Saturday, May 04, 2002
NL Roundup
Braves rookie pulled after seven hitless innings
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Sports Writer
Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox never wavered, and Damian Moss didn't complain.
The rookie from Australia was denied a chance to finish his no-hit bid, pulled for a pinch-hitter after seven innings and 116 pitches Friday night.
St. Louis got its first hit on Fernando Vina's one-out single in the eighth off reliever Mike Remlinger. Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer in the 11th, and the Braves beat the Cardinals 2-1.
“I wanted to see him throw a no-hitter worse than you guys,” Cox said. “But he had so many pitches he wasn't going to make nine anyway, and he was tired, he was done.
“I think he'd rather have a good arm next year rather than a no-hitter.”
Moss, making his sixth career start, was typically wild in his longest outing in the majors. The left-hander walked seven — including two in the seventh — and bounced a handful of deliveries to the plate.
“I knew about the no-hitter, but that was the last thing on my mind,” Moss said. “Obviously, I was getting there and the bullpen's been great all year, so that's a wise choice to make.”
In other NL games, it was Arizona 6, Montreal 3; Philadelphia 3, Colorado 2; New York 11, Houston 3; Florida 8, Milwaukee 4; Pittsburgh 6, San Diego 4; Chicago 8, Los Angeles 3; and San Francisco 6, Cincinnati 1.
The Braves were bidding for the first combined no-hitter in the majors since July 12, 1997, when Pittsburgh's Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon beat Houston in 10 innings.
David Cone pitched seven hitless innings for the New York Yankees on Sept 2, 1996, but it was his first start since surgery that May and he was lifted by manager Joe Torre.
Moss, who was 16 when he signed with the Braves, has struggled with control his entire pro career. He moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation early this season because of injuries to Atlanta's other starters.
“I was out there scuffling,” Moss said. “I was battling against myself. I didn't feel good in the bullpen and I didn't feel good in the game, but I just made pitches when I had to.”
Cardinals starter Matt Morris was almost as good as Moss, giving up three hits in eight scoreless innings.
Jones hit his fifth homer on a 3-0 pitch from Gene Stechschulte (2-1).
“I was supposed to walk him,” Stechschulte said.
Chris Hammond (1-1) worked a perfect 10th for his first win in the majors since 1997 with Boston. John Smoltz allowed Mike Matheny's RBI single before earning his 10th save.
The Cardinals finished with three hits and lost for the 10th time in 14 games.
Diamondbacks 6, Expos 3
Curt Schilling struck out 14 in seven innings at Bank One Ballpark, and Arizona hit three straight homers for the second time in six days.
Schilling (6-1) allowed solo homers by Vladimir Guerrero and Michael Barrett but reached double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time in his seven starts. He joined teammate Randy Johnson as the only six-game winners in the majors.
Danny Bautista, Steve Finley and Damian Miller homered off Bruce Chen (2-2) in the first to put Arizona up 4-0. Just last Sunday in Florida, Finley, Miller and Mark Grace hit consecutive homers against Josh Beckett.
Slumping slugger Luis Gonzalez did not start for Arizona but entered in a double-switch to extend his streak of consecutive games played to 356, longest among active players.
Phillies 3, Rockies 2
Brandon Duckworth (2-2) pitched into the seventh and hit an RBI single to send visiting Colorado to its first loss in seven games under new manager Clint Hurdle.
Travis Lee homered as the Phillies won for just the third time in 14 games.
Mets 11, Astros 3
Jay Payton homered twice and John Valentin drove in four runs, leading Pedro Astacio (5-1) and New York to its seventh win in eight games.
Jeromy Burnitz also homered for the Mets at Astros Field.
Jeff Bagwell hit two home runs for Houston.
Pirates 6, Padres 4
Kip Wells (4-1) pitched shutout ball into the eighth and hit a home run as visiting Pittsburgh broke out of its offensive slump.
Rob Mackowiak also homered for the Pirates, who ended a season-high four-game losing streak. Mike Williams got his 11th save in as many opportunities.
Cubs 8, Dodgers 3
Fred McGriff homered twice and drove in four runs, and Alex Gonzalez hit a two-run shot for Chicago at Dodger Stadium.
McGriff's 37th multihomer game raised his career total to 451, one behind Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski for 26th place.
The Cubs took a 4-3 lead in the seventh as Delino DeShields scored from second when Corey Patterson bunted past charging third baseman Adrian Beltre for a double.
Marlins 8, Brewers 4
Preston Wilson homered twice and drove in four runs as Florida rallied past Milwaukee at Miller Park.
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