Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510180012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium
The Braves advanced for the third time in five years by beating the Cincinnati Reds 6-0 on Saturday night, completing the first sweep in the National League Championship Series since 1982.
Atlanta got a three-run homer from series MVP Mike Devereaux and a combined three-hitter from four pitchers to finish the best-of-seven series.
Atlanta, which reached the World Series in 1991 and 1992 with seven-game victories over Pittsburgh, has six days off before the Series begins at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on Oct.21 against Cleveland or Seattle.
This Braves team is considered the best of the '90s, and its talent showed against the Reds. Atlanta trailed only once in the four games, won twice in its last at-bat and outscored Cincinnati 19-5. The Reds hit .103 with runners in scoring position.
Aside from starting pitcher Pete Schourek, Cincinnati didn't put up much of a fight in its last game under manager Davey Johnson, who will be replaced by Ray Knight next season. Cincinnati struck out 10 more times and hit into another three double plays.
The only hits Steve Avery gave up were a line single to right in the second by Benito Santiago and a grounder to shortstop that Barry Larkin beat out in the sixth. Ed Taubensee had an infield single in the eighth off Alejandro Pena.
Atlanta got its first run in the third when Rafael Belliard led off with a single up the middle, Avery moved him to second with a line drive off Schourek's left wrist and Mark Lemke hit a two-out single to left that easily scored Belliard.
The Braves loaded the bases with one out in the fifth and failed to score, but broke open the game in the seventh when Marquis Grissom led off with a triple and scored on a passed ball. After a pair of walks by Mike Jackson, Devereaux hit a three-run homer to left - the Braves' third three-run shot of the series.
The Braves' fans responded with the loudest chant of the series, yelling ``Sweep, Sweep!,'' while doing their familiar tomahawk chop.
Luis Polonia added an RBI single down the third-base line as a pinch hitter later in the seventh to make it a 6-0 lead. Atlanta sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning.
Avery, who wasn't expected to get a start in the playoffs, struck out six in six innings and walked three. He had induced only six double-play grounders all season long, but he got three in the clincher.
Mariano Duncan grounded into one in the second, Reggie Sanders did with two on and none out in the fourth and Ron Gant did it in the sixth on the last pitch from Avery.
Schourek did all he could to keep the game close, striking out five, walking one and stranding eight runners before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh.
Now that the Braves are back in the World Series, they will try to do what they couldn't in 1991 against Minnesota and in 1992 against Toronto - win it. One big change this time will be the presence of Greg Maddux, certain to win his fourth consecutive Cy Young Award. With Maddux, Avery, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine, the Braves' staff is widely acclaimed as the best in baseball.
NOTES: Cincinnati scored the fewest runs of any team in an NLCS. ... The game drew a crowd of 52,067, the first sellout of the series. Game 3 was 643 short of a sellout. ... David Justice was scratched from the starting lineup and replaced by Devereaux after being hit on the knee by a ball during batting practice. It's the same knee he hurt a week earlier in the first round against Colorado when he fouled a ball off it ... Sanders had one more strikeout, giving him nine in the series and 18 in the postseason.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB