Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves lose to Giants 3-1 in NLDS
It was an emotional night for the Atlanta Braves and their fans in Atlanta Monday. Down 2-1 in their National League Divisional Series (NLDS) against the San Francisco Giants, the Braves needed a win to
stay alive, but a two-run seventh for the Giants was too much for the Braves to overcome in a 3-2 loss for the Braves, and a 3-1 series win for San Francisco.
Atlanta was missing Chipper Jones, Martin Prado, and closer Billy Wagner, but the confidence heading into the game was still high. For one, it was Bobby Cox’s last season as a manager, and what better
way to send him off than a trip to the World Series? But it wasn't meant to be.
“We all had our schedules cleared until November,” said Braves outfielder Matt Diaz. “We honestly thought we were a team of destiny. We ran short a little bit tonight. We're never going to make excuses.
We fought through every injury you can ever fight through and still had a shot tonight to extend this series. We didn't do it. But I know for a fact that everybody left it out there.”
Brooks Conrad may be feeling worse than anybody after committing three errors in game three of the NLDS Sunday, allowing the Giants a ninth inning comeback, and a one-game lead in the series.
Derek Lowe allowed just one hit in the first six innings in game four, a Cody Ross solo home run, but in the seventh it all began to fall apart. Lowe left in the seventh inning after loading the bases,
and managing just one out.
Peter Moylan came in looking for a double play to end the inning, and keep a slim one-run lead on the Giants. But a ground ball by Juan Uribe was just a little too far for Alex Gonzalez to field cleanly,
and he ended up pulling Omar Infante off second base with a high throw. The play resulted in the tying run coming home.
Had Infante recorded the out, the tying run would still have counted, but the Braves would have had two out when Aaron Rowand struck out. Instead the Giants had another chance to score the go ahead run
with two out, and Cody Ross made no mistakes as he punched one through the right side of the infield for an RBI single, and a 3-2 Giant lead.
Atlanta lost all three games in this series by one run, and they had no intention of letting the Giants walk away with an easy victory. In the bottom of the ninth, two walks put the go-ahead run on first
base for Atlanta, but Brian Wilson was able to strand them by retiring Infante, and Melky Cabrera.
“I'm proud of this team,” Cox said. “They played their hearts out and I'll miss them.”
Bumgarner earned the win for the Giants, going six innings and allowing two runs on six hits.
Brian McCann hit a home run in the sixth, and batted in Atlanta’s first run on a sacrifice fly in the third.
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