Atlanta Braves left-hander Mike Hampton calmly offered the correct cliches before Saturday’s game–every game counts, anything can happen and you never know.
More Top Picks Gadgets
Then Hampton inadvertently conceded that the business about pressure always being the same just isn’t so.
“Anytime you play in postseason I think every game has a lot of pressure in it,” Hampton said. “There’s a lot of pressure involved in every one of them. I don’t know any one is greater than the other, unless it’s a deciding game.”
Well, Hampton now finds himself in what he defines as a pressure game, a deciding game. He will start Game 5 of the Division Series against the Cubs after the Braves stepped back from elimination with a 6-4 victory over the Cubs on Saturday.
The Braves did at least part of what they wanted to do in Chicago, which was to win a game and regain home-field advantage in bringing the series back to Atlanta. Then again, with the turnout and volume level of Cubs fans that was in evidence in Games 1 and 2 at Turner Field, even the Braves aren’t sure how much advantage they pick up by being back home.
“We like playing in Wrigley too, and we have great fans,” manager Bobby Cox said. “Hometown advantage, I think it’s a little bit but we’re glad to be playing there.”
The Braves have questions about the health of Gary Sheffield. The right fielder sustained a painful hit on his left wrist on a pitch from Mark Prior on Friday and was unable even to pinch hit Saturday.
And reliever John Smoltz was not answering questions about his elbow tendinitis, only saying that he was “good enough.”
Some of the Braves, however, will be more than pleased to get out of Chicago. Wrigley Field has been far more confining than friendly to Braves slugger Chipper Jones, whose two two-run home runs were the deciding factors Saturday. But those blows started to make up for his long run of frustration at Clark and Addison.
Wrigley Field has been Jones’ worst National League park for hitting. He’s batting just above.200 there for his career and has only seven of his career home runs there, none this season.
But the key to the series for the Braves now is Hampton. He started Game 2 but didn’t figure in the decision after working six innings and giving up two runs. Overall, divisional play has not been good to him.
Hampton was completely ineffective in four straight appearances in divisional playoffs from 1997-99 as a Houston Astro, with two losses and two no-decisions. He was tagged with the Mets’ only defeat in the 2000 division series against the San Francisco Giants.
But he then was the MVP of the NL Championship Series when he didn’t allow a run in 16 innings over two games, winning Game 1 and coming back to throw a complete-game, three-hit shutout in clinching Game 5.
“We feel like the whole team has to step up to beat these guys,” said first baseman Julio Franco, whose three hits helped ignite the Atlanta offense Saturday.
“And I’ve been in this game so long that you know no game is over until the last out.”
– – –
%% Game 5 matchup
2003 WOOD HAMPTON
Record 15-11 14-8
ERA 3.17 3.81
Games started 33 32
Complete games 4 1
Innings pitched 218 1/3 196
Hits 154 190
Earned runs 77 83
Home runs 25 14
Walks 105 83
Strikeouts 277 119
More Top Picks Pizza Oven
Home 6-8, 3.56 7-4, 3.25
Away 9-3, 2.74 7-4, 4.47
2003-* vs. Atlanta vs. Cubs
Record 1-0 1-0
ERA 2.45 4.73
Games started 1 2
Innings pitched 7 1/3 13 1/3
Hits 2 15
Earned runs 2 7
Home runs 1 2
Walks 5 8
Strikeouts 11 14
Note: * – includes playoff games.
%%