Chipper Jones homers from both sides of the plate in Atlanta's 6-4 win to tie the NLDS series with the Cubs.
By Associated Press
Published October 5, 2003
CHICAGO - Turns out Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves still had some big hits left.
And Sammy Sosa didn't have quite enough.
With Wrigley Field fans on edge and the streets of Chicago rocking in anticipation of the Cubs winning their first postseason series since 1908, the Braves sent this NL playoff back to Atlanta for a decisive Game 5.
Jones ended his postseason slump with a two-run homer from each side of the plate, and Russ Ortiz pitched well on three days' rest as the Braves defeated the Cubs 6-4 Saturday.
"It was kind of a feeling of desperation in the clubhouse before the game," Jones said. "It was basically, win this game or take a vacation - a long one. We staved it off for another day."
But it went down to the final swing. With a run already in and a runner on second, Sosa came up with two outs for a tense matchup against closer John Smoltz.
On a full-count pitch, Sosa took a hopeful hop as his bid for a tying two-run homer left the bat.
Centerfielder Andruw Jones calmly caught the ball at the warning track for the last out.
Smoltz, who appeared to be grimacing in pain during the at-bat, bent over and put his hands on his knees after holding on for a save.
"That was a great matchup," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "He almost tied the game. That was a great at-bat."
Chipper Jones, who was 1-for-11 entering the game, was 2-for-3 with two walks. Eric Karros hit two homers for the Cubs.
So the series goes back to Atlanta tonight, with Mike Hampton facing Kerry Wood on three days rest.
The Braves led the NL in every major hitting category this season: batting average (.284), homers (a franchise-record 235) and runs (907, another club mark). But those big bats were nowhere to be found once the postseason began.
Atlanta hit just .191 in the first three games of the series, and had only three extra-base hits. The struggles of the Joneses and Gary Sheffield were the most glaring, with the 3-4-5 hitters combining for three hits in the first three games.
But with Sheffield on the bench with a sore hand and the Braves on the verge of another postseason disappointment, Chipper Jones came through.
With the score tied at 1 in the fifth, Jones - batting left-handed in the No. 3 spot - sent a 1-and-0 pitch from Matt Clement toward left-center for a 3-1 lead.
And Jones wasn't done. Batting right-handed in the eighth against Mark Guthrie, he put a 3-and-2 pitch into almost the same spot in left-center.
Every Atlanta starter reached base at least once, and Andruw Jones and Darren Bragg were the only ones without hits. But Bragg, starting in place of Sheffield, had a broken-bat fielder's choice in the fifth to tie it at 1.
The Cubs, meanwhile, left eight on base, including a runner in scoring position in each of the first five innings.
