Sunday, October 13, 1991 - Braves' extra effort falls short

Braves' extra effort falls short

Pirates tie series with 3-2 victory on LaValliere's pinch hit in 10th

By I.J. Rosenberg, The Atlanta Constitution, October 14, 1991

It was a playoff game that kept a city gnawing on it's fingernails until after midnight. It was ruled by pitching, had more than a few hairy moments and pushed into extra innings. But in the end, the 51,109 on hand had little reason to wave those tomahawks. Most will wake up this morning bleary-eyed.

         The Pirates, a club that just 24 hours ago looked so troubled, made sure Sunday that the playoff series will go back to Pittsburgh. Getting two-out pinch hit from Mike LaValliere, the Pirates knocked off the Braves 3-2 in 10 innings at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to even the series at two games apiece. In Game 5 today, Atlanta's Tom Glavine will face Pittsburgh's Zane Smith at 3:05 p.m. The series will then return to Pittsburgh for game 6 Wednesday and game 7 (if necessary) on Thursday. 

         LaValliere's first pinch hit of the season came off rookie Mark Wohlers after Kent Mercker had put the winning run in scoring position. "Playing for Jim [Leyland] all year, he uses the entire roster so you are always ready," said LaValliere. "I was looking for the pitch, guarding the plate, not trying to overswing. I hit a fastball. The way I look at it is I have had six years of experience and train for those kind of spots."

         In the bottom of the inning the Braves went down in order against Stan Belinda, but Lonnie Smith made it interesting when he led off by sending a ball deep to right. Bobby Bonilla caught it with his back up against the wall. "I'm not a big momentum guy, but it certainly was a big game," said Pittsburgh manager Leyland. "It is nice to be back even."

         Today's game will be a battle of lefthanders. Both Glavine and Smith lost their first start in the playoffs. "Nobody really has the momentum," said Braves first baseman Brian Hunter. "Tomorrow will be the big turning point. That will be the big momentum maker right there."

         It was a game either team could have won. The Pirates wasted runner after runner. The had a man in scoring position in innings Nos. 5-8 with a chance to take the lead. Fortunately for the Braves, in three of those innings, second baseman Jose Lind was at the plate when they needed the hit after two outs. Then in the ninth, the Braves put a runner at second with two outs and manager Bobby Cox went to left-handed pinch hitter Jerry Willard, who has been used very sparingly this season. Willard popped out to first to end the inning.

         Then came the 10th. Mercker walked Andy Van Slyke but got Bonilla and Barry Bonds to fly out. The Van Slyke stole second and Steve Buechele walked. Cox went to his bullpen and brought on the right-handed Wohlers. Leyland countered by pinch hitting the left-handed hitting LaValliere for Don Slaught. The move paid off. "I tried to throw a fastball out and away," said Wohlers. "But I got it down and in. That's not where it was supposed to go. I got it right in his hitting zone."

         Atlanta starter Charlie Leibrandt came into the evening having lost his last two decisions. In his previous three starts he had allowed 12 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings, walking more (nine) than he had stuck out (six). 

         For the second straight game, the Braves scored in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Smith, who came into the game hitless in 10 at-bats in the series, hit a ground-rule double , bounced a Randy Tomlin fastball over the fence in right-center. Smith then went to third on Terry Pendleton's line drive to right. The play at third was close; Buechele was leaning back when he took th one-bounce throw from Bonilla, ans Smith's headfirst slide just beat the tag. Smith came home on Ron Gant's grounder to short. 

         The Braves weren't through, however. David Justice followed with a single - his fifth hit of the series - and went to second on a single to left by Hunter. Greg Olsen, who had a two-run homer the day before, pushed a ball just past shortstop Jay Bell into left - his fifth hit of the series - and Justice came home as left fielder Barry Bond's throw short-hopped catcher Slaught and skipped to the screen , allowing the runners to advance to second and third. The inning ended, however, when Mark Lemke grounded to short.

         The Pirates closed the deficit to 2-1 in the second inning. Leibrandt walked Bonilla, and after Bonds popped to third, Buechele singled and Slaught ripped a ball off the glove of Pendleton at third to score Bonilla. 

          The Pirates tied it in the fifth on an unearned run. After two outs, Gary Redus singled. Bell then blooped a hit into short right field. Justice fielded it cleanly and threw to third, trying to get Redus. But the ball hit got passed Pendleton, allowing Redus to come home. Justice was charged with an error.

Pirates Hitting Recap
Gary Redus, 1b   1 for 5 with 1 r and 1so
Jay Bell, ss   3 for  5 with 1 so
Andy Van Slyke, cf   0 for 3 with 1 r, 2 bb and 1 so
Bobby Bonilla, rf   1 for 3 with 1 r and 2 bb
Barry Bonds, lf   1 for 5 with 1 bb
Steve Buechele, 3b   3 for 3 with 1 so
Don Slaught,c   1 for 4 with 1 rbi and 1 so
    Mike LaValliere ph-c   1 for 1 with 1 rbi
Jose Kind, 2b   0 for 4 with 2 so
Randy Tomlin, p   0 for 2
    Curt Wilkerson, ph   0 for 1 with 1 so
    Bob Walk, p 0 for 0
    Lloyd McClendon, ph   0 for 1
    Stan Belinda, p   0 for 0

SH: S Buechele (1, off M Stanton)
RBI: D Slaught (1); M LaValliere (1)
2-RBI: M LaValiere
Team LOB: 10
With RISH: 2 for 10

Fielding
E: Bonds (1)

Baserunning
SB: A Van Slyke (1, 2nd  K Mercker/G Olsen)
CS: B Bonilla (1, 2n base by C Leibrant/G Olsen)

Pirates Pitching Recap
Randy Tomlin   6 ip, 6 h, 2 r, 2 er, 2 bb, 1 so, 100 p with 68 s
Bob Walk   2 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 27 p with 16 s
Stan Belinda W (1-0)   2 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 1 bb, 1 so, 31 p with 16 s

Braves Hitting Recap
Lonnie Smith, lf   2 for 4 with 1 r, and 1 bb
Terry Pendleton, 3b   1 for 5 with 1 so
Ron Gant, cf   0 for 5 with 1 rbi and 1 so
David Justice, rf   1 for 4 with 1 r
Brian Hunter, 1b   1 for 3
    Sid Bream, ph-1b    0 for 1
Greg Olsen, c   1 for 3 with 1 rbi  and 1 bb
Mark Lemke, 2b   0 for 3 with 1 bb
Rafael Belliard, ss   1 for 3
Charlie Leibrandt, p   0 for 1
   Jim Clancy, p   0 for 0
   Tommy Gregg, ph   0 for1
   Mike Stanton, p    0 for 1
   Kent Mercker, p    0 for 0
   Mark Wohlers, p    0 for 0

2B: L Smith (1, off R Tomlin)
SH: C Leibrandt (1, off R Tomlin); R Belliard (2, off S Belinda)
RBI: G Olsen (3); R Gant (2)
2-out RBI: G Olsen
Team LOB: 7
With RISP: 1 for 8

Fielding
DP: 1 G Olsen-R Belliard-B Hunter
E: D Justice (1)
Outfield Assists: R Gant (S Buechele at home plate)

Braves Pitching Recap:
Charlie Leibrandt   6.2 ip, 8 h, 2 r, 1 er, 3 bb, 6 so, 114 p with 68 s
Jim Clancy   0.1 ip, 0 h, 0 r,  0 bb, 0 s, 5 p with 3 s
Mike Stanton   2 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 2 so, 32 p wit 23 s
Kent Mercker, L (0-1)   0.2 ip, 0 h, 1 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 0 so, 19 p with 8 s
Mark Wohlers,   0.1 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 0 so, 4 p with 4 s

Pickoffs:
Mike Stanton (1, J Bell, 2nd base (CS))

Time: 3:43
Attendance: 51,109