Houston breaks Atlanta's 10-game division series win streak
By Paul Newberry AP SPORTS REPORTER
ATLANTA: Daryle Ward, who started the season in Triple-A, is making a big impact in October for the Houston Astros.
Ward's leadoff homer against Greg Maddux in the sixth inning sent the Astros on their way to a 6-1 victory Tuesday over the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NL division series.
The win provided hope that Houston will end its history of playoff failures, and was a troubling start for a team with its own postseason struggles.
The Astros sealed the victory in the ninth with four runs against reliever Mike Remlinger. Carl
Everett had a sacrifice fly before Ken Caminiti haunted the Braves again with a three-run homer.
Playing for San Diego, Caminiti hit a 10th-inning homer against Kerry Ligtenberg to win the first game of the 1998 NL championship series. The Padres went on to a 4-2 victory over Atlanta.
The East champion Braves, making their eighth straight postseason appearance, lost only their second division series game since the format was instituted in 1995.
Before Tuesday, they were 12-1 overall, including 10 straight victories.
Houston, which clinched its third straight Central title on the final day of the season, has never won in five playoff series, including a 3-0 sweep by the Braves in 1997.
The Astros won't get swept this year, seizing the home-field advantage in the best-of-5 series.
Of course, the home field was not much of an advantage to the Braves, who led the majors with 103 wins but drew the smallest crowd in Atlanta's 44-game postseason history.
The turnout of 39,119 was nearly 11,000 short of capacity at Turner Field and easily eclipsed the previous low of 42,117 for Game 1 of the 1998 NL championship series.
Ward, the son of former major leaguer Gary Ward, was recalled from the minors for the second time on July 20. He took over for the slumping Derek Bell and doubled in the first three runs Sunday of a 9-4 victory over Los Angeles, securing the division title.
On Tuesday, he came through again, hitting the first pitch of the sixth into the right-field seats against Maddux to break a 1-1 tie.
The Braves managed only seven hits against starter Shane Reynolds, who went six innings, and three relievers.
Houston pitched around MVP candidate Chipper Jones, walking him twice on four pitches.
The Astros went ahead in the second. Everett led off with a bunt single, Caminiti walked and Tony Eusebio drove in the run with a line drive up the middle.
But Maddux escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam by pitching out on an attempted squeeze bunt by Shane Reynolds. Caminiti, breaking from third, was tagged by Chipper Jones just short of home.
The Astros loaded the bases again with one out in the fifth, but Caminiti grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
Gerald Williams driving home Jose Hernandez with a two-out single to center. The Braves then loaded the bases, but Ryan Klesko struck out swinging on a 90 mph fastball.
On the very next pitch, Ward homered into the first row of the right-field seats to open the sixth.
The Astros didn't leave for Atlanta until late Monday night, waiting at the Houston airport for the outcome of a wild-card playoff in Cincinnati. When the New York Mets beat the Reds 5-0, the chartered jet flew east.
Houston was a clear underdog against the powerful Braves, having lost six of seven meeting during
the regular season.
Atlanta clinched its division with a week to go, winning 11 of its last 13 games. After a 12-game winning streak in September, Houston lost nine of its last 15.
Maddux was 19-9 during the regular season and had the same record lifetime against the Astros with a 2.30 ERA. But he also surrendered a career-high 258 hits, a trend that continued in the division series.
Maddux slipped to 9-9 lifetime in postseason play. He had been 4-0 in the division series.
Houston had 10 hits in seven innings against Maddux, but stranded eight runners.
Notes: The Braves are the first NL team to claim 10 division titles. Oakland has captured 10 division flags in the AL. ... Ernie Johnson, who retired after nearly four decades as a Braves broadcaster, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... The pitchers for Game 2: Atlanta's Kevin Millwood (18-7) against Houston's Jose Lima (21-10). ... In the last three division series, Braves pitchers had a 1.30 ERA. ... The Braves scored a franchise-record 840 runs, eclipsing the mark of 826 set the previous season. ... Houston's Larry Dierker is only the fourth manager in baseball history to lead his team to first-place finishes in each of his first three seasons. The others: Detroit's Hughie Jennings (1907-09), Ralph Houk of the New York Yankees (1961-63) and Jim Frey with Kansas City (1980, second half of '81) and Cubs.