The Worst to First Association

[motnahp]

Zane Smith (3-2) and Charlie Puleo (2 IP SV 1) combined to shut down the Brewers, as the Braves took 'em down, 5-2. Albert Hall and Ron Gant had 2 hits apiece. Hall, Lonnie Smith, and Dale Murphy all collected stolen bases. Glendon Rusch (2-3) took the loss for Milwaukee.

MON APR 25

ATL_____5___10___1
MIL_____2____6___1

[motnahp]

The Atlanta Braves struck for 3 in the 8th to beat the Brewers 4-2. Paul Assenmacher (1-0) earned the win in relief. Jim Acker notched his 1st save with 2 scoreless innings. Dale Murphy, Gerald Perry, and Jerry Royster had two hits apiece. Matt Stairs (3) homered for the Brewers. Milwaukee reliever Nelson Figueroa (0-2) inherited a 2-1 lead, but allowed 3 earned runs in only 1/3 of an inning to suffer the loss.

TUE APR 26

ATL_____4___9___0
MIL_____2___9___1

[motnahp]

The Braves completed a 3-game sweep of the Brewers, taking the final game of the series 6-1 in 16 innings. The Braves led 1-0 going into the bottom of the 9th, but Bruce Sutter could not hold the lead. The game was 1-1 in the top of the 16th when Atlanta erupted for 5 runs. Gerald Perry drove in one with a single, Ron Gant drew a bases-loaded walk, then pitcher Charlie Puleo (1-1) cleared the bases with a triple off Nelson Figueroa (0-3).

Atlanta starter Tom Glavine didn't allow a hit until the 7th inning, but walked 5 and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 8th.

Following an off-day on Thursday, the Braves return home to face the division-leading Mets.

WED APR 27

ATL_____6___17___0 (16 innings)
MIL_____1____4___2

Season record: 10-12, 4th place in NL East, 8 GB 1st place New York.

[motnahp]

Pete Smith (2-0) shut out the Mets on 6 hits and the Braves won their 5th straight game, 6-0 over the Mets. Dion James was 2-5 with 2 triples and 3 RBI. Dale Murphy was 3-3 and raised his average over .200 for the first time this season (.208). Frank Tanana allowed only 2 runs in 7 innings, but fell to 4-1.

FRI APR 29

NYM_____0___6___1
ATL_____6___10___0

[motnahp]

Ozzie Virgil led off the bottom of the 14th inning with a home run (2), giving the Braves a 2-1 win over the Mets. Jose Alvarez (1-0) picked up the win, while Paul Gibson (0-1) took the loss.

The Braves finished up April with a 6-game winning streak and a 12-12 record. Unfortunately, the two teams with the best records in baseball (Mets 18-6 and Phillies 17-7) reside in the same division.

SAT APR 30

NYM_____1___10___0 (14 innings)
ATL_____2___11___0

[motnahp]

Standings at the end of April:

[motnahp]

...and the rest.....

[motnahp]

The Braves won their 7th game in a row, sweeping the Mets with a 1-0 blanking. Zane Smith (4-2, 7 IP), Chuck Cary (1 IP), and Bruce Sutter (SV 4) combined on the shutout. The game's only run came in the bottom of the 2nd on a sacrifice fly from Bruce Benedict. Bret Saberhagen (2-2) took the loss.

SUN MAY 1

NYM_____0___8___0
ATL_____1___5___0

Season record: 13-12, 4th place in NL East, 5 1/2 GB the Mets and Phillies, who are tied for 1st.

[motnahp]

Andres Thomas' 2-out homer (1) in the bottom of the 9th gave the Braves their 8th straight win, 4-3 over the visiting Rockies. Atlanta led 3-1 going into the 9th on the strength of a Ken Oberkfell 3-run homer (1). Colorado tied the score at 3-3 off Tom Glavine (1-2), who notched his first win and first complete game of the season. The young lefty struck out 6 and walked only 1. David Cortes (1-3) allowed the Thomas homer and took the loss.

MON MAY 2

COL_____3___6___1
ATL_____4___6___1

[motnahp]

The Colorado Rockies broke out the heavy lumber, pounding the Braves 11-5 and ending Atlanta's 8-game winning streak. Todd Greene was 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI. Alfredo Amezaga was 3-4 with a homer and 4 RBI. Todd Helton went 3-6 with a double and 2 RBI. Shawn Chacon (1-3) picked up the win. John Smoltz lasted only 2+ innings, allowing 8 hits and 4 earned runs. Ken Oberkfell hit a 3-run homer (2) for the 2nd straight game.

TUE MAY 3

COL_____11___18___2
ATL______5____9____1

Season record: 14-13, 4th place in NL East, 6 GB 1st place Philadelphia

[motnahp]

Greg Luzinski snapped a 3-3 tie with a 2-run homer (3) in the bottom of the 8th off Jose Alvarez (1-1) to give the Phillies a 5-3 win over the Braves. Dick Selma (2-0) picked up the win, while Mac Scarce pitched a scoreless 9th for his 12th save. Gerald Perry went 2-4 for the Braves, driving in all 3 runs with a pair of doubles.

WED MAY 4

ATL_____3___5___0
PHA_____5___7___0

Before the game, the Braves sent rookie pitcher John Smoltz to AAA Richmond and recalled RHP Joe Boever. Charlie Puleo will take over the #5 spot in the rotation.

[motnahp]

The Phillies swept the Braves in the short 2-game series, winning 3-2. Steve Carlton improved to 4-1 with the win. Rick Mahler (2-3) allowed only 1 earned run in 7 innings, but was tagged with the loss. Bill Robinson (4) homered for the Phillies and Lonnie Smith (1) homered for the Braves. Mac Scarce picked up save #13 for the Phils.

THUR MAY 5

ATL_____2___7___2
PHA_____3___9___0

Season record: 14-15, 4th place in NL East, 8 GB 1st place Philadelphia

[motnahp]

Eddie Murray (4) and Bobby Bonilla hit back-to-back homers in the 7th inning to break open a close game, as the Mets downed the Braves 6-2. Bret Saberhagen (3-2) went 6 innings for the win, while Zane Smith (4-3) took the loss.

FRI MAY 6

ATL_____2___6___0
NYM_____6__11___2

[motnahp]

Dale Murphy went 3-4 with a double, homer (1) and 3 RBI to lead the Braves over the Mets, 7-1. The win snapped a 4-game losing streak for the Braves. Ken Oberkfell was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI, Lonnie Smith 2-4 with a double and 3 runs scored, and Ron Gant added a 2-run double. Tom Glavine (2-2) went 8 innings for the win. Dave Talgheder (2-1) took the loss in relief of starter Sid Fernandez, who left the game with an injury in the first inning.

ATL_____7___10___0
NYM_____1___11___0

[motnahp]

Charlie Puleo (2-1) pitched 7 scoreless innings in his first start of the season and the Braves edged the Mets 2-1. Puleo struck out 8, walked 1, and allowed only 3 hits. Paul Assenmacher pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for his 2nd save. Dale Murphy stayed hot, going 2-4 with a solo homer (2). Pete Schourek (2-3) took the loss for the Mets.

The Braves are off Monday, then finish up the road trip with 3 games in Florida against the Marlins.

SUN MAY 8

ATL_____2___8___1
NYM_____1___5___0

Season record: 16-16, 4th place in NL East, 7 GB 1st place Philadelphia

[motnahp]

Pete Smith and 2 relievers combined to blank the Marlins 4-0. Smith allowed only 6 hits in 7 innings, striking out 4 and walking 2 to improve to 3-0 on the season. Ozzie Virgil was 2-4 with 2 RBI, Dale Murphy 1-4 with a double and RBI, and Lonnie Smith 3-5. Livan Hernandez fell to (2-5) with the loss.

TUE MAY 10

ATL_____4___10___1
FLA_____0____7___1

[motnahp]

The Braves won their 3rd straight with a 7-3 victory over the Marlins. Lead-off man Dion James went 4-5 with a double and 2 RBI to lead the 14-hit attack. Lonnie Smith, Ozzie Virgil, and Gerald Perry each had 2 hits and an RBI. Rick Mahler went 6 innings and improved to 3-3. Brian Meadows (1-5) took the loss for Florida.

WED MAY 11

ATL_____7___14___0
FLA_____3___10___0

[motnahp]

Jerry Royster homered (1) in the top of the 10th to give the Braves an exciting 5-4 win and a sweep of the Marlins. Florida led 4-0 after 7 innings behind young lefty Jesus Sanchez. Atlanta scored 4 times in the 8th, as Sanchez lost control and walked in two runs. Jim Acker (1-2) worked out of a 1st & 3rd situation in the 9th, getting Charles Johnson to ground into a double play. Bruce Sutter (SV 5) came on in the 10th and survived a bases-loaded, 1-out jam. He induced Dave Berg to ground into a game-ending double play. Jay Powell (1-2) took the loss for the Marlins.

The Braves return home tomorrow for a 3-game series against the Expos, followed by a 4-game series with the Marlins.

THUR MAY 12

ATL_____5___7___1 (10 innings)
MON____4___10___0

Season record: 19-16, 4th place in NL East, 5 GB 1st place Philadelphia

[motnahp]

Tom Glavine pitched 7 shutout innings, and the Atlanta bats pounded the Expos, 8-1. Lonnie Smith went 3-4 with a double and homer (2), Dale Murphy was 2-4 with a double, Ozzie Virgil went 2-4 with a double, homer (3) and 2 RBI, and Ken Griffey added a pinch-hit RBI triple. Glavine (3-2) allowed 7 hits, walked 2 and struck out 3. Jerry Robertson (3-5) took the loss for the Expos.

FRI MAY 13

MON_____1___13___1
ATL______8___13___0

Before the game, the Braves sent SS Andres Thomas to AAA and promoted IF Jeff Blauser.

[motnahp]

Charlie Puleo (3-1) handcuffed the Expos with 7 scoreless innings and also smacked a 2-run homer (1) and two-run single, as the Braves pounded the Expos 15-1. Ron Gant went 4-6 with a homer (2) and 3 RBI, Dale Murphy was 2-5 with a homer (3) and 2 RBI, Ken Oberkfell was 3-6, Jeff Blauser went 3-5 with a double and 3 runs scored, and Gerald Perry was 2-5 with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI. The Expos' lone run came in the top of the 8th on a Manny Mota solo homer (1) off Chuck Cary. Steve Renko (1-4) allowed 6 runs in 4 innings to take the loss.

Atlanta slugger Dale Murphy has an extra base hit in each of the last 7 games, all Atlanta victories. Over that span, Murphy is 13-for-28 with 5 doubles and 3 home runs. He has raised his average from .195 to .245.

SAT MAY 14

MON_____1____7___0
ATL_____15___24___0