Monday, October 7 - Braves have 8-3 hangover

Braves have 8-3 hangover

Regulars watch from dugout

By I.J. Rosenberg, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, October 7, 1991

         After all the celebration Saturday afternoon that reached into the wee hours Sunday morning, the Atlanta Braves' regular season came to a predictable end several hours later. Playing with all of their regulars on the bench, the Braves fell to Houston and their "B' team 8-3 before 42,764 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

         It didn't seem to matter to the fans, however, as they cheered for many unfamiliar faces:

         There was Vinny Castilla, starting in his first game at shortstop and getting his first hit.

         There was catcher Jerry Willard, slamming his first major league home run since 1987.

         There was Deion Sanders, a familiar face on the bases but not at the plate. He got his first at-bat since July 31, striking out.

         Lefthander Charlie Leibrandt, however, did take his usual turn in the rotation and pitched four innings, giving up four runs on five hits. "The intensity just wasn't there, but it was such a nice day yesterday that I'm not worrying about this one," said Liebrandt (15-13).

         "We just tried to rest everyone today," said manager Bobby Cox. "I'm not worried about losing." There hasn't been much of that lately. The Braves lost for the first time in nine games and finished the season at 94-68, their best record in Atlanta. They also ended the season with the best second-half record in the majors at 55-28, 30-11 at home.

         The Astros picked up their first victory against Atlanta in 10 meetings, but the Atlanta veterans enjoyed their afternoon in the dugout. "No question, it felt good," said catcher Greg Olsen, getting his first game off since Aug. 31. "I sat in the dugout with some sunflower seeds, had a candy bar and remembered how much fun we had [Saturday]. It was a real nice off day." 

Houston Recap:
Gerald Young, cf-rf   0 for 3 with 2 bb
Andy Mota, 2b   1 for 5 with 1 r
Jose Tolemtino, 1b   2 for 4 with 1 r, 1 rbi, 1 bb and 1 so
Mike Simms, rf   1 for 5 with 1 r, 2 rbi and 1 so
Javier Ortiz, lf   2 for 4 with 2 r and 1 bb
Andujar Cedeno, ss   1 for 4 with 2 r, 2 rbi, 1 bb and 1 so
Gary Cooper, 3b   2 for 4 with 1 r, 1 rbi, 1 bb and 2 so
Scott Servais, c   3 for 4 with 2 rbi and 1 bb
Pete Harnisch, p   0 for 2 with 1 so
Xavier Hernandez, p   0 for 1 with 1 so
Casey Candaele, ph   0 for 1

Batting
2B: J Tolentino (4, off C Leibrandt); G Cooper (1, off M Wolhlers; S Servais 2 (3, 1 off R St. Claire, 1 off M Wohlers)
3B: J Ortiz (1, off J Clancy)
HR: M Simms (3, off C Leibrandt, 3rd inn, 1 on, 1 out to deep LCF); A Cedeno (9, off J Clancy, 5th inn, 1 on, 1 out)
SH: P Harnish (7, off J Clancy)
RBI: A Cedeno 2 (36); S Servais 2 (6); M Simms 2 (16); G Cooper (2); J Tolentino (6)
RBI: C Candaele (50); A Cedeno (34)
2-out RBI: S Servais 2; G Cooper
Team LOB: 10
With RISP: 7 for 14

Fielding
E: A Cedeno (18); J Tolentino (1)

Baserunning
SB: G Young (16, 2nd base off K Mercker/F Cabrera)

Pickoffs: J Toleninto (1st base by C Leibrandt); J Ortiz (1st base by C Leibrandt); S Servais (2nd base by J Clancy)

Pitching:
Pete Harnisch, W (12-9), 5 ip, 3 h, 3 r, 3 er, 2 bb, 6 so, 1 hr, 85 pit with 55 str
Xavier Hernandez, H (5), 3 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 5 so, 60 pit with 43
Curt Schilling, 1 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 2 so, 9 pit with 7 str

Atlanta Recap:
Keith Mitchell, cf   1 for 5 with 1 r and 2 so
Jeff Treadway, 2b   1 for 4
Tommy Gregg, rf   0 for 4 with 2 so
Brian Hunter, lf   1 for 4 with 1 rbi and 1 so
Jerry Willard, c   1 for 2 with 1 r and 2 rbi
Francisco Cabrera, c   0 for 2 with 2 so
Mike Bell, 1b   0 for 3 with 1 bb and 1 so
Vinny Castilla, ss   1 for 4 with 2 so
Charlie Leibrandt, p   0 for 1 with 1 so
Sid Bream, ph   0 for 1
Deion Sanders, ph   0 for 1 with 1 so
Rico Rossy, ph   0 for 1 with 1 so

Batting:
HR: J Willard (1, off P Harmisch. 4th inn, 1 on, 1 out to deep RCF)
RBI: J Willard 2 (4); B Hunter (50)
Team LOB: 7
With RISP: 1 for 7

Fielding
PB: F Cabrera (3)
E: C Leibrandt (2); J Blauser 2 (17)

Pitching:
Charlie Leibrandt, L (15-13), 4 ip, 5 h, 4 r, 4 er, 4 bb, 3 so, 1 hr, 86 p with 50 s
Jim Clancy, 1 ip, 3 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 0 so, 1 hr, 19 p with 12 s
Mark Wohlers, 2 ip, 2 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 2 so, 29 p wiht 17 s
Kent Mercker, 1 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 1 bb, 0 so, 17 p with 10 s
Randy St. Claire, 1 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 2 so, 12 p wit 10 s

Pickoffs: J Clancy (2; S Servais, 2nd base); C Leibrandt 2 (4; J Tolentino, 1st base, J Ortiz, 1st base)

Astros    013 020 020   8r 12h 2e
Braves   100 200 000   3r 6h 3e

Attendance: 42,764

Time: 2:59