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© St. Petersburg Times, published April 24, 2003
ATLANTA -- This was vintage Greg Maddux: no runs, no walks and a quick game.
Maddux, who got off to a dismal start this season, allowed three hits in seven innings and the streaking Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 Wednesday night.
Atlanta needed 2 hours, 10 minutes to win for the eighth time in nine games and move into first place for the first time. The Braves are in a three-way tie atop the East with Montreal and Philadelphia.
"Tonight was good," Maddux said after Atlanta's fastest game of the season. "I was thinking about pitching instead of thinking about how to throw pitches. That's a step in the right direction."
Marcus Giles and Gary Sheffield hit back-to-back homers off Matt Morris in the first inning for Atlanta. Giles and Sheffield also drove in runs in the eighth against Jeff Fassero to extend the lead to 4-0.
Those runs proved to be valuable when Jim Edmonds hit a two-run homer off Darren Holmes in the ninth. The Braves brought on John Smoltz, who got three outs for his league-leading eighth save in eight chances and 24th in a row dating to last season.
Maddux lost his first three starts for the first time in his career, with the Braves getting outscored 43-5.
The four-time Cy Young Award winner went into the game with a 7.52 ERA, having allowed 39 hits and seven homers in 26-1/3 innings.
But Maddux needed 76 pitches to breeze through seven innings against the hard-hitting Cardinals. He wanted to keep going, but manager Bobby Cox decided to turn to his bullpen. Former Rays closer Roberto Hernandez pitched a scoreless eighth, but Holmes failed to get an out in the ninth.
GIANTS 4, PIRATES 3 (13): Pokey Reese's error in the 13th inning allowed the go-ahead run to score for visiting San Francisco.
Jose Cruz hit a three-run homer in the eighth to tie it for the Giants, who stopped their first two-game losing streak of the season and improved to 16-4, their best start since 1945.
J.T. Snow was hit by a pitch from Julian Tavarez with one out in the 13th, and Benito Santiago reached on an infield single. After Marvin Benard flied out, Pedro Feliz grounded to third baseman Aramis Ramirez, but his throw glanced off Reese's glove and into rightfield as Snow scored.
REDS 3, DODGERS 0: Chris Reitsma pitched eight impressive innings and singled with the bases loaded to lead host Cincinnati.
Reitsma made a point with his one-man show, suggesting he should have been in the rotation all along. The right-hander, 25, was livid when the club optioned him to the minors during spring training.
With the Reds (7-14) off to their worst start since 1997, they called him up and gave him a chance to show his stuff. Manager Bob Boone was noncommittal before the game about whether Reitsma would get more than one start or move to the bullpen.
D'BACKS 6, EXPOS 2: Luis Gonzalez hit his sixth homer of the season and drove in two to lead Arizona.
After 36,879, Montreal's biggest home crowd in two years, attended Tuesday's Olympic Stadium opener, 6,380 turned out for the second game of a six-game homestand.
Montreal, which plays 22 "home" games in Puerto Rico to try to increase revenue, averaged 14,282 over its first 10 games in San Juan.
PHILLIES 6, ROCKIES 4: Brett Myers struck out nine in six innings and Ricky Ledee capped a five-run first with a two-run double for host Philadelphia. Myers allowed one run and three hits, all singles. He left with 5-0 lead after Jose Hernandez's leadoff single in the seventh.
PADRES 2, CUBS 0: Less than two years after having elbow ligament replacement surgery, Adam Eaton struck out a career-high 12 for visiting San Diego. "I had good location early, but it seemed like it got better. I was able to hit the corners really well," said Eaton, who won for the second time since the surgery.
MARLINS 5, BREWERS 4 (12): Juan Encarnacion singled home the winning run in the 12th as host Florida rallied. The Marlins, who entered tied for the league lead with five comeback victories, trailed 4-1 before scoring three in the eighth, capped by Mike Lowell's run-scoring single.
METS 3, ASTROS 2: Al Leiter beat Houston for the first time in nearly five years and struggling Armando Benitez got the save for host New York.