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 California creamin' Padres polish off Braves 5-0, head to World Series
Posted: Thursday October 15, 1998 02:20 AM
ATLANTA (AP) -- Next stop on this surprising trip for Tony Gwynn and the San Diego Padres -- Yankee Stadium. The underdog Padres chalked up another 100-win victim Wednesday, reaching the World Series for the first time since 1984 when MVP Sterling Hitchcock beat the Atlanta Braves 5-0 in Game 6 of the NL championship series. "Not many people gave us a chance against Houston. Not many people gave us a chance against Atlanta," Gwynn said. "But here we are." "It's been a long wait," he said. "We're going to be confident. I don't know if anybody else around the country will be confident in us."
The Braves had won two straight games, fueling speculation they might become the first team in baseball history to overcome an 0-3 deficit in the postseason. But the Padres wrecked that plan, winning the series 4-2 with a five-run sixth inning off Tom Glavine. October hero Jim Leyritz broke a scoreless tie with an RBI grounder. Now, it's on to New York for Game 1 Saturday night against the team that set an AL record with 114 victories. Kevin Brown will start for San Diego against ALCS MVP David Wells. "For me it's a big thrill. I've never been to Yankee Stadium," Gwynn said.
At 38, Gwynn is the last remaining member from the Padres' only other trip to the Series, a five-game wipeout by Detroit. The eight-time batting champion contributed two hits in the clincher against Atlanta. For the Braves, the loss meant the end to yet another disappointing year. Despite having reached the postseason a record seven straight times, they have just one World Series championship to show for it. And with 106 victories, they are the winningest team to fail to reach the Series. "This team is good. We don't need to re-evaluate much," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "If you don't get hot in these things, you're just not going to win them. We don't have anything to be ashamed about." Hitchcock, forced to move up a day in the rotation because of Kevin Brown's relief appearance in Game 5, came through again. Just 9-7 in the regular season and with a history of pitching poorly on three days' rest, he improved to 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in postseason wins over Houston's Randy Johnson and Atlanta's Greg Maddux and Glavine.
"Whether I was going to New York, whether I was going to Tokyo, it doesn't matter," said Hitchcock, a former Yankees pitcher. "It's going to be the time of my life." Hitchcock allowed only two hits in five innings and struck out eight. Leading 5-0, he left after a pair of leadoff walks starting the sixth and then Brian Boehringer -- also formerly of the Yankees -- relieved and got three quick outs. With the game scoreless, Glavine and the Braves ruined themselves in the sixth. The inning began innocently enough when Gwynn grounded out. Greg Vaughn, back in the starting lineup for the first time since leaving the opener because of a strained left quadriceps, singled and ran to third when Ken Caminiti grounded a broken-bat single through the vacant hole on the right side.
Up stepped Leyritz, whose three-run homer for the Yankees in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series at Atlanta sent them on to the title. He didn't hit the ball out of the park, though his RBI groundout put the Padres ahead. Wally Joyner followed with a single and Glavine pitched around No. 8 hitter Chris Gomez, loading the bases with a two-out walk. Hitchcock hit a low liner that seemed to confuse Danny Bautista, and the left fielder got a bad break in toward the ball. "I saw the ball right away, but then I lost it in the lights," Bautista said. Bautista made a late dive and it was no good. The ball clanged off his glove and the Braves could only watch as two runners scored. That finished Glavine, and Quilvio Veras greeted John Rocker with an RBI single for a five-run lead.
The big inning quieted the crowd of 50,988, which had come hoping the Braves could force a Game 7 showdown between Maddux and Brown. The Padres relied on their strong bullpen to close out the combined two-hitter, with relief ace Trevor Hoffman getting the final three outs. Having already beaten Houston (102 wins) and Atlanta, the 98-win Padres will try to do it again against the Yankees. "To go against two great ballclubs like Houston and Atlanta, it doesn't get any greater than this," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "I never knew I'd like New York so much," said Bochy, who also will visit Yankee Stadium for the first time. "I'm looking forward to this." With a combined 212 wins, the Yankees and Padres have the most victories among World Series opponents. The previous mark was 210 by Baltimore (108) and Cincinnati (102) in 1970. The Braves got their two hits in the fourth. Cox started a right-handed hitting lineup, benching lefties Ryan Klesko and Game 5 hero Michael Tucker. Notes: Gene Michael, the Yankees' head of major league scouting, was in the stands. So was former President Jimmy Carter, sitting next to Braves owner Ted Turner. ... Hitchcock slung Gerald Williams' bat back toward the plate after it slipped out toward the mound during a swing in the first. ... Glavine is 9-11 lifetime in postseason play. He has lost a record eight games in the LCS.
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