NLDS: '88 Expos sweep '06 Braves in 3

GAME 1 - Turner Field - 88-MON 8, 06-ATL 5:

El Presidente, Dennis Martinez was just ordinary, but thankfully his teammates were not. Martinez yielded 4 runs in 6 innings of work, but still notched the win. Down 3-1 in the 4th Montreal exploded for 4 huge runs on back to back Jacks from backup catcher Mike Fitzgerald and banjo hitting Luis Rivera. Fitzgerald's blow was a 3 run shot that went deep into the Southern night. Atlanta chipped away by making it 5-4 with a solo run in the 6th. Montreal had to rely on 4 relievers and 2 ninth inning insurance runs before the could rest easy. Tim Burke came on to notch the save. Atlanta's Tim Hudson gave up 5 runs in 7 innings of work despite fanning 7 Expos.

GAME 2 - Turner Field - 88-MON 6, 06-ATL 1:

Montreal scored early and often in this contest and Atlanta's bats went cold. Brave manager Terry Priest said this at his post game press conference, "After scoring 17 vs LA in the play in game I feared it would catch up to us and we would struggle for runs vs Montreal". After scoring 5 in the opener the Braves managed only 1 run in game 2 and could not capitalize on their 8 hits. Expo starter Bryn Smith threw 5 shutout innings before running out of gas. The bullpen carried them the rest of the way. John Smoltz did not come up aces for the Braves as he didn't survive the 6th inning and gave up 4 runs. Every Expo starter had at least 1 hit, except for catcher Nelson Santovenia. Tim Wallach had 3 hits, but did not score or knock in any runs. Luis Rivera continued his hot hitting by homering in his second consecutive game.

GAME 3 - Olympic Stadium - 88-MON 9, 06-ATL 1:

The Expos enjoyed their first sellout of the year. Youpi and the fans were all anticipating a LDS clincher at home and they were not disappointed. Montreal got out of the gate quick by posting 2 runs in the first 2 innings to give starter Pascual Perez a 4-0 lead. Perez has been lights out all year and 4 runs in his back pocket is almost insurmountable. El Ghato, Andres Galarraga hit a 2 run shot for the first 2 runs in the 1st. Mitch Webster and Tracy Jones single home runs in the 2nd off of Brave starter Chuck James, who would be gone after 5 innings of work. James gave up 5 runs, but 2 of them came off of errors, so you have to feel that he didn't pitch all that terrible. The fielding got worse as Oscar Villarreal gave up 3 unearned runs himself and by that point the game was out of reach. Perez pitched 8 full innings and the only blemish on his record was a meaningless solo shot by Brian McCann. Tim Burke worked the ninth even though it wasn't a save situation. Rex Hudler had 3 hits and scored 3 runs as he made one of his rare starts. Santovenia also banged out 3 hits as well as the Expos closed out the 3-0 sweep of the Braves and wait for the winner of the Cubs/Pirates series.

'06 Bravos destroy '79 Bums 17-1 in NL West 1 game playoff

The '79 Dodgers rallied to win 3 of their last 4 vs the Rockies to force a Play in Game with the '06 Braves for the NL West title and an opening round matchup with the '88 Expos. LA tapped Burt "Happy" Hooton, the master of the knuckle curve to face Atlanta's Lance Cormier. Hooton was only able to get 1 out before his arm seized up on him and he had to be replaced. Curiously LA manager Rousel Graciano tapped seldom used Gerry Hannahs to relieve him. Hannahs had nothing and by the 3rd inning the Braves were up 8-1. A slew of Dodger relievers served up a ton of runs to the Braves and the final score of 17-1 was not a realistic indication of how bad it was. Wilson Betemit had 3 hits and 4 RBI's on the day to pace the potent Brave offense. Andrew Jones, who went 3 for 4 had the game's only homer, which is a surprise onto itself. Atlanta will stay at home to host the Wild Card Expos in the LDS.

Pale Hose win Play in Game over Brew Crew 8-2

The Pale Hose scored early and often off of Brewer starter Dan August, who didn't make it out of the 2nd inning. With the South siders staked to a 8-0 lead Joe Horlen went out and just threw strikes for a little over 7 innings before hitting the showers. Rick Reichardt had 2 hits and 3 RBI's for the Sox. Odly the Brew crew had 1 more hit than Chicago, but obviously they didn't make them count. Reichardt also hit his 3rd round tripper of the season. Future HOF'ers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor both finished the season hitting over .300, but alas the post season was not meant to be where they ended up. The White Sox will pack up and head to Kansas City to face the top seeded Royals in the opening round of the KOD6 Playoffs.

Motown drives to AL East Crown

Dutch Leonard cruised in the first game supported by ample run producing to clinch the East title for the Tigers. 11-1. With the title clinched, Johnny Bassler, Donnie Bush and Ralph Young started the rest of the series on the bench and the Tigers began to set their rotation for the post season. The Yankees jumped all over Jim Middleton in the second game and Doc Medich won handily 9-4. All the Tigers' runs in the second game came off three Ty Cobb homers. The third game was the closest of the four, with the Yankees losing a 2 run lead in the bottom of the seventh, regaining the lead in the eighth, only to only to lose the game in the bottom of the ninth 5-4 as Sparky Lyle blew his first save of the season.. In the closer, Hooks Dauss threw a complete game for the Bengals, winning 8-4 as Bobby Veach drove home thee runs an hit his 12th homer of the season.

Jints / Cubbies split. Cubbies clinch 2nd WC slot

The Giants and Cubs split, with each team winning their home games. Only three homers hit in the entire series, all by New York and all in the third game Hoyt Wilhelm blew a save in the first game, lost by the Giants in extra innings, but redeemed himself with a win in the third game and a save in the fourth game. Chicago had a lot hanging in the balance during this series. If they were able to win 3 games they would have tied Montreal for the 1st WC slot and put all the tie breakers into play.

--submitted by Tom "crash" Davis--

Bucs clinch best overall record by taking 3 games from Redbirds

65 St. Louis - Mike Roberts vs 73 Pittsburgh - Jesse Elicker


GAME 1: 73 Pit 6-4

The Cards come in needing at least a split to stay mathematically alive. The Pirates hold a 1-game lead on Montreal, but a playoff berth is in hand. After scoring a run in the 1st on Bill White's single, St. Louis added 3 more in the 2nd. Tim McCarver was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Mike Shannon doubled, then both runners advanced on Julian Javier's ground out, 2-0. Ray Washburn followed with a double to score Shannon, 3-0. An out later, Dick Groat's double plated Washburn, 4-0. It stayed that way until the 6th when the Pirate bats woke up. PH Milt May got a 1-out single. Gene Clines doubled. Richie Hebner singled, 4-1. Richie Zisk doubled in another run, 4-2. Willie Stargell's ground out plated Hebner, 4-3. Top of the 7th, another Pirate PH made a contribution. Manny Sanguillen singled to open the inning, then moved to 2nd on a ground out. With 2 down, PH Fernando Gonzalez' single brought home Sanguillen with the tie run, 4-4. Top of the 8th, relief ace Hal Woodeshick on for the Cards. He walked Hebner to open the inning. Then the lefty challenged Zisk, but lost the battle. Zisk's 2-run HR put the Bucs up 6-4. Ramon Hernandez worked the 8th, and Dave Giusti the 9th as the Pirates held on for the win.

GAME 2: 73 Pit 4-3
Game 2 was a reverse of game 1, except for the final score. The Pirates opened with 2 in the 2nd on Milt May's RBI double and Jackie Hernandez' 2-out RBI single. In the 4th it was Hernandez again with a single to score Manny Sanguillen, 3-0 Pittsburgh. Top of the 6th, Bob Gibson gave up another run. A lead off walk to Willie Stargell, followed by Milt May's single made it 4-0 Pirates, as Bruce Kison took the shutout into the bottom of the 6th. But Kison ran into some trouble. A walk to Ken Boyer, a single by Bill White plus Stargell's bobble, put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Tim McCarver's sac fly made it 3-1, and another out later, Julian Javier's single cut the lead to 4-2. Bottom of the 7th, Bob Johnson now on for the Pirates. Consecutive singles by Brock, Groat, and Curt Flood made it a 4-3 score. Ramon Hernandez replaced Johnson and shut down the rally by retiring Boyer, White, and McCarver. On to the bottom of the 9th, Dave Giusti pitching. Dick Groat got a 1-out single to put the tie run on base. Giusti struck out Flood, and did the same to Boyer to end the game, a 4-3 Pirates' win.

GAME 3: 65 StL 9-1

With their backs at the wall, the Cards explode for 9 runs and 14 hits as they pound Bob Moose for a 9-1 win. The game's beginning gave an indication of what was to come. Singles by Lou Brock, Curt Flood, and Tim McCarver opened the game with a 1-0 Cards' lead. Two outs later Bobby Tolan's single made it 2-0. Moose and the Buccos hung on until the 6th when St. Louis put 5 runs on the board and sealed away the win. For St. Louis, Curt Simmons threw a complete game, allowing just 5 hits and 1 walk.

GAME 4: 73 Pit 3-1
Bob Robertson's sac fly and Al Oliver's 2-run single in the first was all that Jim Rooker would need as he and two Pirate relievers took the finale 3-1. The lone St. Louis run can in the 3rd on Ken Boyer's solo HR. Rooker worked 6 innings, Bob Johnson worked 1.1, and Dave Giusti the final 1.2.

TURNING POINT: Richie Zisk's HR in game 1.
SERIES MVP: Dave Giusti - 5 innings, no runs, 3 saves
--submitted by Jesse Elicker--

Spoiler Padres make Braves earn Western Div Crown

1982 Padres Joey Scigliano vs 2006 Braves Terry Priest


GAME 1: Braves 6...Padres 2 at San Diego
The Braves erupted for 4 runs in the fourth inning to put this game on ice. Horacio Ramirez earned the victory for Atlanta to even his record at 2-2. Juan Eichelberger got the loss for the Friars to finish the year at 1-4. Chipper Jones and Andy Laroche both hit homeruns off Eichelberger as the Braves pounded out 8 hits in the victory.

GAME 2: Padres 3....Braves 2, at San Diego
Tim Hudson and the Count Montefusco got the starts in game two of this season ending series. Hudson pitched a strong game as he went 6.2 innings but the bullpen cost him the victory late in the game. With the Braves leading the game 2-1 going into the ninth, Paronto came in for the Braves to try to nail down the win. However, Gary Templeton led off the 9th with a triple and was followed by an Alan Wiggins game tying pinch hit single. Wiggins promptly stole second base and was moved to third on a throwing error by Paranto who tried to pick off Wiggins at second base. Mike Remlinger was called out of the Atlanta bullpen to try to put out the fire. However, after an intentional walk to Ruppert Jones, Sixto Lezcano laced a single to center to score Wiggins for the Padres win.

GAME 3: Braves 4....Padres 3 at Atlanta
Tim Lollar and John Smoltz started game three of this four game series. Lollar has had his troubles pitching in this tournament and today would be no different. Lollar was staked to an early 1-0 in the top of the first inning as Broderick Perkins drove in Ruppert Jones with a base hit. Lollar coughed up the lead in the 3rd inning as Edgar Renteria smacked a two-run homerun, his 3rd of the year, Renteria would enjoy a great day as he also hit a double and two singles to fulfill a 4 for 5 day! The Padres retook the lead in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Tony Gwynn and a sacrifice fly by Ruppert Jones. Atlanta tied the game in the 8th inning off Tim Lollar as Andrew Jones walked and scored all the way from first base on a double down the right field line that just landed inside the chalk off the bat of Jeff Francoeur. The game was won in the bottom of the 9th when Andrew Jones hit a deep flyball to center field to drive in Willy Aybar, who walked earlier, for the winning run. The losing pitcher in relief for the Padres was veteran righthander, Rick Wise (0-1).

GAME 4: Padres 10...Rockies 5 at Atlanta
"Can anyone here pitch?" was the recurring theme in this game. Both teams could not find an answer to stop the other team from scoring. In the end, the Padres prevailed to finish the tournament on a high note and split the 4 game series with Atlanta. Eric Show (3-1) got the win for the Padres but would last only 5 innings pitched. Chuck James would far no better for Atlanta as the lefty was lifted after 3 innings and 8 earned runs. San Diego appeared to put this one away early as they score d4 runs in the top of the 1st. The Braves retaliated with a solo run in the bottom half of the inning. The Friars added a run in the second and 3 more in the third to widen their lead. After only three innings, the Padres lead 8-3. The southerners tried to pick away at the Padre lead with single runs in the 5th and 8th innings but San Diego tallied 2 more runs in the eighth to put it out of reach. Southpaw Dave Dravecky pitched 3 solid innings of relief for the Padres and Luis DeLeon came in for the 9th inning to seal the win for the Padres.


SERIES MVP: Alan Wiggins..Because he stole a number of bases to start or maintain rallies.
--submitted by Joey Scigliano--