Major League roundup
Braves wrap up 14th straight division championship ATLANTA (AP) – The Atlanta Braves tried to hold off the celebration. It didn’t work.
The Braves wrapped up their 14th straight division championship Tuesday night while playing the Colorado Rockies, the NL East title assured midway through the game when the second-place Phillies lost to the New York Mets.
Clinching in style, Marcus Giles hit a pair of homers, Adam LaRoche also homered and the Braves routed the Rockies 12-3.
Still, the way it worked out was a bit strange.
The Braves had just finished off a four-run fifth inning, giving them a 7-1 lead, when Philadelphia’s Bobby Abreu struck out to complete a 3-2 loss to the Mets.
A smattering of fans apparently learned of the Phillies’ loss via cell phone or other means, clapping as soon as Abreu struck out. “Let’s go Mets!” one man yelled. A tomahawk-chopping woman held up a handmade “2005” sign above the left-field seats, right next to the official pennants detailing each of the Braves’ playoff seasons.
But most of the crowd was apparently in the dark. The out-of-town scoreboard merely showed the Mets leading 3-2 in the eighth. Even after the Rockies were retired in the top of the sixth, there was no mention of the division title.
Instead, the Braves showed the “Kiss Cam” on their massive center-field scoreboard – encouraging couples to kiss when the camera turned on them.
In the bottom half, Giles hit his second homer, a two-run shot, to give the Braves a 9-3 lead. When the Rockies made a pitching change, the crowd passed the time singing “YMCA.”
Finally, as Chipper Jones stepped into the box, the public address announcer revealed the news.
Mets 3, Phillies 2.
The celebration was on. 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 said. Two shirtless men had painted a “1” and a “4” on their chests.
Atlanta became the second team to clinch a title, following the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals.
After Jones struck out, Braves manager Bobby Cox began pulling his starters. Rookie Kelly Johnson pinch-hit for MVP candidate Andruw Jones. Little-used Brayan Pena batted for Brian McCann.
After Pena came through with a bases-loaded triple, pushing the lead to 12-3, Cox cleared his bench. Starting pitcher Tim Hudson (14-9) was replaced by Jim Brower. Rookies Pete Orr, Wilson Betemit and Andy Marte entered the game.
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. The Braves came out of the dugout to clap for one of the team’s most popular players.
In the clubhouse, meanwhile, workers iced down the champagne and covered the lockers in plastic.
The Braves overcame all sorts of adversity to do what they always do – win the NL East.
When pitchers Mike Hampton and John Thomson went down with injuries, Atlanta dipped into its bullpen for journeyman Jorge Sosa, who had a career record of 11-26. He’s 13-3 this season.
When aging outfielders Raul Mondesi and Brian Jordan failed to recapture their past form, the Braves turned to rookies Jeff Francoeur and Ryan Langerhans. The 21-year-old Francoeur has emerged as one of baseball’s most dynamic young players.
When Chipper Jones was sidelined by a foot problem, Betemit filled in ably. When new closer Dan Kolb didn’t work out, the Braves traded for Kyle Farnsworth. When catchers Johnny Estrada and Perez were ailing, McCann came up from the minors.
If nothing else, this season showed off the philosophy that has carried the Braves to one of the most remarkable streaks in any sport. It’s all about scouting and player development, which was evident in the clinching game.
Atlanta’s lineup included three rookies and eight homegrown players, the only exception being Hudson. And even he grew up a Braves’ fan in neighboring Alabama.
Astros 3, Cardinals 1
ST. LOUIS – Roy Oswalt won for the fourth time this month, helping Houston extend its wild-card lead to 21/2 games over Philadelphia.
Jason Lane hit a two-run homer and Craig Biggio hit his career-high 25th. Biggio returned to the team after spending Monday in Houston for his mother’s open heart surgery.
Oswalt (19-12) allowed one run and eight hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. He is 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA in September. Brad Lidge worked two scoreless innings for his 39th save.
The Astros (86-71) matched a season high at 15 games above .500 and snapped a six-game skid in St. Louis, winning for the fourth time in 15 tries overall against the Cardinals. Houston has five games remaining, four at home against the Cubs.
Matt Morris (14-10) lost his career-worst fifth straight decision despite working six solid innings. Larry Walker had three hits in his first game back after a fourth cortisone shot for a herniated disc in his neck, and scored the Cardinals’ lone run on Reggie Sanders’ double in the sixth.
Mets 3, Phillies 2
PHILADELPHIA – Jose Reyes was 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits to lead New York, which was eliminated from playoff contention with Houston’s victory over St. Louis.
Jimmy Rollins extended his hitting streak to a team-record 32 games with a single in the seventh for Philadelphia, which fell 21/2 games behind Houston in the wild-card race.
Juan Padilla (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings in relief to get the win. Aaron Heilman finished with two scoreless innings for his fourth save.
Reyes singled, doubled twice, tripled and scored two runs. Carlos Beltran drove in two runs as the Mets snapped Jon Lieber’s four-game winning streak.
Lieber (16-13) gave up three runs and nine hits in seven innings. He hadn’t lost a regular-season start in September or October since 2001, going 12-0 in that span and 4-0 this season.
Nationals 11, Marlins 1
MIAMI – Dontrelle Willis gave up a career-high nine runs – four unearned – and Miami was mathematically eliminated from the wild-card race and fell into a tie with Washington for last place in the NL East.
Marlon Byrd homered, scored four times and tied a career high with four hits, including three off Willis (22-10). The Marlins, who committed three errors, have lost a season-high five straight and 11 of 13.
Jamey Carroll drove in three runs in the Nationals’ most lopsided win this year. They had 15 hits and left 13 men on base. Mike Stanton (2-1) pitched two shutout innings for the win.
Brewers 6, Reds 2
MILWAUKEE – Rick Helling allowed three hits over six innings and Milwaukee climbed above .500 for the first time in four months.
Helling (3-1) struck out a season-high eight and didn’t walk a batter. J.J. Hardy homered for Milwaukee (79-78) which had not been over the break-even mark since being 24-23 on May 27. It is the most victories for the Brewers since 1996 when they went 80-82. The Brewers have not had a winning season since 1992, when they were 92-70 and still in the American League.
Derrick Turnbow relieved with two on and two outs in the ninth. He got Ryan Freel on a liner to center with the bases loaded for his 37th save in 41 chances.
Brandon Claussen (10-10) fell to 0-3 in five starts against Milwaukee this season. He allowed four earned runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings as the Reds lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Orioles 17, Yankees 9
BALTIMORE – Baltimore ended a nine-game losing streak with a 17-9 victory over New York on Tuesday night, keeping the Yankees and Boston Red Sox tied for first place in the AL East.
Jay Gibbons and Javy Lopez homered for the Orioles, offsetting Gary Sheffield’s two-homer, six-RBI effort for New York in the game that lasted 4 hours, 16 minutes.
New York’s third loss in 16 games, combined with Boston’s split of a day-night doubleheader with Toronto, left them tied with five games left, including a three-game series at Fenway Park to close the regular season.
The Red Sox and Yankees are tied at 92-65 with Cleveland in the wild-card standings.
The Yankees trailed 5-1 before Sheffield hit a two-run homer in the third inning. He put New York ahead 7-5 in the fourth with his 11th career grand slam.
Al Leiter (4-5) allowed Baltimore back in front in the fourth and the Orioles scored five runs off three relievers in the fifth to make it 13-7.
Aaron Rakers (1-0) pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings to earn his first major league win.
Devil Rays 5, Indians 4
CLEVELAND – Scott Kazmir held Cleveland to one run in six innings and Julio Lugo hit a three-run homer to lead Tampa Bay and prevent the Indians from gaining ground on Chicago in the AL Central.
Former Indians pitcher Danys Baez got his 40th save by getting Ronnie Belliard to hit into a game-ending double play with the tying run on third, handing Cleveland consecutive losses for the first time since Sept. 3-4.
The loss kept the Indians two games behind the first-place White Sox, who lost their second straight to Detroit. Cleveland is tied with Boston and New York for the wild-card lead.
Kazmir (10-9) allowed one run and four hits to improve to 4-1 in September.
Scott Elarton (11-8) fell to 0-3 against the Devil Rays this season after allowing five runs and 10 hits in five innings.
Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 1, 1st game
Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 5, 2nd game
BOSTON – Russ Adams hit a sacrifice fly to break an eighth-inning tie as Toronto rallied to win the second game of the doubleheader.
Tim Wakefield (16-11) pitched seven strong innings to give Boston a 3-1 victory in the day game. But the loss in the nightcap kept the Red Sox tied for first in the AL East with New York.
Tigers 3, White Sox 2
DETROIT – Omar Infante and Craig Monroe homered and Detroit beat first-place Chicago.
The White Sox began the day with a two-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central, but have lost 12 of 19. Chicago had won three straight before dropping the first two games of its four-game series in Detroit.
Twins 3, Royals 1
MINNEAPOLIS – Johan Santana allowed six hits over seven innings and Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak.
Santana (15-7), last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, gave up four hits in the first two innings, but didn’t allow another hit until Matthew Diaz’s solo homer in the seventh. He struck out six, running his major league-leading total to 229. Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his 40th save.