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Pitching rich

For the Braves, who's on the mound is what counts

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Posted: Tuesday May 02, 2000 04:43 PM

By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

	• Storylines • Series to See • All Thumbs • Heroes & Bums • Short Hops • Yogi-isms

It's all about the pitching.

Looking for the secret behind the Braves' club-record 14-game winning streak? Looking for a reason the Braves are again the team everyone's chasing in the NL East?

Try Glavine, Millwood, Mulholland and Maddux. Try, whether you like him or not, Rocker in the bulllpen.

Try pitching. It's all about the pitching in Atlanta.

The Braves have reeled off a club-record 14-game winning streak, still 12 short of the major-league record set by the New York Giants in 1916. What has made the streak so impressive is that they did it during an April that saw the most home runs ever hit in that month.

In an era where everyone hits, it's notable that almost no one is hitting the Braves.

"When you're going good like that," says Dodgers manager Davey Johnson, whose team has lost four straight to Atlanta during the streak, "you're going to get the breaks."

The Braves, of course, have made their own breaks. During their streak, the Braves have a microscopic 1.85 ERA. The Braves starters -- Tom Glavine, Kevin Millwood, Terry Mulholland and Greg Maddux -- are 11-0, with a 1.78 ERA. Atlanta pitchers have held opponents to a .206 batting average. John Rocker (1.08 ERA) has led a bullpen that is holding opponents to a .202 batting average.

Overall, the Braves, thanks to this streak, have a baseball-leading 3.00 ERA and lead the majors, too, by holding opponents to a .231 batting average.

Another semi-surprise: There may not be a Randy Johnson or Pedro Martinez on the staff, but the Braves get their share of strikeouts. They are third in the majors (with 183). They also lead the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.21).

That's called pitching.

On to the Baseball Week at a Glance, which asks this question: Do the Royals have to play road games?

The answer: At 2-11 away from Kauffman Stadium, it doesn't look like they are anyway.

The heat ... Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez are 11-0 between them, with ERA's of 0.91 and 1.27, respectively. How good can these guys get? Who is going to get to them? The answers, at least at this point, are not much better and no one.
Pitching inside Is Boston's Martinez just claiming his portion of the plate, or is he throwing at batters? Depends on who you talk to. For sure, the questions will make his next outing all the more interesting.
Still slugging Juiced balls, weaker pitching, stronger hitters, smaller parks ... whatever it is, that was the biggest April ever for home runs. A heads-up: Last May was the biggest home run month ever.
The red-hot Redbirds Without Mark McGwire for much of the start of this season, the Cardinals are still on top of the NL Central and looking like the team to beat. A showdown in Cincinnati looms this weekend, though.
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds, May 5-7 The first NL meeting of Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. -- and don't you know Cinergy Field will be rocking for this series. Each of these players has had his early season problems, McGwire with injuries and Griffey with average. None of it matters come this weekend. If you only watch one: Darryl Kile (5-1, 5.40) vs. Denny Neagle (2-0, 3.09) Saturday, May 6 McGwire 0-13, 7 Ks vs. Neagle lifetime
Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees, May 5-7 If the Orioles, a semi-surprise at this point of the season, are to get serious in their chase for the AL East pennant, it all starts here. The O's were 50-75 against the Yanks in the 90s -- with just one winning season. If you only watch one: Pat Rapp (3-1, 5.34) vs. Roger Clemens (2-2, 3.26) Saturday, May 6 Clemens (13-9 lifetime vs. O's) aims for win No. 250.
We're getting a little tired of praising this guy, but, hey, we're for giving it up when it's due. Randy Johnson : Here's another thumbs-up for you.
Hey Reds' fans : Think you were maybe asking a little too much, too soon? Sorry for putting the thumb on you while you're down, but ...
The Blue Jays led the majors in April with 43 home runs, then cracked four more on May 1. Juiced ball or whatever, that's a lot of dingers.
You gotta feel for Tony Gwynn , one of the best hitters of this era. This thumb's for that bum knee of his.
Bum -- Torii Hunter: Yikes! An 0-20 slide last week for the Twins' centerfielder -- he's 0-24 in his last seven games -- dumped his average from .327 to .228.
Hero -- John Rocker: Not for what he says, of course. The Braves' bigmouth showed why the team is still keeping him around when he held opponents to a baseball-best .087 average in April. Two hits in the first 17 plate appearances against him. Not bad. Darn it.
Bum -- Edgar Martinez: The Mariners' designated whiffer went through a 1-15 streak -- that's .067 -- shooting down another argument against letting pitchers hit.
Hero -- Edgardo Alfonzo: The Mets' second baseman went 15-25 (.600) last week with two homers and seven RBIs, helping New York stay within striking distance of the streaking Braves.
The Cardinals are 17-0 when they don't commit an error, 0-8 when they do.
California's Darin Erstad had a major-league record 48 hits in April, including a record 16 multi-hit games. He hit .253 last season.
Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick drove in 27 runs in April, three more than the club record set by Frank Robinson in 1969.
The Dodgers have started this season by allowing opponents to swipe base successfully every time they've tried -- 20 straight times.
The New York Yankees' Felix Jose returned to the majors after a five-year break and singled in his first two at-bats. He then went on the DL with a strained groin.
Our tribute to the banal banter of baseball "I was laughing my butt off." -- Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, after a streaker dropped his pants and mooned reliever John Rocker on Monday night in Los Angeles.

The Baseball Week at a Glance appears every Tuesday.

 

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