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Series salvaged Red Sox capitalize on eighth-inning error to edge Braves
Posted: Monday June 12, 2000 07:56 AM
ATLANTA (AP) -- Jose Offerman put that extra day of rest to good use. Offerman scored on two daring trips around the basepaths Sunday, including the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning as the Boston Red Sox avoided a sweep in Atlanta with a 5-3 victory over the Braves. He came off the disabled list a day earlier, which was actually a day late. The Red Sox forgot he was eligible to be activated after recovering from a strained left groin. "I've been resting myself for 15 days," Offerman said. "No, 16." Boston starter Ramon Martinez, doing a pretty good impression of younger brother Pedro, allowed only one hit through five innings. The Braves scored in both the sixth and seventh for a 2-2 tie, then made a couple of defensive miscues the following inning to ruin their comeback. After falling behind 0-2 against reliever Rudy Seanez, Offerman lined a drive to the gap in right-center. Jones, who has won two straight Gold Gloves, sprinted over and tried to play the ball off the wall, only to kick it away for his first error of the season. Offerman never slowed down, sprawling across home to beat the relay throw to the plate. He remained on the ground for several seconds, clearly exhausted, before dusting himself off and heading back to a jubilant dugout. "It was too hot to be running like that," quipped Offerman, who was credited with a double and scored on the two-base error. Jones said, "It came hard off the bottom of the wall and hit me in the shin. You're going to make some mistakes." The Red Sox scored two runs in the first against Tom Glavine, traditionally a slow starter. Once again, Offerman's daring on the basepaths paid off. He led off with a walk and came all the way around to score on Nomar Garciaparra's double to right-center. Brian Jordan cut off the ball before it reached the warning track but threw toward second. Offerman kept on running and easily beat the relay throw. "When you play NL teams, you've got to be even more aggressive on the basepaths," Boston's Darren Lewis said. "With no DH, you've got to take advantage of every opportunity. You can't rely on the three-run homer." Using that philosophy, the Red Sox scored another run in the eighth on Troy O'Leary's shallow sacrifice fly to center. Jones made a strong throw but it was up the third-base line, forcing Javy Lopez to take a swipe at Jeff Frye. The Atlanta catcher appeared to make the tag, but the ball came loose to give the Red Sox a 4-2 lead. "When you've got a chance to score a run, you've got to send him," Boston manager Jimy Williams said. "You play to win, you don't play not to lose." Atlanta pulled within 4-3 in the bottom half of the eighth on Jordan's run-scoring grounder. But the Red Sox scratched for an insurance run in the ninth as Darren Lewis singled, was bunted to second, stole third and scored on Bruce Chen's balk. Derek Lowe got the final six outs for his 14th save, while Rich Garces (2-0) pitched 2/3 of an inning for the win. Seanez (3-3) failed to retire a batter in the eighth, giving up two hits, a walk and both runs. In the first, Carl Everett drove home Boston's second run with a double. Glavine allowed only three more hits before he left for a pinch-hitter in the seventh, having turned in his best outing in more than month. "It's always nice to come out and have a good game after you have been struggling," said Glavine, who had a 6.51 ERA in his previous six starts. "And there's no question about it: I haven't been throwing too well recently." Martinez allowed only a first-inning single to Chipper Jones before the Braves broke through in the sixth. With one out, Quilvio Veras doubled to right and moved to third on Andruw Jones' grounder. Wally Joyner singled sharply up the middle to bring home Atlanta's first run. Atlanta knocked out Martinez in the seventh, loading the bases with one out. Veras sent a liner toward shortstop, where it deflected off the glove of a leaping Garciaparra. He recovered in time for the force at second, but the tying run scored. Martinez went 6 1/3 innings, his second-longest start of the season. He gave up five hits and walked three. "I was in control of everything today," he said. "I gave us an opportunity to win." Notes: Both teams complained about the liberal strike zone of plate umpire Mark Hirschbeck. ... Martinez lasted 7 2/3 innings in a victory over the New York Yankees on May 26. ... The Braves went 4-5 on an interleague homestand against the Yankees, Toronto and Boston. ... Pedro Martinez (9-2, 0.95 ERA) didn't pitch against Atlanta. His next start is Tuesday night in New York against the Yankees. ... Atlanta sold out all three games in a series for the second straight weekend, drawing a crowd of 47,437 on Sunday.
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