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 Braves rub out Cubs Maddux, Perez send Atlanta into 7th straight NLCS
Posted: Sunday October 04, 1998 12:46 AM
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Atlanta Braves and Greg Maddux are moving on in the NL playoffs. Nothing new there. The Chicago Cubs' wild wild-card ride is over and their shot at the World Series has vanished again. Nothing new there, either. Maddux tormented his former team again Saturday night, pitching the Braves over the Cubs 6-2 and sending Atlanta to its seventh straight NL championship series. "Time really flies. I haven't had time to reflect on all these years. Some day, it'll sink in," Braves manager Bobby Cox said, once again soaked with champagne after victory celebration. "This team's been great for a long time. I think it will be something that will be hard for any club to do with the format that is out there now. It all starts with pitching. That's how you do it." There's none better than Maddux, the four-time Cy Young winner who left Chicago six years ago, a move that haunts the Cubs to this day, especially when they see him on the mound at Wrigley Field. "For me, personally, it's probably the hardest park to pitch in after all that went on here. It takes a long time to let go. I did a good job of letting go but still it's the playoffs," Maddux said after Atlanta completed a three-game sweep.
"Time flies. This is a great park. I love pitching here with the atmosphere and the history I had in this park, but it's pretty hard for me sometimes." Atlanta advanced to meet the Houston-San Diego winner, starting Wednesday night at Turner Field. The Astros and Padres, tied at one game each, played Game 3 later Saturday. The Cubs, in their first postseason since 1989, haven't been to the World Series since 1945 and they haven't won the title since 1908. They managed just four runs against Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and the Braves' bullpen. "Sorry we couldn't win it for the fans; they supported us all year," said Sammy Sosa, who went 2-for-11 with no homers in his first postseason appearance, including 0-for-4 Saturday night. "When you have the type of pitchers like they have, they are not going to make a lot of mistakes." Sosa still took a victory lap around Wrigley after the loss, celebrating his 66-homer season and throwing his cap into the right field bleachers for his beloved fans. Maddux doubled in the third and scored Atlanta's first run off Kerry Wood, pitching for the first time in a month after being sidelined with a sprained elbow ligament. The Braves added five more in the eighth off Chicago's bullpen, capped by a grand slam by Eddie Perez off Rod Beck for a 6-0 lead.
"Wood struck me out twice and when they took him out, I thought we would have more chances," Perez said. "He's one of the guys you don't want to face." The Cubs loaded the bases in the eighth on consecutive singles by Jose Hernandez, Sandy Martinez and Lance Johnson, finishing Maddux. Mickey Morandini hit a sacrifice fly off Kerry Ligtenberg to make it 6-1. Sosa then struck out before Mark Grace hit an RBI single. Henry Rodriguez lined out to center, ending the threat. "I believe good pitching beats good hitting," Maddux said. "If you pitch a good game, you can beat anybody. And if you pitch a bad game, anybody can beat you. We're just glad we took care of ourselves. Whoever we play now, we play." Wood had beaten Maddux in July the Atlanta ace's first-ever loss against his former team following seven straight wins. Going sleeveless on a 57-degree night, with the wind blowing in from 18-to-25 mph, he put runners on in every inning and threw 97 pitches in five innings. The rookie, who fanned 20 hitters against Houston this season to tie the record for a nine-inning game, kept the Cubs close, giving up just a run on three hits with four walks and five strikeouts. But it wasn't good enough to beat Maddux or the Braves.
"I felt good, there was a lot of emotion running through me. Last night I didn't get a lot of sleep," Wood said. "I was nervous the first couple of hitters but I got in the groove quickly and I thought I threw it well." Maddux struggled down the stretch, losing three of his final five regular-season starts. But he mixed his pitches and speeds, walking none and striking out three while allowing two runs in seven-plus innings. He's 4-0 in division series play and 9-7 in the postseason. The Braves have won 10 straight first-round games, sweeping their last three first-round series. Maddux scored in the third following his double, moving up on a grounder and heading home when Wood's pitch got away from Tyler Houston for a passed ball. In the eighth, the Braves struck against the Cubs' two most reliable relievers -- Terry Mulholland and Beck. Lockhart singled and Chipper Jones walked to finish Mulholland. Beck got Andres Galarraga on a fly, but Gerald Williams hit a single over Rodriguez's head in left to make it 2-0. Both runners advanced when Hernandez double-clutched after taking the relay and threw home wildly. After an intentional walk to Andruw Jones loaded the bases, Perez -- starting ahead of Game 2 hero Javy Lopez -- lifted a grand slam to left. Lopez hit a game-tying homer in the ninth inning Thursday night as the Braves rallied for a 2-1 victory in 10 innings. Perez is Maddux's catcher of choice. Notes: Glenallen Hill's wife, Lori, gave birth Friday to a baby girl, Heleyna Ivory in Santa Cruz, California. Hill flew to California early Friday and flew back to Chicago late that evening to be with his wife and daughter, who weighed in at 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Mother and daughter are doing "perfect," Hill said. ... Pat Brickhouse, widow of former Cubs Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Brickhouse, threw out the first pitch. ... The Bulls' Scottie Pippen sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" to lead the crowd in the seventh inning.
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