Sports
Archives

Cleaned in 15

• The Braves get swept by the Reds after failing to come up with big hits during a marathon, 15-inning game in Atlanta.

Paul Dehner Jr.

ATLANTA — As dramatic twists and turns stretched an afternoon special into an early evening marathon Wednesday at Turner Field, the Atlanta Braves repeatedly stood on the doorstep of victory.

Yet, every time a potential Atlanta hero attempted to kick down the door, the Cincinnati Reds — seemingly against all odds — slammed it shut.

In the end, the Braves were left digesting a game-winning, two-RBI single by Brandon Phillips and a three-game sweep against a team which entered with the National League’s worst record, not to mention 15 innings worth of disbelief as to how they landed on the wrong end of a 5-4 final.

“We had a million chances,” manager Bobby Cox said. “We hit so many line drives — it’s unbelievable. Not much you can do about it, if they don’t fall in, they don’t fall in. We feel we deserve that ballgame, that’s for sure.”

In the return of Braves starter John Smoltz from the disabled list, the Braves racked up 18 hits and put the winning run on base in five of the six extra innings. And the Reds took an offensive slumber, only managing two hits in extras prior to the decisive final frame of a game that rolled on for a season-long 4 hours and 31 minutes.

There, Cincinnati loaded the bases against Jose Ascanio, assisted by a Kelly Johnson error and Ken Griffey Jr. double. That brought up — with two outs — Phillips, who softly lofted a breaking pitch to center that scored two runs for a 5-3 lead.

Atlanta rallied in the bottom half, but looking down at a vanquished bench, Cox was forced to send pitcher Kyle Davies to the plate with two outs and the winning run at first. Reds reliever Michael Gosling struck him out and sent the frustrated Braves reeling into a four-game series against St. Louis that begins today at 7:35 p.m.

“We didn’t play well. It’s not allowing us to get over the hump as far as getting up there with the division leaders,” Chipper Jones said. “We get within a game and a half and we put together a series like this. It’s frustrating.”

Sitting on a table in the locker room and speaking softly, Jones’ feelings were neither hidden nor unwarranted considering the Braves (50-45) stranded the winning run in scoring position three times.

None done more improbably than in the 10th.

With the Reds ahead, 3-2, after scoring a run in the top of the inning, Edgar Renteria led off with a single.

In the first near miss, Jones nearly ended the game with one swing, but instead cut a David Weathers pitch off the top of the wall near the left field foul pole.

By the time Jones waltzed to second with a double then stole third base on a snoozing Weathers, the game was tied and Atlanta seemed destined for a walk-off celebration.

But Weathers got Andruw Jones to line a rocket to center, which zipped directly into the glove of Ryan Freel and give an intentional pass to Brian McCann, bringing up Jeff Francoeur.

In a bizarre defensive maneuver, Reds manager Pete Mackanin opted to bring Freel in from center to the second base bag as a fifth infielder.

“To be honest,” said Francoeur, admitting to have never hit against the alignment before, “I didn’t know what the heck was going on.”

The move remarkably played out to perfection, however, as Francoeur lined to second and a leaping Phillipes, who promptly doubled up Jones leaning off the bag at third.

“I thought he had no chance to catch it to be honest,” said Francoeur, who finished 3-for-6 with two RBI. “I thought it was over — it was kind of like a whole nightmare — then you play for another two hours.”

The two hours dragged on through a threat-ending double play by Brian McCann in the 12th, then a groundout and strikeout by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Scott Thorman, respectively, with the winning run on second in the 13th.

Lost in the wild finish was a triumphant return for Smoltz, who was activated from the DL before the game.

For seven stellar innings, the Braves ace worked masterfully as Cincinnati Reds batters watched, waved and even tossed their bats at what became a season-high 11 strikeouts for the ace.

“Smoltzy was unbelievably good,” Cox said.

Smoltz suffocated the Reds, giving up five hits and walking two in throwing 93 pitches — 65 for strikes.

Matching Smoltz pitch-for-pitch, Reds starter Aaron Haraing pitched six scoreless before Atlanta finally got to him in the seventh when Johnson led off with a triple and Saltalamacchia knocked him in with a base hit for a 1-0 lead.

It wouldn’t hold as reliever Rafael Soriano walked Griffey and watched Adam Dunn launch a towering, 425-foot no-doubter into the right field bleachers which silenced a stunned crowd of 33,789 fans.

A Francoeur sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning tied it, but, as was the case all day, the Braves were left wondering what could have been.

Back to today's Sports>>