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Pitching propels Braves

Tom Glavine and John Smoltz combine for shutout, giving Atlanta 1-0 win and 2-0 series lead.

©Associated Press

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 11, 2001

HOUSTON -- Tom Glavine and the Atlanta Braves showed that they, too, know how to throw a shutout in the playoffs.

In a postseason that has opened with dominant pitching, the team that has been doing it longer than the rest joined the trend Wednesday in a 1-0 victory over the Astros in Game 2 of the NL divisional series.

Glavine threw eight sharp innings and John Smoltz pitched the ninth to cap the third shutout in the first four playoff games. The Braves go home needing one win to return to the NLCS after a one-year absence.

"You hear over and over that the postseason is about pitching and defense. We've proven that the last couple of days," said Glavine, who improved to 10-0 in Houston since June 1991.

The Astros have gotten solid pitching this series, too, but poor defense from shortstop Julio Lugo has put them on the brink of dropping to 0-7 all-time in playoff series.

After making the fielding error that turned Game 1 in Atlanta's favor, Lugo made throwing errors on the first two balls hit to him in Game 2. The second, which came after a fine diving stop, led to Atlanta's run.

Now the Astros, who were ousted by the Braves in 1997 and '99, go to Atlanta facing elimination.

The change of scenery might be Houston's best hope for extending the series.

The Astros had the NL's best road record, winning a franchise-record 49 games, while Atlanta was 40-41 in Turner Field, becoming the first team to make the playoffs with a losing record at home.

"I don't feel good about going on the road 0-2. I wouldn't feel good about staying here 0-2," Houston manager Larry Dierker said. "If we are able to win two games there, then I feel like we're due to win one here."

Glavine's toughest jam came in the fifth, when the Astros got within inches of taking the lead, then had men on the corners with one out.

First was the blast by Brad Ausmus that came so close to being a home run that it ripped the top of the padding just below the yellow stripe across the top of the leftfield wall. B.J. Surhoff played the quick carom perfectly, forcing Ausmus to settle for a single and Vinny Castilla, who was on first, to stop at third.

"Fortunately nobody reached over in a situation like we had one year in New York," said Surhoff, who was with Baltimore when 12-year-old Jeff Maier created a tying homer by Derek Jeter by reaching out to grab a ball that was about to be caught.

Glavine then got behind 3-and-0 on pinch-hitter Chris Truby, bringing the crowd to its feet. The left-hander rallied with a called strike and two low pitches that Truby chased. Craig Biggio ended the threat with a weak grounder.

"Glavine doesn't give in, even in spring training," Jeff Bagwell said. "He preys on the inability of a hitter to be patient. That was a tough situation for Truby to be in."

Truby was hitting for Dave Mlicki, who had allowed an unearned run through five innings. Dierker admitted it was a "desperate measure."

"We needed a run there, and it wasn't promising to try to let the pitcher hit and then score later," Dierker said. "So we hit and it didn't work out."

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