Greg Maddux went the distance scattering 7 hits over 9 innings earning a 2-1 win. Steve Rogers pitched a strong game as well, allowing only 2 runs, but was tagged with the loss. Larry Parrish opened the scoring with a solo homerun in the 2nd to give the visitors from the north an early lead. Atlanta tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd when Chipper Jones brought home Curtis Pride with a 2-out single. From there Maddux and Rogers locked horns keeping both teams off the scoreboard until the bottom of the 8th. Keith Lockhart lead of the inning with a double and Chipper was intentionally walked to set up a double play. Rogers did get a groundball to third base from Andres Galarraga but it was only hard enough to get the force at 2nd. With runners on the corners Javy Lopez stroked a singled scoring Lockhart and putting the Braves ahead 2-1. However, Montreal didn't go quietly in the 9th. With 1 out in the 9th Parrish came up again and singled, giving him 3 hits on the day. Maddux then finished off his performance getting Ellis Valentine to ground to shortstop. The home team turned the 6-4-3
DP to end the game and take a 1 game lead in the series.
Atlanta Wins 6-5 in 11 Innings, Takes 2-0 Series Lead
Tom Glavine and Bill "Spaceman" Lee squared off in Game 2 in Atlanta. Montreal tallied singled runs in the 1st and 2nd innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Braves answered with a run in the 3rd and 3 more in the 4th to take a 4-2 lead. Another run in the 6th pushed the home team to 5-2 lead. But with Glavine tiring in the 7th the Expos put runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Alan Embree then uncorked back-to-back wild pitches, the first one scoring Dave Cash from 3rd and moving Duffy Dyer from 2nd to 3rd, and the second bringing home Dyer to cut the Braves lead to 5-4. Larry Parrish led off the 8th with his 2nd HR in as many days and tying the game at
5-all. The game stayed tied until the 11th inning when Andruw Jones led off with a single but was quickly erased when he was caught stealing. The other Jones boy, Chipper, then sent the home team up 2 games to none with a solo homerun off of Elias Sosa. Kerry Ligtenberg got the
win in relief. Gerald Williams and Javy Lopez joined Jones and Parrish in the homerun column.
Expos Take Game 3 in 12 Innings, 4-3, Series Now at 2-1
The series moved north of the border and Montreal fought to 4-3 win, scoring with 2 out in the bottom of the 12th. Denny Neagle and Rudy May hooked up for 8 innings with both pitchers bringing good games to the ballpark. Each team scored once in the 2nd inning but just as with the first two games in the series both teams settled in and the score was tied 1-all going to the bottom of the 7th. The homestanding Expos got the crowd on it's feet when Andre Dawson singled to lead off the inning and then stole 2nd. With one out, Ellis Valentine laced a single into LF. Dawson rounded third but Gerald Williams threw a strike to Perez and nailed Hawk at the plate. With 2 out, Neagle looked like he might wriggle off the hook but Gary Carter turned on a pitch and deposited it in the LF seats to give the Expos a 3-1 lead. Woodie Fryman took over for May in the 9th and struck out Michael Tucker to lead off the inning but then walked Tony Graffanino. Javy Lopez was brought in to pinch hit for Neagle and drove a Fryman pitch into the seats to tie the game at 3-all. The 10 and 11th innings were scoreless with each team trading a couple of hits. In the bottom of the 12th the Braves defense let them down. Ozzie Guillen booted a Dawson groundball and Parrish then bunted him to 2nd. Valentine was intentionally passed to
set up the doubleplay. Gary Carter then struck out and with the Atlanta bullpen getting thin starter Kevin Millwood was brought in to face Tony Perez with 2 outs. Millwood was ineffective in the relief role, walking Perez to load the bases. Warren Cromartie then slapped a single through the infield to score Dawson and give the Expos the win. David Palmer got the win pitching 2 good innings in relief and Russ Springer was saddled with the loss.
Montreal Wins Game 4 Easily 9-1, Forces Game 5 in Atlanta
The hometown Expos got to Braves starter John Smoltz early and then posted a 5-spot in the 6th inning to cruise to a 9-1 victory. Jerry White led off the bottom of the 1st with a walk and two batters later Larry Parrish hit his 3rd homerun of the series to give Montreal an early 2-0 lead. Eddie Perez hit a solo homerun in the 2nd but that would be all the offense the
visiting Braves could muster. Most of the Expos lineup contributed in the 6th inning sending all nine men to the plate. The big blow was a bases loaded, 2 out triple from the bat of Ellis Valentine. After scoring 5 runs in the 6th the Expos added 2 more in the 7th. With a 9-1 lead after 7 innings everyone started preparing for the journey back to Atlanta for game 5. Dan Schatzeder got the win for Montreal pitching 6 innings, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 1 hit and 1 run. Smoltz was ineffective and took the loss giving up 7 earned runs in 6 innings.
Atlanta Squeaks by Expos 3-2 in Game 5 and Take Series
With 3 of the 4 games being 1-run affairs and the series finale featuring a rematch of game 1 starters, game 5 had the earmarks of a classic. It didn't disappoint. Greg Maddux took the hill for the Braves and Steve Rogers started for the Expos. Warren Cromartie lead off the game with a single and with one out the red hot Larry Parrish stepped to the plate. He quieted the hometown fans with a long drive into the leftfield seats for his 4th homer of the series, giving the Expos a 2-0 lead. The Atlanta bats were silent until the 3rd inning when Walt Weiss led off with a walk and light-hitting 2B Keith Lockhart tied the game with a 2-run homer. Maddux wasn't partularly sharp the first 4 innings, allowing 6 of his 7 hits, and loading the bases in the 4th before striking out his counterpart Rogers to escape any damage. In the bottom of the 4th Javy Lopez singled and Ryan Klesko, who has struggled all season, doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Andruw Jones grounded out to shortstop scoring Lopez on the fielders choice and giving the Braves a 3-2 lead. Rogers give up another single but struck out Maddux and retired Weiss on a comebacker to end the inning. Now with the lead Maddux was determined to make it stick. He set down 12 straight batters before none other than Parrish singled with 2 out in the 8th to break the streak. Mad Dog then struck out Carter to end the inning. The Braves however were having no better luck with Rogers. Mr. Rogers walked Klesko
to start the 8th and struck out Andruw Jones before giving way to Woodie Fryman. The Braves countered with pinch hitter Eddie Perez to face the left-hander but his grounder to SS and a 6-4-3 DP sent the game to the 9th with Atlanta holding a slim 3-2 lead. With relievers warming in the bullpen Maddux finished what he started, retiring Dawson, Perez, and Valentine, allowing the hometown fans to celebrate and the Atlanta manager a huge sigh of relief.Greg Maddux earns MVP honors with 2 wins, 18 IP, 15 K and a 1.50 ERA. Larry Parrish recieves honorable mention batting .400 with 4 HR and 6 RBI. --submitted by Terry Priest--
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