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 Wood can't stop Braves juggernaut
Posted: Sunday October 04, 1998 01:16 AM
CHICAGO (AP) - With 20 strikeouts, 13 victories and one of the best seats in baseball for the historic home run chase, Kerry Wood has all the memories he could ask for from his rookie season. All he missed was a playoff victory. Starting for the first time in more than a month, the NL's pitcher of the future lost his rematch with the pitcher of the present. And the Chicago Cubs saw their magical season come to an ugly end with a 6-2 loss to Atlanta and Greg Maddux on Saturday night that swept them right out of the playoffs. "A lot of emotion was running through me," Wood admitted. "I was nervous the first few hitters, but was able to get back in a groove fairly quickly. I thought I threw the ball well. "I was excited to be out there in the situation we were in as a team. I'm just glad that I was able to get out there and contribute." After losing the first two games at Atlanta, the Cubs needed Wood to do something spectacular, to be the Special K he was before he was sidelined for a month with a sprained elbow ligament. Instead, he was only very good. Wood, who took the loss, allowed one run and three hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked four - one intentional. Of his 97 pitches, 52 were strikes. He was long gone by the time things got out of hand in the eighth, when Eddie Perez hit a grand slam off Rod Beck. "I couldn't be prouder of what he's done for the ballclub," manager Jim Riggleman said, looking at his rookie phenom. "I was holding my breath a little with Kerry out there. I was confident with all the information we had that Kerry would be fine, but still, we had a lot at stake. He threw the ball extremely well." Wood hadn't pitched since August 31 because of the elbow injury, and the Cubs almost shut down their prized rookie for the winter. But he insisted his arm felt good enough to pitch, practically begging to get in on playoff action. After testing him in the Arizona Instructional League, the Cubs relented, knowing they needed his arm to have any shot at beating the Braves and perhaps winning their first World Series title in 90 years. "He's going to be - and is - the real deal," veteran third baseman Gary Gaetti said. "For his age, he's got a lot of poise and he's got a great arm. It said a lot for him to be in that situation tonight, and he did great. ... The guy's got some kind of ability." Wood proved that in May, when he tied a major league record by striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game against Houston. He went on to win a total of 13 games, including a July 21 victory over Maddux and the Braves in Atlanta. It was the four-time Cy Young Award winner's first loss to his old team. The Cubs also won the other two games Wood started against Atlanta. But Atlanta is a different team in the postseason, as Wood quickly learned. He gave up a single to the first batter he faced, Walt Weiss. Maddux doubled in the third and scored on Tyler Houston's passed ball to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Maddux, who left the Cubs after the 1992 season and signed with Atlanta, gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings, and struck out three. After Wood walked Chipper Jones in the fifth, Riggleman headed to the mound. Wood pitched to Andres Galarraga, who flied out to center to end the inning, and then walked off the mound, bringing his phenomenal rookie season to a quiet end. "It was better than I could have ever possibly imagined. I was able to witness a lot of great things that happened this year in baseball," Wood said. "I had a great time. It's been unbelievable. It was just a great feeling to be a part of this team."
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