| SEASON | CAREER |
| W4 | 94 |
| L4 | 96 |
| G8 | 249 |
| IP48.1 | 1595.0 |
| BB13 | 369 |
| SO33 | 1323 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W16 | 137 |
| L9 | 120 |
| G30 | 344 |
| IP196.2 | 2157.0 |
| BB60 | 886 |
| SO177 | 1968 |
Ben Sheets entered the majors with plenty of hype after helping Team USA win gold at the 2000 Olympics. Now, he's about to leave unceremoniously after injuries derailed a once-promising career.
Chipper Jones possibly playing his final regular-season game should add a bit more flare.
Sheets will take the mound for the last time while Jones caps his regular-season career when the Atlanta Braves face the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
It didn't take long for Sheets to reach the majors after his three-hitter helped beat Cuba in the gold-medal game in Sydney, eventually becoming a four-time All-Star with Milwaukee.
His career, though, has been marred by injuries. Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the 2009 season, and an operation to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow after 20 starts with Oakland in 2010 caused him to sit out 2011.
Atlanta signed Sheets (4-4, 3.54 ERA) on July 1, and he proceeded to win his first three starts while allowing one run in 18 innings. He plans to retire following his outing Wednesday that comes after he missed the last five weeks with right shoulder soreness.
"I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt I'm not playing again," Sheets told the team's official website. "No matter what, there is not enough help or money to pull me out of this one."
Sheets, though, is happy he made the comeback.
"I'd do it again," Sheets said. "I definitely enjoyed it. I had a front-row seat for (Jones' final games). Some people paid for that, which was worth it if they did."
Jones, who wasn't in the lineup Tuesday, won't appear in another regular-season game after this contest, though he'll participate in his 13th postseason when the Braves host the NL's one-game wild-card playoff on Friday.
The veteran has received parting gifts during his final visit to each stadium Atlanta played in throughout the season.
The Braves (93-68), though, will try to avoid being swept by a Pittsburgh team simply hoping to end the season on a high note after an epic second-half collapse led to the franchise's 20th consecutive losing season - a North American sports record.
The Pirates (79-82), who beat the Braves 2-1 on Monday and 5-1 on Tuesday, led the NL Central as late as July 18 and were 16 games over .500 on Aug. 6 with Andrew McCutchen hitting .369 and arguably leading the NL MVP race.
Pittsburgh since has gone 17-36 with McCutchen hitting only .260 in September.
One bright spot has been the emergence of A.J. Burnett, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Yankees after failing to live up to high expectations in the Bronx.
If Burnett (16-9, 3.43) can keep his ERA at or drop it below its current mark, it will be his best since posting a 3.30 ERA for the Florida Marlins in 2002.
He has a 2.50 ERA over his last six starts, but lack of run support has attributed to him having only one win in that span. The Pirates have scored zero or one run with Burnett on the mound five times during that stretch. They couldn't even provide a hit when he gave up seven singles in eight innings of a 1-0 loss to Homer Bailey and Cincinnati on Friday.
"The way A.J. pitched, it was going to take almost nothing short of a no-hitter to beat him," manager Clint Hurdle said.It was a similar story for the right-hander when he faced the Braves on April 27, allowing two runs and striking out eight in six innings of a 6-1 defeat.
Pittsburgh, though, has won four of the six meetings between these teams in 2012.
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPSERAQSSOBBSVBSBAAWHIPE
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Michael Bourn | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | 1.334 | .667 |
| Juan Francisco | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Freddie Freeman | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Tommy Hanson | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jason Heyward | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .000 |
| Eric Hinske | 14 | .214 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | .421 | .921 | .500 |
| Tim Hudson | 5 | .400 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .400 | .800 | .400 |
| Chipper Jones | 40 | .350 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 8 | .435 | .935 | .500 |
| Brian McCann | 14 | .214 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .267 | .481 | .214 |
| Tyler Pastornicky | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .667 | 1.167 | .500 |
| Martin Prado | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .667 | 1.167 | .500 |
| Dan Uggla | 6 | .167 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .834 | .667 |
| Jack Wilson | 6 | .333 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Pedro Alvarez | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Rod Barajas | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 1.417 | .667 |
| Clint Barmes | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| A.J. Burnett | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Juan Cruz | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Garrett Jones | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Andrew McCutchen | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | 1.000 | .667 |
| Casey McGehee | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Nate McLouth | 10 | .200 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .273 | .673 | .400 |
| Jose Tabata | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Neil Walker | 3 | 1.000 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.333 | 2.333 |
 Atlanta Braves |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 18, 2012 | Paul Janish | Day-to-Day | Shoulder |
| September 15, 2012 | Brian McCann | Day-to-Day | Left game - right hamstring tendinitis |
| August 25, 2012 | Ben Sheets | 15-Day DL | Right shoulder inflammation |
| August 25, 2012 | Ben Sheets | 15-Day DL | Right shoulder inflammation |
| August 10, 2012 | Chipper Jones | Day-to-Day | Back tightness |
| August 01, 2012 | Jair Jurrjens | 15-Day DL | Strained right groin |
 Pittsburgh Pirates |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 27, 2012 | Andrew McCutchen | Day-to-Day | Left game - left knee pain |
| August 31, 2012 | Jeff Karstens | Day-to-Day | Hip flexor |
| August 27, 2012 | Neil Walker | Day-to-Day | Lower back stiffness |
| August 25, 2012 | Chad Qualls | 15-Day DL | Left toe sprain |
| August 25, 2012 | Chad Qualls | 15-Day DL | Left toe sprain |
| August 25, 2012 | Jose Tabata | Day-to-Day | Left game - left groin discomfort |
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The storybook ending for Chipper Jones would have been putting a fastball into the Allegheny River.
At age 40, however, Jones doesn't try to mash the baseball so much as massage it. Instead, the Atlanta Braves third baseman had to settle for bookending his 19-year career with pinch-hit singles.
Jones rapped an A.J. Burnett pitch to right field in his final regular season at-bat and the Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Wednesday.
"I'd like to thank A.J. for coming right at me," Jones said with a laugh after collecting the 2,726th and final regular-season hit of his 19-year career.
Jones entered as a pinch hitter in the sixth. Batting left-handed, he took the first pitch he saw from Burnett and laced it to the outfield, proving a nice bit of symmetry. Jones singled in the first at-bat of his career against Cincinnati on Sept. 14, 1993.
"I got to go out the same way I came in," Jones said.
The Braves ended 1993 in the World Series, though Jones didn't play. They're hoping to do the same after grabbing the top wild-card spot. Atlanta hosts defending world champion St. Louis on Friday, with the winner advancing to the division series.
"Now we've got to get over this one-game playoff thing to give ourselves a legitimate shot at what we were all shooting for out of spring training," Jones said.
While Jones is heading to the postseason, Atlanta pitcher Ben Sheets is almost certainly not. Still, the veteran right-hander who has been dogged by injuries in recent years was able to go out on his own terms.
Sheets pitched one scoreless inning in what he's said will be his final major league appearance, striking out two - including Pittsburgh star Andrew McCutchen - while hitting 96 mph on the radar gun.
"It felt great," Sheets said. "It was as good as anything I could probably draw up."
Sheets is unlikely to be placed on Atlanta's postseason roster, but with a playoff spot secure and nothing really to lose, the Braves sent the four-time All-Star to the mound one last time. He needed just a couple minutes to get loose and when he walked back to the dugout after three quick outs, he knew he was done.
Asked if he'd consider sticking around to find a spot in a bullpen somewhere, Sheets just smiled and said, "dude, I'm good."
So are the 94-win Braves, who are heading into the postseason with some momentum after a stunning collapse last fall forced them to watch the playoffs on television.
Instead of swooning down the stretch this year, they've surged. Atlanta is 20-10 since Sept. 1.
"A little bit different than last year as I recall," Jones said. "I think we'll look back on (last) September as a learning experience. No better example of that than the way we played this September."
Jason Heyward singled twice and scored two runs for the Braves while Luis Avilan (1-0) won on a day Atlanta used eight pitchers to hold Pittsburgh to four hits.
"We got some stuff accomplished today and we got the win," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "A lot of good stuff."
Burnett (16-10) gave up four runs in 5 2-3 innings for Pittsburgh. The Pirates finished 79-83, extending their record streak of losing seasons to 20.
"We needed to win our games," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Our goal was to win more games."
A regular-season finale that looked like it might be important a month ago had a decidedly spring training feel after the Pirates collapsed down the stretch.
Pittsburgh was 62-46 on Aug. 8 but finished on a 17-37 slide, though the team's 79 wins tied for the most since the infamous streak began following a loss to the Braves in the 1992 NL championship series.
"You have to try and take some positives from it," said McCutchen, who hit .327 this season to finish second behind San Francisco's Buster Posey for the NL batting title. "Every year is hard to take when you don't end up where you want to be. Every year is tough."
Maybe none, however, were more painful than this one. The Pirates were the talk of baseball over the summer behind a pitching staff that flourished behind Burnett, who embraced the roll of ace the team desperately needed. He won eight straight decisions in the spring but tailed off over the final two months and couldn't avoid his fifth loss in his six starts, though he exited to a warm ovation.
"I thought he had an exceptional season," Hurdle said of Burnett. "He took ownership of the trade, the career, the opportunity to re-ignite himself."
NOTES: The Pirates drew 2,091, 918 to PNC Park this season, the second-highest total in team history. The average attendance of 26,149 was up from 23,956 in 2011 ... The Braves will start RHP Kris Medlen (10-1, 1.57 ERA) Friday against Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86) ... The Pirates open the 2013 season at home on April 1 against the Chicago Cubs .
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Atlanta Braves