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Sunday, October 9, 2005
Season over for Braves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Houston - The Braves found a new and excruciating way to make what’s become their annual first-round exit from the playoffs, blowing a five-run, eighth-inning lead and losing the longest postseason game in history.
Rookie Chris Burke emerged as the last, unlikely hero in an epic contest, hitting a walk-off homer off Joey Devine in the 18th inning for a 7-6 Houston Astros victory in Game 4 of the division series Sunday at Minute Maid Park.
“There’s nothing worse,” said Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche, whose third-inning grand slam provided a 4-0 lead that grew to 6-1 before closer Kyle Farnsworth gave it all back on home runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
” I’ve said it before _ if I would have known we were going to lose in the first round, I’d rather not even be in the playoffs at all,” LaRoche said.
The Braves matched a division series record by stranding 18 runners and batting 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position in a game that stretched to 5 hours, 50 minutes, setting postseason records for innings and time.
“Well, it was remarkable,” said manager Bobby Cox, whose Braves lost three of four games in the best-of-five series for their fourth consecutive first-round postseason loss, and sixth straight year falling short of the World Series.
Words other than remarkable were used by most Braves to describe the game, which saw Braves starter Tim Hudson pitch seven strong innings on short rest and Roger Clemens pitch the last three for the Astros on even shorter rest.
The 43-year-old Rocket allowed one hit and got the win, after starting Game 2.
“I’ve lost my share of heartbreakers over the years, but this is certainly at the top of the heap,” said Chipper Jones, who was 1-for-6 Sunday and 3-for-17 in the series, continuing his recent run of subpar postseasons.
The top three in the Braves’ batting order _ Rafael Furcal, Marcus Giles and Jones _ went 10-for-57 (.175) with two RBIs in the series.
But the lasting impression of this Braves October will be Farnsworth giving up a Lance Berkman grand slam in the eighth inning and a solo homer by Brad Ausmus with two out in the ninth to force extra innings.
“Never in a million years,” Jones said, “did I expect them to score five runs off Farnsworth.”
Farnsworth had converted 10-of-10 saves for the Braves since being traded from Detroit on July 31, and posted a stingy 1.62 ERA and .163 opponents’ average with four homers allowed over 58 regular-season appearances since early May.
“If we won today, we definitely probably would have won [Game 5] tomorrow,” said Farnsworth, who tried to take solace in the fact that Berkman’s slam was a mere 335-foot drive to the Crawford Box seats down the left-field line.
Of course, the Braves were playing on the same field and had plenty of chances to aim at that short porch, included repeated chances with runners on base.
The only homers they got were two to right field by rookie Brian McCann _ a leadoff homer in eighth, his second of the series _ and the slam by LaRoche, who left soon after because of a stomach flu that had him vomiting all day.
LaRoche also hit a long three-run tying homer in Game 4 of last year’s NLDS at Houston, which the Braves won 6-5 to force a Game 5 in Atlanta. LaRoche wasn’t around for the late innings Sunday, replaced by Julio Franco, who went 1-for-5 and grounded out with two runners in scoring position to end the 11th inning.
“His legs gave out going home,” Cox said of LaRoche, who left the game shortly after he was thrown out at the plate on Jeff Francoeur’s double in the seventh inning, a would-be run that proved to be important. “He couldn’t go anymore.”
Even after Farnsworth gave up the Berkman slam, the Braves had a 6-5 lead and were confident their closer would put it away in the ninth. Some described stunned disbelief when Ausmus took Farnsworth deep with two out in the ninth.
No cheapie was this, a 406-foot homer to left-center that hit off a retaining wall just above the padded fence and the outstretched glove of center fielder Andruw Jones. The game-tying blast drew an ear-splitting roar from a sellout crowd that filled the seats of the closed-roof ballpark.
“When I started getting back to the wall, I knew it was going to go out,” said Jones, who had eight of the Braves’ 41 hits in the series and five of their 21 RBIs. “We didn’t want this to happen like this. It’s a tough loss. Our pitchers were great, but we just couldn’t shut them down [at the end].
“They took advantage of their opportunities and we didn’t, and that’s why they’re celebrating.”
After Farnsworth left, the Braves got a stretch of eight scoreless and seven hitless innings from Chris Reitsma, John Thomson, Jim Brower and Devine, the rookie who was pitching for North Carolina State four months ago.
But the streak ended when Burke hit a 2-0 pitch from Devine to the Crawford Boxes, touching off a celebration at Minute Maid as the Astros raced from their dugout to mob Burke and revel in their second consecutive trip to the NL Championship. They wild-card Astros will again face St. Louis.
“We’ve got no one to blame but ourselves,” Chipper Jones said of the Braves’ latest dismissal from the playoffs. “We had our chances…. We laid it all on the line for six hours and 18 innings. It just wasn’t good enough.”
A few feet away from Jones in the clubhouse were Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann, two of 18 rookies who became so much of the identity of this team. They came to grips with their first taste of Braves playoff defeat.
What had been a story-book season had an ending too familiar for the Braves, who have won one World Series in their run of 14 consecutive division titles.
“It stinks,” Francoeur said. “We were so close to taking it back to Atlanta [for Game 5]. We just weren’t able to hold it. Walking off the field, you realize it’s over. So close. We should be back in Atlanta right now.”
This was some three hours after Farnsworth gave it up. About the time it would’ve taken the Braves’ charter to get home if the game lasted nine innings.
“When Ausmus hit that home run … we’re a pitch away from going home [winners],” Chipper Jones said. “It was the last thing I expected. You look in the dugout like, ‘Pinch me.’ It’s shocking. I was shocked.”
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