Baseball

Braves' title run reaches 14

Tim Hudson's six solid innings helped the NL East champion Braves beat the Rockies shortly after the Phillies' loss gave them the title.

ATLANTA - The Braves celebrated No.14 like it was the first. For all those rookies, it was.

With a youthful, joyful exuberance that was there back in 1991, when it all started, the Braves wrapped up their 14th straight division title Tuesday night.

And what a party it was, especially for Jeff Francoeur. The rookie got tackled on the field by Chipper Jones, stuck his head in an ice bin and got taken down again by Jones in the clubhouse.

"Let me at him!" Francoeur mockingly screamed.

He was held back by Marcus Giles, who is 8 inches shorter and 45 pounds lighter.

"It's not worth it," Giles said. "We're going all the way to Halloween. You can get him then."

The Braves actually clinched midway through a 12-3 victory over the Rockies, the title assured when the second-place Phillies lost to the Mets 3-2.

Manager Bobby Cox cleared his bench, finishing with a lineup that included eight rookies and second-year player Adam LaRoche.

That was only appropriate, considering the Braves have used 17 rookies during an amazing season in which they shrugged off injuries and breakdowns by several key players.

"This ranks right up there," said Cox, standing outside his office in a champagne-drenched T-shirt that proclaimed another NL East championship. "This goes back 14 years."

Clinching in style, Giles hit two homers and LaRoche also homered.

"We knew we had clinched in the sixth," Francoeur, 21, said. "But we wanted to win. We wanted to earn it."

After Atlanta became the second team to wrap up a title, after the NL Central champion Cardinals, everyone gave credit to the rookies. Even Andruw Jones, a leading MVP candidate with 51 homers and 128 RBIs.

"Sure, I've had a good season," he said. "But without them, we wouldn't be here."

When news of the Phillies' loss was announced in the sixth inning, the crowd of 25,306 gave the Braves a standing ovation, and several fans broke out signs marking the occasion. "In case you didn't know - 14 in a row," one read. Two shirtless men had painted a "1" and a "4" on their chests.

Cox began pulling his starters. Rookie Kelly Johnson pinch-hit for Andruw Jones. Little-used Brayan Pena batted for Brian McCann. Even Eddie Perez, who missed most of the season with a shoulder injury, got in as a pinch hitter, his first appearance since May 18.

[Last modified September 28, 2005, 02:30:38]