GAME THREAD: NL: WASHINGTON (32-45) at ATLANTA (40-38)

NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
ATLANTA 1 0 2 4 3 2 1 0 x 13 22 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: WAS - MICAH BOWIE, LUIS AYALA (4TH), BILLY TRABER (5TH), SAUL RIVERA
(7TH), JON RAUCH (8TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER, JESUS FLORES (7TH)

ATL - JOHN SMOLTZ, OSCAR VILLARREAL (6TH), WILFREDO
LEDEZMA (8TH), CHAD PARONTO (9TH) AND BRIAN MCCANN, JARROD
SALTALAMACCHIA (7TH)


WP - JOHN SMOLTZ (9-4)
LP - MICAH BOWIE (4-3)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: WAS - NONE

ATL - BRIAN MCCANN (7) OFF BILLY TRABER IN THE 6TH, 1 ON


TIME: 3:08 ATT: 29,144

PROBABLES: ATL - KYLE DAVIES (3-7, 5.42)
FLA - JOSH JOHNSON (0-2, 14.85)

PROBABLES: WAS - MATT CHICO (3-5, 5.08)
PIT - IAN SNELL (6-5, 2.92)</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">WASHINGTON (0) VS ATLANTA (13) - FINAL

WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Langerhans cf 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 .173
F Lopez ss 3 0 1 0 1 2 0 .238
R Zimmerman 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .245
d-T Batista ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
D Young 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .336
J Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Kearns rf 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .256
b-R Fick ph-rf 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .224
R Church lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .264
R Belliard 2b 4 0 2 0 0 1 2 .299
B Schneider c 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .248
S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Jimenez 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .059
M Bowie p 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .091
L Ayala p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-N Logan ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .221
B Traber p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-J Flores ph-c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .203

Totals 34 0 8 0 1 9 13

a-singled to right for L Ayala in the 5th; b-flied out to center for A Kearns
in the 6th; c-grounded to third for B Traber in the 7th; d-fouled out to
right for R Zimmerman in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - R Church (24, O Villarreal); R Belliard (10, C Paronto). Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - M Bowie 1, D Jimenez 1, D Young 1, R Belliard
1, R Zimmerman 1. Team LOB - 8.

FIELDING: DP: 3 (F Lopez-R Belliard-D Young, R Zimmerman-R Belliard-D Young,
R Belliard-F Lopez-T Batista).


ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Y Escobar 2b-ss 5 4 4 1 0 0 1 .305
E Renteria ss 4 2 3 2 0 0 0 .328
W Harris cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .380
C Jones 3b 4 1 3 4 0 0 1 .327
C Woodward pr-3b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .215
A Jones cf 4 0 1 1 0 1 4 .199
O Villarreal p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-C James ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .130
W Ledezma p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Paronto p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Francoeur rf 3 1 3 3 1 0 1 .280
B McCann c 4 1 2 2 0 1 3 .268
S Thorman 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .228
M Diaz lf 5 1 3 0 0 2 2 .341
J Saltalamacchia 1b-c 4 1 1 0 1 1 3 .325
J Smoltz p 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 .120
P Orr pr-2b 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 .182

Totals 41 13 22 13 2 6 18

a-grounded to pitcher for O Villarreal in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - Y Escobar 2 (6, M Bowie 2); M Diaz (8, B Traber); C Woodward (3,
S Rivera). HR - B Mccann (7, 6th inning off B Traber 1 on, 0 Out). S - J
Smoltz. SF - J Francoeur. RBI - C Jones 4 (32), J Francoeur 3 (49), E Renteria
2 (38), A Jones (46), Y Escobar (6), B McCann 2 (41). 2-out RBI - J Francoeur.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Smoltz 1, M Diaz 1, Y Escobar 1.
GIDP - A Jones, B McCann, J Saltalamacchia. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - E Renteria (6, 3rd base off M Bowie/B Schneider).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Woodward-P Orr-S Thorman).


----------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON - 000 000 000 -- 0
ATLANTA - 102 432 10x -- 13
----------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
M Bowie (L, 4-3) 3 1/3 9 6 6 2 2 0 4.39
L Ayala 2/3 3 1 1 0 0 0 3.86
B Traber 2 7 5 5 0 3 1 4.71
S Rivera 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 3.71
J Rauch 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.17

ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr era
J Smoltz (W, 9-4) 5 5 0 0 1 7 0 2.98
O Villarreal 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.37
W Ledezma 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.00
C Paronto 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 4.71

WP - J Smoltz. Pitches-strikes: M Bowie 79-44; L Ayala 14-9; B Traber 50-33;
S Rivera 14-11; J Rauch 12-10; J Smoltz 89-56; O Villarreal 25-17; W Ledezma
11-8; C Paronto 15-10. Ground balls-fly balls: M Bowie 4-4; L Ayala 2-0; B
Traber 3-0; S Rivera 1-2; J Rauch 2-0; J Smoltz 3-5; O Villarreal 3-2; W
Ledezma 1-1; C Paronto 2-0. Batters faced: M Bowie 20; L Ayala 4; B Traber 13;
S Rivera 5; J Rauch 3; J Smoltz 21; O Villarreal 7; W Ledezma 3; C Paronto 4.


UMPIRES: HP--Tim Mcclelland. 1B--Chad Fairchild. 2B--Marty Foster.
3B--Fieldin Culbreth.

T--3:08. Att--29,144.
Weather: 89 degrees, clear. Wind: 8 mph, right to
left.</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
WASHINGTON 0
ATLANTA 13 FINAL</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WASHINGTON (0) AT ATLANTA (13) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ATLANTA 1ST: Y Escobar doubled to deep right. E Renteria grounded out to
shortstop, Y Escobar to third. C Jones singled to left, Y Escobar scored.
A Jones grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, C Jones out at
second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 1.

ATLANTA 3RD: Y Escobar doubled to right. E Renteria singled to left,
Y Escobar to third. C Jones singled to left, Y Escobar scored, E Renteria to
second. A Jones bunt popped out foul to catcher. E Renteria stole third.
J Francoeur hit sacrifice fly to left, E Renteria scored. B McCann singled to
center, C Jones to second. M Diaz struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 4TH: J Saltalamacchia walked. J Smoltz sacrificed to first,
J Saltalamacchia to second. Y Escobar reached on infield single to catcher,
J Saltalamacchia to third. E Renteria singled to right, J Saltalamacchia scored,
Y Escobar to third. L Ayala relieved M Bowie. C Jones singled to right,
Y Escobar scored, E Renteria to third. A Jones singled to left, E Renteria
scored, C Jones to second. J Francoeur singled to center, C Jones scored,
A Jones to second. B McCann grounded into double play, third to second to first,
J Francoeur out at second.(4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 7.

ATLANTA 5TH: B Traber relieved L Ayala. M Diaz doubled to left center.
J Saltalamacchia struck out swinging. J Smoltz reached on infield single to
pitcher, M Diaz to third. Y Escobar singled to center, M Diaz scored, J Smoltz
to second. P Orr ran for J Smoltz. E Renteria singled to center, P Orr scored,
Y Escobar to third. C Jones grounded into fielder's choice to third, Y Escobar
scored, E Renteria out at second. C Woodward ran for C Jones. A Jones struck
out swinging. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 10.

ATLANTA 6TH: R Fick in right field. J Francoeur singled to center.
B McCann homered to right, J Francoeur scored. M Diaz struck out swinging.
J Saltalamacchia reached on infield single to shortstop. P Orr grounded out to
second, J Saltalamacchia to second. Y Escobar grounded out to third. (2 Runs,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 12.

ATLANTA 7TH: S Rivera relieved B Traber. J Flores catching. W Harris fouled
out to third. C Woodward doubled to deep left. C James hit for O Villarreal.
C James grounded out to pitcher, C Woodward to third. J Francoeur singled to
left, C Woodward scored. S Thorman fouled out to catcher. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 13.</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WASHINGTON (0) AT ATLANTA (13) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Washington Starting Lineups -- R Langerhans CF, F Lopez SS, R Zimmerman 3B,
D Young 1B, A Kearns RF, R Church LF, R Belliard 2B, B Schneider C,
M Bowie LHP.

Atlanta Starting Lineups -- Y Escobar 2B, E Renteria SS, C Jones 3B, A Jones
CF, J Francoeur RF, B McCann C, M Diaz LF, J Saltalamacchia 1B, J Smoltz RHP.

Umpires -- Tim Mcclelland (HP), Chad Fairchild (1B), Marty Foster (2B),
Fieldin Culbreth (3B).

Gametime Weather: 89 degrees, Clear, wind right to left at 8 mph.


WASHINGTON 1ST: R Langerhans struck out swinging. F Lopez singled to left.
R Zimmerman flied out to center. F Lopez to second on wild pitch by J Smoltz.
D Young grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 0.

ATLANTA 1ST: Y Escobar doubled to deep right. E Renteria grounded out to
shortstop, Y Escobar to third. C Jones singled to left, Y Escobar scored.
A Jones grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, C Jones out at
second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 1.

WASHINGTON 2ND: A Kearns singled to right center. R Church popped out to
third. R Belliard reached on infield single to shortstop, A Kearns to second.
B Schneider flied out to left. M Bowie struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 1.

ATLANTA 2ND: J Francoeur walked. B McCann struck out looking. M Diaz
singled to center, J Francoeur to second. J Saltalamacchia flied out to right,
J Francoeur to third. J Smoltz flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 1.

WASHINGTON 3RD: R Langerhans struck out swinging. F Lopez struck out
swinging. R Zimmerman flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 1.

ATLANTA 3RD: Y Escobar doubled to right. E Renteria singled to left,
Y Escobar to third. C Jones singled to left, Y Escobar scored, E Renteria to
second. A Jones bunt popped out foul to catcher. E Renteria stole third.
J Francoeur hit sacrifice fly to left, E Renteria scored. B McCann singled to
center, C Jones to second. M Diaz struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 3.

WASHINGTON 4TH: D Young flied out to left. A Kearns struck out looking.
R Church singled to center. R Belliard struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 4TH: J Saltalamacchia walked. J Smoltz sacrificed to first,
J Saltalamacchia to second. Y Escobar reached on infield single to catcher,
J Saltalamacchia to third. E Renteria singled to right, J Saltalamacchia scored,
Y Escobar to third. L Ayala relieved M Bowie. C Jones singled to right,
Y Escobar scored, E Renteria to third. A Jones singled to left, E Renteria
scored, C Jones to second. J Francoeur singled to center, C Jones scored,
A Jones to second. B McCann grounded into double play, third to second to first,
J Francoeur out at second.(4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 7.

WASHINGTON 5TH: B Schneider grounded out to first. N Logan hit for
L Ayala. N Logan singled to right. R Langerhans grounded out to first, N Logan
to second. F Lopez walked. R Zimmerman struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 7.

ATLANTA 5TH: B Traber relieved L Ayala. M Diaz doubled to left center.
J Saltalamacchia struck out swinging. J Smoltz reached on infield single to
pitcher, M Diaz to third. Y Escobar singled to center, M Diaz scored, J Smoltz
to second. P Orr ran for J Smoltz. E Renteria singled to center, P Orr scored,
Y Escobar to third. C Jones grounded into fielder's choice to third, Y Escobar
scored, E Renteria out at second. C Woodward ran for C Jones. A Jones struck
out swinging. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 10.

WASHINGTON 6TH: Y Escobar at shortstop. W Harris in center field.
C Woodward at third base. O Villarreal relieved J Smoltz. P Orr at second base.
D Young grounded out to shortstop. R Fick hit for A Kearns. R Fick flied out to
center. R Church doubled to deep left. R Belliard grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 10.

ATLANTA 6TH: R Fick in right field. J Francoeur singled to center.
B McCann homered to right, J Francoeur scored. M Diaz struck out swinging.
J Saltalamacchia reached on infield single to shortstop. P Orr grounded out to
second, J Saltalamacchia to second. Y Escobar grounded out to third. (2 Runs,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 12.

WASHINGTON 7TH: S Thorman at first base. J Saltalamacchia catching.
B Schneider flied out to right. J Flores hit for B Traber. J Flores grounded out
to third. R Langerhans struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 12.

ATLANTA 7TH: S Rivera relieved B Traber. J Flores catching. W Harris fouled
out to third. C Woodward doubled to deep left. C James hit for O Villarreal.
C James grounded out to pitcher, C Woodward to third. J Francoeur singled to
left, C Woodward scored. S Thorman fouled out to catcher. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 13.

WASHINGTON 8TH: W Ledezma relieved O Villarreal. F Lopez struck out
swinging. T Batista hit for R Zimmerman. T Batista fouled out to right.
D Young grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0,
ATLANTA 13.

ATLANTA 8TH: T Batista at first base. J Rauch relieved S Rivera. D Jimenez
at third base. M Diaz singled to center. J Saltalamacchia grounded into double
play, second to shortstop to first, M Diaz out at second. P Orr struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 13.

WASHINGTON 9TH: C Paronto relieved W Ledezma. R Fick singled to center.
R Church grounded into double play, third to second to first, R Fick out at
second. R Belliard doubled to left. D Jimenez grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 13.</div>

 

Smoltz, Jones help Braves crush Nationals

<h3>ATLANTA 13, WASHINGTON 0</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- John Smoltz was definitely happy thatChipper Jones was playing on Wednesday.

Jones drove in four runs and Smoltz hurled five shutout inningsto power the Atlanta Braves to a 13-0 rout over the WashingtonNationals to sweep the three-game series.

Jones, a five-time All-Star, has played with Smoltz (9-4) forthe better of 15 seasons, the longest of any tandem in the majorleagues, and has powered Smoltz and the Braves to victory inquite a few of Smoltz's 202 major-league victories. But thathas not happened often as of late, as Jones has been sidelinedwith injuries. With Jones feeling chipper, it seemed like oldtimes on Wednesday.

Jones gave his teammate the lead in the first inning by smashinga single off Washington starter Micah Bowie (4-3) to left fieldand extended the advantage to 2-0 in with a RBI base knock inthe third.

The long-time Atlanta third baseman drove in another run with asingle in Atlanta's four-run fourth and padded the advantage to10-0 when he plated a run on a fielder's choice in the fifth.

In Smoltz's last start on Friday, the Braves were blanked by theRed Sox as the 35-year old Jones sat out with a tweaked groin.A disgruntled Smoltz, who was rocked for five runs and eighthits in six frames, commented that his long-time teammate shouldhave been playing through his injury.

Hearing the statements on the radio, Jones took exception andpublicly criticized the Atlanta ace, setting off a public soapopera the likes of which were never seen before in manager BobbyCox's tenure. The duo worked out their difficulties in aclosed door meeting on Sunday.

Jones' offensive outburst gave Smoltz more of a cushion than theseven-time All-Star needed.

The 40-year old ace scattered five hits with one walk and sevenstrikeouts in five shutout frames to improve to 19-11 with a2.63 ERA and 17 saves in 64 games - 38 starts - against theNationals franchise.

With the game well in hand, both Smoltz and Jones were liftedfor pinch runners in the bottom of the fifth inning to applausefrom the Turner Field crowd.

Atlanta's offense, which had just 23 hits in 153 at-bats overits recent five-game slide, was one hit away from matching thattotal in this one. Every Atlanta starter, including Smoltz, hadat least one hit in a season-high 22-hit attack.

Rookie Yunel Escobar had four hits and scored four times.Jones, Edgar Renteria, Jeff Francoeur and Matt Diaz all addedthree hits.

Brian McCann smashed his seventh homer - a two-run shot - in thesixth.

Bowie allowed six runs and nine hits with two walks and twostrikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.

Ryan Church had two hits for the Nationals, who surrendered themost hits in Washington history.

 

Smoltz, Jones help Braves crush Nationals

<h3>ATLANTA 13, WASHINGTON 0</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- John Smoltz was definitely happy thatChipper Jones was playing on Wednesday.

Jones drove in four runs and Smoltz hurled five shutout inningsto power the Atlanta Braves to a 13-0 rout over the WashingtonNationals to sweep the three-game series.

Jones, a five-time All-Star, has played with Smoltz (9-4) forthe better of 15 seasons, the longest of any tandem in the majorleagues, and has powered Smoltz and the Braves to victory inquite a few of Smoltz's 202 major-league wins.

But that has nothappened often as of late, as Jones has been sidelined withinjuries. But with Jones feeling chipper, it seemed like oldtimes on Wednesday.

"It was a picture perfect day for us," Jones said. "We wereable to get the win and the offense woke back up."

Jones gave his teammate the lead in the first inning by smashinga single off Washington starter Micah Bowie (4-3) to left fieldand extended the advantage to 2-0 in with a RBI base hit in thethird.

The long-time Atlanta third baseman drove in another run with asingle in Atlanta's four-run fourth and padded the advantage to10-0 when he plated a run on a fielder's choice in the fifth.

"I was coming up with guys on third and less than two outs,every at bat," Jones said. "It made my job easy."

In Smoltz's last start on Friday, the Braves were blanked by theRed Sox as the 35-year-old Jones sat out with a tweaked groin.Smoltz, who was rocked for five runs and eight hits in sixframes, insinuated that his long-time teammate should have beenplaying through his injury.

Hearing the comments on the radio, Jones took exception andpublicly criticized the Atlanta ace, setting off a public soapopera the likes of which were never seen before in manager BobbyCox's tenure. The duo worked out their difficulties in aclosed door meeting on Sunday.

Jones' offensive outburst gave Smoltz more of a cushion than theseven-time All-Star needed.

The 40-year-old ace scattered five hits with one walk and sevenstrikeouts in five shutout frames to improve to 19-11 with a2.63 ERA and 17 saves in 64 games - 38 starts - against theNationals franchise.

"It was good," said Smoltz, who was upset with the media'scoverage of his spat with Jones and promised to have "asurprise" in store for them in an interview on Atlanta radiostation 790 the Zone on Monday. "(The win was) prettyimportant."

With the game well in hand, both Smoltz and Jones were liftedfor pinch runners in the bottom of the fifth inning to applausefrom the Turner Field crowd.

"It was big (to get Smoltz out of the game early)," Jones said."Believe it or not, he was struggling against that team. Theywere making him work. It was good to get him out of there afterfive to save him for as many games as you can."

"We had about a nine-run lead, I think" Cox said. "(Smoltz) isstill not 100-percent with his shoulder."

Atlanta's offense, which had just 23 hits in 153 at-bats overits recent five-game slide, was one hit away from matching thattotal in this one. Every Atlanta starter, including Smoltz, hadat least one hit in a season-high 22-hit attack.

"If a team was overdue to break out of it, it was our team," Coxsaid. "It was a good night. Everybody chipped in and swung thebats well."

"It all evens out," Jones said. "It's a crazy game. It'scyclical."

The 22-hits were the most smashed by the Braves in a game sinceApril 18, 1999 when the club collected 24 hits at Colorado.

Rookie Yunel Escobar had four hits and scored four times.Jones, Edgar Renteria, Jeff Francoeur and Matt Diaz all addedthree hits.

Brian McCann smashed his seventh homer - a two-run shot - in thesixth.

Bowie allowed six runs and nine hits with two walks and twostrikeouts over 3 1/3 innings. The lefthander has allowed 11earned runs in 6 2/3 frames at Turner Field.

"This is not the first team I've broken out of a slump," Bowiesaid. "I've done it throughout my career. They got a lot ofballs to hit and they hit them. Every time I made a mistake, itshowed up on the board."

Ryan Church had two hits for the Nationals, who surrendered themost hits in Washington history.