By Times Staff and Wire Reports
Published October 2, 2003
ATLANTA - Braves starter Mike Hampton wasn't sure what was wrong. But he sure did a good job of making it right.
Hampton couldn't have gotten off to a worse start, walking the first two Cubs on nine pitches and allowing the first five to reach.
"Sometimes you've just got to find it," said Hampton, a Crystal River High graduate.
He found it all right, making an adjustment to use the inside of the plate more, and with the bases loaded, no outs, and the Cubs in position to put the Braves down two games to none, he struck out the side.
"That was probably the ballgame," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said.
Hampton came back the next inning to strike out the side again, and the six straight strikeouts tied a major-league postseason record.
It had been done three times before, all in World Series play, by Hod Eller of the Reds in 1919, Moe Drabowsky of the Orioles in 1966 and Todd Worrell of the Cardinals in 1985.
MR. HAPPY: Larry Rothschild looks a little different these days. There's a smile on his face.
The former Devil Rays manager is the pitching coach for the pitching-rich Cubs and, while still very much all business, he enjoys being back in the postseason.
"It's a lot more fun when you win," Rothschild said. "It makes life easier when you win. It's a lot more pleasant. A lot more people are happy. In some ways it means in some fashion you've done your job. It's just a good feeling all the way around."
TAKE THAT: Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa had a message for Texas' Rafael Palmeiro, who refused to waive his no-trade clause for an August deal to Chicago. "Rafael Palmeiro is my friend, but he made a big, big mistake," Sosa said. "Now he's home watching us, and we're here in the playoffs."
WRIGLEYVILLE SOUTH: Over the past few years the Braves had resigned themselves to indifference from their spoiled fans and empty seats at home playoff games. Now they're having to deal with having thousands of boisterous Cubs fans packing Turner Field and, at times, out-cheering the home fans. "I'm not going to comment at all about the crowd," Braves pitcher John Smoltz said.
MISCELLANY: The teams will work out in Chicago today and resume play Friday night, with temperatures forecast in the low 40s. ... Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano, clocked at 101 mph in the first inning Wednesday, has failed to get past the sixth in his past three starts. ... Mark DeRosa had had the winning hit in three of the Braves' 20 walkoff wins.
Home-not-so-sweet-home
SAN FRANCISCO - So much for homefield advantage.
Pacific Bell Park, where San Francisco had the best home record in the NL this season, was not a comfortable place for the Giants in their Game 2 loss.
Jose Cruz Jr., who quickly mastered Pac Bell's quirky rightfield in his first season with the Giants, slipped in the mud on the game's decisive play. It turned into a two-run double for Juan Pierre.
There were boos from the home crowd for reliever Joe Nathan, who allowed a homer and three straight singles before Pierre's double. And that homer, by Juan Encarnacion, was helped into the leftfield stands by a strong wind.
The prone Cruz, who could only watch as Pierre's hit flew over him, said the conditions were the worst he had experienced all year at the ballpark.
BENARD SURGERY: Giants outfielder Marvin Benard had a 20-minute arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. When Benard did not make the playoff roster, he pushed up the operation.
