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Half staff Mulholland, Braves shut out Red Sox
Posted: Sunday June 11, 2000 03:19 AM
ATLANTA (AP) -- Terry Mulholland finally gave the Atlanta Braves the kind of performance they've come to expect from a starting pitcher. Unfortunately, it didn't last as long as he would have liked. Mulholland pitched five shutout innings but had to come out with a strained hamstring Saturday night, leaving the bullpen to finish up a 6-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox. "I didn't want to leave the bullpen short," Mulholland said. "I didn't like leaving with four innings to go. That's a lot to ask from the bullpen. But maybe it was for the best. If I try to go out there and pitch another inning, maybe I aggravate it again." The Braves' starters had been struggling during an interleague homestand. For the first seven games, their ERA was a combined 9.95. "Terry was throwing as good as he has all year," manager Bobby Cox said. "He wanted to try one more inning, but I wasn't sure if he'd even be able to warm up if he went back out there." Atlanta broke open the game with four runs in the fourth, including Andres Galarraga's 17th homer and a two-run triple by Walt Weiss. Weiss started instead of rookie Rafael Furcal, who was arrested early Saturday on charges on drunken driving and underage alcohol consumption. Furcal, at 19 the youngest player in the majors, later got into the game after Weiss injured his right thumb on a slide. Furcal scored a run and also committed his team-high 13th error. "I'm not the one who hit the home run," he said when reporters converged on his locker after the game. "I've got nothing to say about last night." Mulholland (6-5) scored Atlanta's first run, leading off the third with a double and coming around to score on Andruw Jones' two-base hit. Mulholland apparently strained his right hamstring on the way around the bases. In the fourth, after throwing a strike to Nomar Garciaparra, the pitcher walked off the mound and kneeled over in obvious pain. "I felt it a little bit when I hit third base, but it really wasn't anything pronounced," Mulholland said. "When I made that pitch down and in to Nomar, I felt it bite me a little bit. I guess Bobby noticed me taking that little walk." He threw a couple of warmup pitches while Cox and assistant trainer Jeff Porter looked on, deciding to remain in the game. Garciaparra singled, but Mulholland got out of the inning when Mike Stanley hit into a double play. Mulholland batted again in the fourth and pitched the fifth before leaving, having allowed just three hits. He hopes to be able to make his next start, and Braves relievers shut down the Red Sox on two hits the rest of the way, including two scoreless innings by Kerry Ligtenberg. Mike Remlinger got the final three outs after Don Wengert walked the first two hitters in the ninth. Atlanta's bullpen -- which no longer includes last year's closer, John Rocker -- has allowed only three earned runs in its last 27 innings. "We take pride in going out there and keeping the other team down," Remlinger said. Galarraga homered for the second night in a row, beginning the fourth with a mammoth, 421-foot shot into the right-center bleachers against Pete Schourek (2-6). Brian Jordan and Javy Lopez followed with consecutive singles before Weiss tripled to the gap in left-center. Weiss sprained his thumb on the slide and left the game three batters later, after Tim Wakefield came in to pitch. X-rays were negative, but Weiss may have to go on the disabled list if the swelling doesn't subside by Sunday. Furcal raced home when catcher Jason Varitek couldn't handle a knuckler, the pitch slipping through his legs for a passed ball. Schourek lost his third straight decision. He went 3 2-3 innings, allowing seven hits and all five runs. Four were earned. "I'm not giving up on my season," Schourek said. "I have to stay out of the big innings. I can't get us out of the game in the fourth inning." The Braves added a run in the eighth on Jordan's sacrifice fly. Notes: Boston 2B Jose Offerman, returning from the DL, led off the game with a single to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. ... On May 7, Mulholland had to leave a game against Phillies after 3 1-3 innings because of a bronchial spasm. The cause is still unknown. ... Interleague is helping the Braves at the turnstiles. They have sold out five of their eight games against AL opponents, including Saturday's crowd of 49,420 -- the second-largest of the year at Turner Field. Prior to interleague play, the Braves had only two sellouts in 24 home games.
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