CNNSI.com - 2001 MLB Postseason - Braves-Astros at a Glance

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Braves-Astros at a Glance

Pitchers | Hitters | Matchup Breakdown | Big Picture

Atlanta Braves

Greg Maddux

W-L: 17-11
ERA: 3.05
Vs. HOU: 1-0, 6.00

Tom Glavine

W-L: 16-7
ERA: 3.57
Vs. HOU: 1-0, 3.07

John Burkett

W-L: 12-12
ERA: 3.04
Vs. HOU: 0-0, 6.35

Jason Marquis

W-L: 5-6
ERA: 3.48
Vs. HOU: 0-0, 0.00

Team pitching statistics

Vs.

Houston Astros

Wade Miller

W-L: 16-8
ERA: 3.40
Vs. ATL: --

Dave Mlicki

W-L: 7-3
ERA: 5.09
Vs. ATL: 0-0, 5.40

S. Reynolds

W-L: 14-11
ERA: 4.34
Vs. ATL: 1-0, 4.91

Roy Oswalt

W-L: 14-3
ERA: 2.73
Vs. ATL: 0-0, 8.44

Team pitching statistics

Pitchers | Hitters | Matchup Breakdown | Big Picture

Atlanta Braves 2001 Batting
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Andruw Jones Chipper Jones Brian Jordan B.J. Surhoff Javy Lopez Rafael Furcal Marcus Giles Dave Martinez Wes Helms Rico Brogna Keith Lockhart Ken Caminiti Mark DeRosa Rey Sanchez Paul Bako Bernard Gilkey Julio Franco	.251 .330 .295 .271 .267 .275 .262 .287 .222 .248 .219 .222 .287 .227 .212 .274 .300	161 159 148 141 128 79 68 120 100 72 104 64 66 49 61 69 25	625 572 560 484 438 324 244 237 216 206 178 171 164 154 137 106 90	104 113 82 68 45 39 36 33 28 15 17 12 27 10 19 8 13	157 189 165 131 117 89 64 68 48 51 39 38 47 35 29 29 27	25 33 32 33 16 19 10 11 10 9 6 9 8 4 10 6 4	2 5 3 1 1 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0	34 38 25 10 17 4 9 2 10 3 3 6 3 0 2 2 3	104 102 97 58 66 30 31 20 36 21 12 16 20 9 15 14 11	11 9 3 9 1 22 2 3 1 3 1 0 2 2 1 0 0

Houston Astros 2001 Batting
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Craig Biggio Jeff Bagwell Lance Berkman Moises Alou Richard Hidalgo Julio Lugo Vinny Castilla Brad Ausmus Jose Vizcaino Daryle Ward Tony Eusebio Orlando Merced Chris Truby	.292 .288 .331 .331 .275 .263 .270 .232 .277 .263 .253 .263 .206	155 161 156 136 146 140 122 128 107 95 59 94 48	617 600 577 513 512 513 445 422 256 213 154 137 136	118 126 110 79 70 93 62 45 38 21 16 19 11	180 173 191 170 141 135 120 98 71 56 39 36 28	35 43 55 31 29 20 28 23 8 15 8 6 6	3 4 5 1 3 3 1 4 3 0 0 1 1	20 39 34 27 19 10 23 5 1 9 5 6 8	70 130 126 108 80 37 82 34 14 39 14 29 23	7 11 7 5 3 12 1 4 3 0 0 5 1

Pitchers | Hitters | Matchup Breakdown | Big Picture

Matchups

Braves:

Meeting the Astros in the first round of the playoffs for the third time in five years. Swept three games in 1997 and won 3-1 in 1999.

Chipper Jones hammered Houston pitching this year, hitting .500 (12-for-24) with three home runs and eight RBIs.

Jordan (.417) and Andruw Jones (.333) also did well.

Maddux, Glavine, Burkett and Millwood were a combined 3-0 in five starts against the Astros.

Braves split six-game series with Houston despite a 5.14 ERA.

Chipper Jones is batting .400 with six homers in 35 career at-bats against Reynolds.

Jordan is 7-for-13 with three homers lifetime against Mlicki.
Astros:

Took two of three at Turner Field in early August. All three games were decided by one run.

Alou hit .600 (12-for-20) with two homers against Atlanta.

Hidalgo had a team-leading six RBIs.

Bagwell (.368, 3 HRs) and Hidalgo (.429) have done well lifetime against Glavine.

Ausmus is career .400 (10-for-25) hitter vs. Maddux.

Houston had lost seven straight regular-season games at Atlanta before winning 2-1 in 11 innings on Aug. 8.

Pitchers | Hitters | Matchup Breakdown | Big Picture

Braves

Became the first team in major league history to make the postseason despite a losing record at home. Went 40-41 at Turner Field.

Fell eight games behind Philadelphia on May 31 before bouncing back to win seventh consecutive NL East title.

Overall, manager Bobby Cox's team has captured 10 division championships in a row, unprecedented for an American sports franchise. NBA's Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers only other teams to win nine straight.

Struggled much of the season with anemic offense that scored just 729 runs, 71 fewer than last season and lowest among playoff teams.

Only postseason team to win fewer than 90 games.

Played better down the stretch, winning two of three in crucial series with the both Philadelphia and New York Mets. Won eight of its final 12 games.

Once again, its hopes rest on a pitching staff that led NL with 3.59 ERA.

Game 1 starter Maddux struggled in final month, going 0-4 with 3.95 ERA in last seven starts -- his longest stretch without a win since 1991.

Smoltz was savior from bullpen, where he moved in late July after two stints on DL with elbow pain. Replaced closer-by-committee arrangement that followed June trade of John Rocker to Cleveland.

Franco, the 40-something first baseman, had only one at-bat in the majors since 1997 until signing with Braves on July 31 from Mexican League.

Three-fourths of infield has changed since spring training. 1B Rico Brogna retired, 2B Quilvio Veras released and SS Rafael Furcal had season-ending shoulder surgery.

Astros

Won NL Central on the final day of the season, earning fourth division title in five years. A 9-2 victory at Busch Stadium clinched crown and left the Cardinals with the wild card. The teams tied with 93-69 records -- Houston won the championship because of a head-to-head tiebreaker, going 9-7 vs. the Cardinals.

Hoping to reverse past postseason fortunes. Have never won a series, losing six times.

Bagwell (.128, 0 HRs, 4 RBIs) and Biggio (.119, 0, 1) have been playoff busts.

Manager Larry Dierker's team trailed Cubs by eight games on June 17, took over first place in mid-August. Built a 5 1/2-game lead on Sept. 24, then lost six in a row to fall a game behind St. Louis.

Bagwell, helped by tiny Enron Field, became the first major leaguer with 30 homers, 100 RBIs, 100 runs and 100 walks in six straight seasons.

Berkman, in his first full season in the majors, was the first switch-hitter in history with 30 home runs and 50 doubles in a season.

Set a franchise record with 49 road wins.

Completed the biggest turnaround in franchise history, bouncing back from a 72-90 mark and a fourth-place finish last year.

Oswalt, the NL's top rookie pitcher, had his last two starts cut short by a strained right groin. Houston hoped he'd be able to pitch in the playoffs.

Pedro Astacio, obtained from Colorado in baseball's biggest trade on the July 31 deadline, was put on the disabled list Aug. 29 because of a sore right shoulder and did not return.

Castilla, Mlicki, Williams and Villone also acquired during the season, and each made key contributions.

Things To Look For

Houston, 0-6 in its previous postseason series, has the home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. Slumps by Bagwell, Biggio and Derek Bell doomed the Astros in 1997-99 -- now, Berkman tries to deliver.

Smoltz in relief. He is baseball's winningest postseason pitcher (12-4) as a starter. Now, he gets a chance to help the Braves from the bullpen, which has been vulnerable in past playoffs.

Where's the runs? Chipper Jones and Jordan have been the only consistent threats offensively. Andruw Jones' average plummeted 52 points (.303 last year), Giles is a rookie, Franco is ancient, Bako is a .221 hitter over the past two seasons. C Javy Lopez (.267, 17 HRs, 66 RBIs) sprained his ankle with a week to go and could miss entire postseason.

Oswalt's health. If he's healthy, he'll provide a huge boost to Houston's rotation. If not, the Braves catch a break -- even though they hit him hard once this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.