Braves Pick Up the Slack

ATLANTA —  When teams are as successful and proud as the Atlanta Braves, they don’t handle embarrassment well.

Especially after they’ve made themselves look foolish.

A day after admittedly looking silly, the Braves did what they could to improve their self-image: They routed the Florida Marlins.

Atlanta defeated Florida, 7-1, in Game 2 of the National League championship series Wednesday to even the best-of-seven series, 1-1, as it shifts to Florida on Friday for the next three games.

The Braves rebounded from their Game 1 defensive meltdown--they gave up five unearned runs--behind the pitching of veteran left-hander Tom Glavine and the hitting of Chipper Jones and Ryan Klesko. This was what the Turner Field crowd of 48,933 had come to expect from the Braves.

It was a comeback befitting the team of the ‘90s.

“We played good defense, Tommy pitched a great game and we swung the bats well--just typical Atlanta Braves baseball,” said Klesko, who hit a two-run home run in the first inning.

“This team just picks itself up and moves on. After what happened [Tuesday] we knew what we had to do.”

On Tuesday, the Braves committed two errors that led to the Marlins’ unearned runs in a 5-3 loss.

But they were recharged overnight.

Atlanta attacked from the start, scoring three runs in the first inning to give Glavine and two relievers all the support they would need. Jones had three hits in five at-bats and drove in three runs.

But it was Glavine, making his ninth championship series start, who provided the biggest boost. He gave up one run and three hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking four.

“Tommy was really quick and very sharp,” Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said. “He really didn’t have his good fastball, and his pitch count was up high in the eighth so he had to come out, but overall he pitched a great game.”

Glavine received a standing ovation when Cox removed him after he walked Darren Daulton with two out in the eighth. Mike Catcher got the last out and Mark Wohlers pitched a scoreless ninth to close the game.

After dropping the ball, literally, behind Greg Maddux in the opener, the Braves supported Glavine with errorless defense, turning two double plays.

“A lot of people like to talk about must-win situations, but with this team, unless we’re facing elimination, we don’t look at things like that,” said Glavine, who improved his championship series record to 3-5.

“But I’m not going to say this wasn’t a huge win. I guess you could say this is as close as you can get to a must-win situation.”

The day began poorly for Florida. Left fielder Moises Alou couldn’t play because he injured his left wrist while trying to catch Klesko’s homer in Game 1.

Florida Manager Jim Leyland said X-rays of Alou’s wrist were negative. Alou is expected to undergo an MRI today, and Leyland said his status for Game 3 is uncertain.

After that bad news, Leyland watched Alex Fernandez pitch. Fernandez was hit hard, giving up five earned runs and six hits in 2 2/3 innings. The Braves had four extra-base hits against Fernandez, including the homers by Klesko and Jones. Even the outs were hit hard.

Leyland said that Fernandez, a Miami native, is one of the game’s best “big-game” pitchers. And Fernandez had a record of 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts against Atlanta during the regular season, so Leyland liked his chances of returning to Miami with a 2-0 series lead.

But Florida’s big-game pitcher didn’t have his big-game stuff.

The end came for Fernandez after Javy Lopez doubled to left with two out in the third. Earlier in the inning, Jones hit a two-run homer to right-center, giving the Braves a 5-0 lead.

“He left too many fat pitches, and they hit them,” Leyland said. “It’s pretty simple, he left pitches over the plate.”

The Miami starters’ ability to prevent big innings had been a key to the Marlins’ winning their first four playoff games. The Marlins had given up 12 runs before Wednesday’s game but no more than one in an inning.

It didn’t take long for that to end. Leading off the bottom of the first, Kenny Lofton laid down a bunt that rolled slowly along the third-base line.

Rushing to get the speedy Lofton, all-star catcher Charles Johnson threw wildly to first, his throw eluding first baseman Jeff Conine. The play was scored as a base hit and throwing error by Johnson as Lofton wound up at second.

The error was the first committed by Johnson this season.

With Lofton at second, Keith Lockhart tripled to right-center to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Fernandez thought he could get out of the inning cheaply enough after striking out Jones and Fred McGriff, but Klesko homered to right to put the Braves ahead, 3-0.

“It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Braves have a great team and that one game isn’t going to win this series,” Leyland said. “You have to win four games, and that’s what we’re both trying to do.”

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NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

SERIES AT A GLANCE

(Series tied, 1-1)

* Game 1: Florida 5, Atlanta 3

* Game 2: Atlanta 7, Florida 1

* Game 3: Friday at Florida, 5 p.m.

* Game 4: Saturday at Florida, 4:30 p.m.

* Game 5: Sunday at Florida, 1 p.m.

* Game 6: Tuesday at Atlanta, 5 p.m.*

* Game 7: Wednesday at Atlanta, 5 p.m.*

* if necessary