Angeles Dodgers 0 (L: Astacio, 11-8)
87-52
2nd place
2.5 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 8, 1993
Atlanta Braves 8 (W: Glavine, 18-5)
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 (L: R. Martinez, 9-10)
88-52
2nd place
2.0 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 9, 1993
Atlanta Braves 1 (W: McMichael, 2-3)
San Diego Padres 0 (L: Hoffman, 4-6)
89-52
2nd place
1.0 games behind

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 10, 1993
Atlanta Braves 3 (W: Maddux, 18-9; SV: McMichael, 15)
San Diego Padres 2 (L: Worrell, 1-5)
90-52
1st place
TIED

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 11, 1993
Atlanta Braves 13 (W: Smoltz, 14-10)
San Diego Padres 1 (L: Benes, 15-12)
91-52
1st place
1.0 game ahead

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 12, 1993
San Diego Padres 5 (W: Sanders, 3-1: SV: Greg Harris, 23)
Atlanta Braves 4 (L: Avery, 16-5)
91-53
1st place
1.0 game ahead

BRAVES LOSE BUT MAINTAIN LEAD

The Atlanta Braves had a rare misfire today, as one bad inning by Steve Avery and aided by two blunders by catcher Damon Berryhill led to a 5-4 loss to the lowly San Diego Padres. With a chance to move back into a tie for first place in the NL West, the slumping Giants lost their fifth straight game, 4-2, to the Cardinals to remain a game behind the Braves.

The Braves will no doubt look at this game and wonder how in the world they lost it. They had more hits, they made fewer fielding errors, they walked fewer batters, and they struck out more batters while having a much better pitcher on the mound - and yet they still lost. But a catcher's interference call on Berryhill followed by his own passed ball led to two unearned runs, and the Braves' comeback attempt failed for once.

The Braves scored early thanks to a single and an error by the Padres that plated Otis Nixon, but in the fourth inning, the Braves fell apart. Credit the Padres for cashing in. Ricky Gutierrez tied the game with a leadoff solo home run, and Avery then walked Phil Clark. Derek Bell singled Clark to third, and Berryhill's interference loaded the bases for Phil Plantier, in the throes of an 0-for-23 slump. Plantier doubled home Clark and Bell, and Archi Cianfrocco, who reached on the interference, went to third, scoring on Berryhill's passed ball to give San Diego a 4-1 lead. A sacrifice fly plated Plantier, and the Padres were ahead, 5-1. With these Braves, though, no lead is safe.

Nixon scored his and Atlanta's second run when he reached on a bunt single, stole second, moved to third on a balk, and scored on infield out. But with Jeff Blauser aboard, Fred McGriff walked, and David Justice popped out to left to leave the score at 5-2. An inning later, Terry Pendleton led off with a solo home run, the 100th of his career that cut the lead to 5-3. With two on and one out, the Braves again blew the chance as rookie Trevor Hoffman came on and retired Nixon and Blauser. And once the 9th inning came, the Braves again began to stir.

Gene Harris retired the first two Braves but then he ran into trouble. One out from a win, Harris walked Ron Gant and then gave up singles to both McGriff and Justice, scoring Gant, and putting the tying run at third. But Pendleton flew out to right to end the game, and the Padres survived the Atlanta comeback attempt.

After a seven-game road trip, the Braves have an off day tomorrow and return to Atlanta for six games against the Reds and Mets. The Giants host the Cubs and will face the Reds in Cincinnati immediately after the Reds play the Braves.

Poor Cincinnati.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 13, 1993
TRAVEL DAY
91-53
1st place
1.5 games ahead

The Braves returned to Atlanta today and added 1/2 game to their lead as the Giants fell to the Cubs, 6-5, the sixth straight loss for San Francisco.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 14, 1993
Atlanta Braves 10 (W: Glavine, 19-5)
Cincinnati Reds 3 (L: Ayala, 6-8)
92-53
1st place
2.5 games ahead

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 15, 1993
Atlanta Braves 7 (W: Smith, 4-8)
Cincinnati Reds 6 (L: Dibble, 1-4)
93-53
1st place
3.5 games ahead

INCREDIBLE BRAVES COMEBACK PUSHES ATLANTA FURTHER AHEAD IN WEST

In a season of incredible games, the Atlanta Braves picked tonight for the most incredible of all, and they may have launched themselves well into position to win their third straight NL Western Division title. And for the third year in a row, the Braves victimized the Cincinnati Reds with a stunning comeback, this one witnessed nationally on ESPN.

Two years ago, the Braves signaled their entry into the contender category by rallying from three runs down - with two outs - in the 9th inning against Reds flamethrower Rob Dibble. About six weeks later in their final road trip of 1991, the Braves rallied from a 6-0 deficit with a game-winning home run off this same Dibble, staying close enough to the Dodgers to eventually surpass them. Last year the Braves trailed the Reds, 5-2, entering the bottom of the 8th before rallying to tie and then homering off the other flame throwing Nasty Boy, Norm Charlton, a win that broke Cincinnati's back and began their descent and Atlanta's rise to another pennant. And then there was what happened tonight, when the 1994 Braves made an appearance and helped lift this year's Braves to a 3 1/2 game lead over the rapidly fading Giants, who lost their 7th straight contest.

Perhaps feeling he had a game to give and wanted to give his starter's an extra day's rest, Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox sent Kent Mercker to the mound to oppose the NL's best pitcher, Jose Rijo. Mercker has basically become a starter over the last six weeks due to the arm troubles of Pete Smith. It was only his 11th career start, and Mercker and the Braves fell behind when Jacob Brumfield led off the 3rd inning with a solo home run to put the Reds ahead, 1-0. The Braves, though, tied it in the bottom of the inning when Otis Nixon tripled with two outs and then scored on Jeff Blauser's single. Then in the sixth, Mercker weakened.

Chris Sabo singled and when Hal Morris attempted to bunt Sabo to second, he got more than he planned when Rafael Belliard's throwing error scored Sabo and put Morris on first. He later scored after singles by Juan Samuel and Jeff Branson, ending Mercker's night with Atlanta trailing, 3-1. Fred McGriff golfed a solo shot off Rijo in the sixth, and the game entered the late stages with the Reds leading, 3-2. Trying to hold the Reds at bay, Cox sent out the wild flamethrower Mark Wohlers, who walked Sabo, gave up a single to Morris and retired Joe Oliver on a sacrifice bunt that put both runners in scoring position with one out. Two singles and a double later, the Reds were suddenly in front, 6-2, and the outlook was bleak for the Braves. When Atlanta reached the 9th down by four runs and near the bottom of the batting order, it looked worse still. But Damon Berryhill opened the 9th with a double off Johnny Ruffin, and since every run counted, Bill Pecota came on as a pinch-runner. The next two batters are expected to be stars in the Atlanta future, Chipper Jones, who made his debut last night, and Ryan Klesko, who was sent up to pinch-hit for Ramon Caraballo. Jones struck out but then Klesko took a gargantuan swing that blasted a two-run shot deep into the right field seats, a ball that got out of the yard so quickly there was almost no time to react. Jeff Reardon, whom Atlanta fans are still mad about over his failures in last year's World Series, came on and gave up a double to Otis Nixon. At this point, the Braves now had the tying run at the plate in the form of Jeff Blauser, and the shortstop singled but hit it hard enough that the fleet Nixon had to stop at third base. The Reds summoned Dibble to face the power hitters coming up next, and ESPN noted quickly that batter Ron Gant's career numbers against Dibble were abysmal, 2-for-16 with 7 strikeouts. Dibble threw one right across the middle of the plate and Gant, though behind the pitch, got hit bat out and hit the ball. It carried into left field and hit the top of the fence, going over for a game-winning three run shot that sent the Atlanta crowd of 48,000 fans into sheer ecstasy, celebrating the win, the excitement, and the fact the Braves are now 3 1/2 games ahead of the Giants.

The Braves have momentum.
The Giants are slumping.
And there are only 16 games left to see who finishes as the last team standing.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 16, 1993
Atlanta Braves 3 (W: Bedrosian, 4-2)
Cincinnati Reds 2 (L: Service, 2-2)
12 innings
94-53
1st place
4 games ahead

DOWN TO LAST INNING, BRAVES RALLY FOR ANOTHER LATE WIN;
A RACE IN THE NL EAST?

For the second night in a row, the Atlanta Braves came to bat trailing in the bottom of the 9th. For the second night in a row, a dramatic home run, this one by David Justice, saved Atlanta from defeat. And making the most of a second chance, Jeff Blauser, who made the last out of the 8th inning with the tying run on third, singled home pinch-runner Bill Pecota in the 12th inning to seal a 3-2 win for the Braves and lift their lead in the NL West to 4 games with only 15 to play. The Giants, in the throes of an eight-game losing streak, were idle and gaining some much-needed rest, but San Francisco has 17 games remaining over the next three weeks.

John Smoltz again showed why he's a superstar pitcher with a pedestrian record, perhaps the Don Drysdale of his era. For 8 innings, Smoltz scattered six Cincinnati hits and got his typical lack of run support. After being thrown out at home to end the 8th on Blauser's fielder's choice, Smoltz took the mound, tired perhaps, and served up a solo home run to Jacob Brumfield leading off the 9th that threatened to defeat the Braves. But left to face the power section of Atlanta's order, rookie Jerry Spradlin retired Fred McGriff only to give up a mammoth shot to Justice, the outfielder's 37th dinger of the year, to tie the game. A team that easily could be 0-2 in the last 30 hours is somehow 2-0 with two dramatic wins. The Braves have now won 8 of 9 and 29 of the last 35 as they've turned a 10-game deficit in late July into a 4-game lead in mid-September.

With a huge lead all year long, are the Philadelphia Phillies in trouble? After the Expos lifted their record to 17-2 with a 4-3 win over St. Louis, they're only five back and have momentum. But they may have lost that as star outfielder Moises Alou is now gone for the season after dislocating his ankle and fracturing his fibula. With the Phillies fold again? Time will tell.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 17, 1993
Atlanta Braves 2 (W: Howell, 3-3)
New York Mets 1 (L: Maddux, 3-8)
10 innings
95-53
1st place
4 games ahead

BRAVES WIN IN LAST AT BAT - AGAIN;
GIANTS END 8-GAME LOSING STREAK;
EXPOS CLOSE MARGIN TO 4;
ROCKIES TOP 4 MILLION FANS IN FIRST YEAR

For the third night in a row and the fourth time in the last week, the Atlanta Braves won a game in their final at bat. Otis Nixon scored from second on Ron Gant's double with one out in the bottom of the 10th to lift Atlanta to a 2-1 victory over the New York Mets and helped the Braves maintain a four-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. Although to be more precise, it was Otis Nixon 2 Mets 1.

For seven innings, starters Steve Avery and Sid Fernandez matched one another pitch-for-pitch, both surrendering four hits, although Avery had the edge in walks, 0-3. Nixon led off the fourth with a bunt single, stole second, and scored on Fred McGriff's single. And that was it until Greg McMichael, solid since taking over as the closer, faltered two outs short of the win and surrendered a solo shot to Eddie Murray that tied the game at one. Spot reliever Jay Howell came on and retired the Mets in the tenth and wound up the winner when Nixon scored to end the contest.

The Giants, meanwhile, stopped the bleeding by blasting five Cincinnati pitchers 13 runs on 17 hits in a 13-0 blowout win that saw Matt Williams drill his 35th home run and Bill Swift pick up his fourth win of the season against the Reds. The win ends an eight-game losing streak for San Francisco. Meanwhile, the Montreal Expos are now as close to the Phillies as the Giants are to the Braves after an 8-7 win in 12 innings clinched on a sacrifice fly by Delino DeShields. The Expos are now only four behind and have been even hotter than the Braves over the last 4 weeks, going 21-3 and shaving 10.5 games off Philly's lead. Philadelphia lost despite putting up a 7-run inning to take a 7-3 lead in the sixth. Pete Harnisch tossed his second one-hitter of 1993 and extended his winning streak to five in the Houston Astros' 3-0 triumph over the San Diego Padres. Rich Aude's first major league hit was a seventh inning RBI single that scored Kevin Young and lifted the Pirates to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Just before the start of tonight's Rockies vs Dodgers game, home plate umpire Bob Davidson was hit by a warmup pitch and later went to second base after receiving medical clearance. The huge turnout pushed the Rockies' attendance over 4 million for their freshman year, and the Rockies didn't disappoint, clobbering the Dodgers, 12-3, on four Darryl Boston RBIs and winning their 8th straight home game. Pitchers Jack Armstrong and Bryan Harvey of the Marlins combined on a 2-0 shutout over the Chicago Cubs.

Pat Hentgen won his 18th game and the Blue Jays their sixth in a row in a 4-2 defeat of the Twins that leaves Toronto three games ahead of Baltimore in the AL East. Both starting pitchers went the distance, but Cal Eldred's three hits surrendered did less damage than Ben McDonald's three hits surrendered did in Milwaukee's 2-0 win over the Orioles. Dave Nilsson's homer was enough for the Brewers. The Yankees have not been more than three games out since June 17, and they still haven't, rallying from a late 4-3 deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4. Jason Grimsley won as a starter for the first time since April 28, 1991 in Cleveland' 3-1 triumph over the Detroit Tigers. Wilson Alvarez pitched 8 scoreless innings, and Ozzie Guillen drove in three runs as the White Sox increased their AL West lead to 4.5 games with an 8-0 blowout of Oakland. In his final apperance where he used to pitch, Nolan Ryan exemplified much of his career. The fireballer went seven innings, giving up one unearned run and striking out five (and surprisingly - walking NOBODY) before leaving a game tied at one. A Stan Javier triple later keyed the run that gave the Angels a 2-1 win over the Rangers. George Brett drove in three runs as Kansas City stopped a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 18, 1993
New York Mets 3 (W: Innis, 2-3; SV: Gozzo, 1)
Atlanta Braves 2 (L: Stanton, 4-6)
10 innings
95-54
1st place
3 games ahead

DOWN TO LAST STRIKE, BRAVES COLLAPSE AND LOSE;
GIANTS CLOSE GAP TO 3 IN NL WEST

CBS is exiting the baseball telecast business at the conclusion of next month's World Series, but they got an exciting game today that closes the gap in a pennant race and saw the Atlanta Braves fall victim to their specialty, the late game comeback. With three consecutive wins in their last at bat and 9 in their last 10 games, the Braves needed only one more out to close out a 2-0 shutout win over the Mets and maintain their four-game lead in the NL West. And the Braves had staff ace Greg Maddux on the mound about to close out the win. But singles by Jeff McKnight and Ced Landrum and an uncharacteristic walk by Maddux to Ryan Thompson, loaded the bases for the Mets and brought a potential go ahead at-bat in the form of Todd Hundley. Braves Manager Bobby Cox opted to go to his closer of the last month, Greg McMichael, to get the last out. McMichael ran an 0-2 count to Hundley, leaving the Braves one strike away from the win. Hundley hit a ball just deep enough to second base that when Mark Lemke bobbled it momentarily, everyone was safe, and McKnight's run cut the Atlanta lead to 2-1. Lemke's range actually kept the lead in Atlanta hands, and because slugger Eddie Murray had been ejected in the third inning and his spot was due up, the Mets looked like the foolishness might cost them the game. With a 2-1 count, Murray's replacement, Dave Gallagher, hit a sharp ball to Jeff Blauser at short that he stopped with a dive and threw to second, too late to nail the runner and tying the game at two. McMichael got Joe Orsulak to line a shot to him, ending the inning, and the fans in Fulton County Stadium prepared for what they thought would be another ninth-inning walkoff celebrated win given the Braves have done so 14 times.

But the Braves went in order in the 9th, and in the 10th, Cox opted to go with lefty Mike Stanton, who had the closer's job the season's first three months but lost it because he kept blowing saves. Stanton retired the first two batters in the 10th and then gave up a Darrin Jackson through the left side of the infield. McKnight, who began the rally in the 9th, came to bat with a .147 average on the year. With a full count, McKnight dropped a single just in front of David Justice in right, putting two on and two out and sending Stanton to the showers in favor of Steve Bedrosian. Bedrosian had the good fortune of facing rookie Tito Navarro, who was 0-for-11 in his brief career and looking for his first-ever major league hit. Navarro lined a Bedrosian sinker into right field for a hit, scoring Jackson and giving the Mets a 3-2 lead, silencing Fulton County Stadium. The heart of the Braves hitting order - Ron Gant, David Justice, and Fred McGriff - were due up, but they went down in order, and the Braves lost, 3-2.

To be fair, the Mets should have won anyway. They outhit the Braves, 15-6, and left 13 runners on base, including the bases loaded to end an inning twice. Maddux struck out ten Mets or the game likely would have been in their hands sooner.

With their losing streak now history, the Giants picked up a game on the Braves when former Cincinnati Red Todd Benzinger, best known for catching the last out of the 1990 World Series, smashed two home runs an drove in four against his old club. John Burkett gave up six hits and struck out 3 as he won his 19th game.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 19, 1993
Atlanta Braves 11 (W: Glavine, 20-5)
New York Mets 2 (L: Schourek,3-12)
96-54
1st place
3 games ahead

GLAVINE WINS 20TH, 3RD STRAIGHT YEAR;
CORDERO'S WALKOFF RBI KEEPS MONTREAL HOPES ALIVE;
2 MATT WILLIAMS HOMERS GUIDE THE GIANTS

Tom Glavine did not match his usual expectations, but he "met" enough of them to beat the New York Mets, 11-3, and win his 20th game for the third straight year. The southpaw scattered nine hits over 6 innings and struck out four as the Braves won their 96th game of the season and maintained a three-game lead over the San Francisco Giants. The Atlanta offense clobbered Mets starter Pete Schourek for 8 hits and 7 runs in just over 4 innings of work, but the tall and talented lefty was undercut by his own team's defense as two key errors kept the inning going and turned a bad frame into an awful one for Schourek. With the Braves narrowly leading, 2-1, the Braves chased 9 runs across the plate over the course of 18 hitters, and three of their six outs were made by catcher Damon Berryhill. If anyone else had been batting in his place, the game might still be ongoing.

Two Matt Williams homers accounted for five runs as the Giants kept pace with the Braves in a 7-3 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds. And the bullpen woes continue for Philly's Mitch Williams, who needed only to retire two batters before allowing two runs but failed to do it and thus kept Montreal alive in the NL East race. After getting Marquis Grissom to fly out to center, Williams surrendered a single to Delino DeShields, who easily moved into scoring position with a steal. Rondell White walked and then Larry Walker loaded the bases when John Kruk's misplay of a bouncing grounder to first resulted in an error. Sean Berry popped to first but then Wil Cordero hit a fair ball shot between Dave Hollins and third base that scored both DeShields and White and gave the Expos a 6-5 win over Philly. Montreal now trails by four games in the division.

The Braves have their last off-day of the season tomorrow, so we'll preview the end of the season for all of the remaining contenders.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 20, 1993
TRAVEL DAY
96-54
1st place
2.5 games ahead

So, who ya got?

In all honesty, it feels like 3 of the 4 divisions are decided, we're just waiting on the official clinch. Toronto leads Baltimore by 4.5 games - and has played one less, so we're talking a probable five-game lead with 12 to play. Granted, the Orioles do close out the season with a four-game series with Toronto, but would you really want to take the Orioles at this point over the defending world champions? The Chicago White Sox also lead by 4.5 games, and like Toronto, they've got the one additional game to play. They do face Texas but since it's only three games, even a sweep will not be enough to overtake Chicago. In all honesty, it looks like the American League playoffs are set.

It's a bit tougher in the National League but in all honesty only in one division. The Phillies lead the Expos by 4.5 and both teams have 12 games left. Unfortunately for Montreal - but fortunately for both - they each have 3 games against the Atlanta Braves, which neither team can be expected to sweep (or in all honesty, even win 2 of the 3 the way the Braves have been playing). Montreal's only real chance is to sweep the Braves (good luck there) and then hope the Braves sweep the Phillies. Anyone know the last time the Braves were swept in 1993? It was by the Cardinals on the road 6-8 July, or about 12 days B.M., Before McGriff, who has turned the Braves into a completely different team. The Braves, however, have a different dilemma altogether.

The Giants can make up the 1/2 game by winning, so theoretically they're down two games and they close out their final 12 with 3 against Houston, 4 against the Padres, 4 against the Dodgers, and two against the Rockies. The Braves have the six games mentioned above against the two best teams in the East - and on the road (bad for Atlanta) - but close out with three games at home against the Rockies, who have yet to beat the Braves. If you flipped the two teams' schedules, you could probably pencil in Atlanta today as Philadelphia's opponent. But it is the Braves with the tougher route the first week, and it might be enough for the Giants to catch or even surpass them, particularly as well as Montreal has been playing.

My guess?
Toronto vs Chicago
Atlanta vs Philadelphia

The Braves have played more big games than any other team the last two years plus this one, and they've already showed tremendous fortitude coming back from 10 games behind in late July.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

September 21, 1993
Atlanta Braves 18 (W: Smoltz, 15-10)
Montreal Expos 5 (L: Hill, 9-6)
97-54
1st place
3.5 games ahead