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| Avery needed to be on top of his game in Game 5. |
GAME 5
On the mound: The Phillies will send Curt Schilling (Grade C-XZ) out to the mound. Schilling, the last time out, pitched a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts against Atlanta, now we'll see if he can close out Atlanta on their home turf. Meanwhile, the Braves will send out Steve Avery (Grade B-YZ) to keep the dream alive.
Top of the 2nd: After Jeff Blauser boots a grounder with Darren Daulton reaching safely on an error, Pete Incaviglia makes the Braves pay with a two-run blast to left. Incaviglia now has 3 home runs this series.
Bottom of the 2nd: Fred McGriff hits his 4th HR of the series, a solo home run to right, cutting Philly's lead in half.
Bottom of the 3rd & 4th: Curt Schilling strikes out the side in the 3rd inning -- Steve Avery, Otis Nixon & Jeff Blauser. Schilling would strike out Fred McGriff & David Justice, back-to-back in the 4th inning, giving him 5 K's early on, with his only mistake being the McGriff home run back in the 2nd inning.
Bottom of the 6th: Otis Nixon leads off with a single, then steals second base. Jeff Blauser grounds out to second, while Nixon advances to third. Ron Gant, who had a big game in Game 4, grounds out [52-27] to third, while Nixon stays put. Fred McGriff pops up for 3rd out, Phillies still lead, 2-1.
Top of the 7th: Steve Avery has now pitched 5 scoreless innings since two-run homer by Pete Incaviglia, while striking out 3 of the last 6 batters.
Bottom of the 8th: The Phillies go to the pen, calling on reliever David West (Grade A*-XYW), while the Braves call on Sid Bream to pinch-hit in place of the pitcher (Bream strikes out). Jeff Blauser keeps 8th alive with two-out walk, but Ron Gant strikes out. The Phillies are three outs away from wrapping up the series.
Top of the 9th: The Braves' reliever Steve Bedrosian (Grade A&C*-YZ) walks the lead-off man in Kevin Stocker. Phillies' Jim Eisenreich hitting for the pitcher, flies out. Lenny Dykstra grounds out, while Stocker advances to second. The Phillies go to the bench and select Ricky Jordan to pinch-hit for Mariano Duncan, [42-22] Stocker steals third. Jordan grounds out to third though, for the 3rd out, stranding the insurance run at third.
Bottom of the 9th: The Phillies call on their wild closer Mitch Williams (Grade B*-XW) to face McGriff, Justice & Pendleton. Fred McGriff leads off with a single to center [15-10]. The fans are starting to make some noise, while the tomahawk chop is getting going... Williams sets, delivers, David Justice smacks this one down the line in left, into the corner in left, ricochets off the wall, McGriff scores, the rolling to the right, Pete Incaviglia finally gets to it, while Justice slides into third!
Phillies fans have got to be wondering why Incaviglia was still playing left, but the Phillies pay the price, while the winning run is now on third for Terry Pendleton, who already has two doubles for the night. To be honest, maybe they could have avoided allowing a triple with a better fielder, but one thing is for sure, that's all on Williams, you can't be leaving that in the zone, he's lucky Justice didn't get all of that. The Phillies' pitching coach Johnny Podres is out there trying to settle down Mitch.
Everyone is back in their positions...
Williams delivers, Pendleton hits this one past Morandini! This one is over! The Braves win, as they force a Game 6!
We will see you all back in Philadelphia for Game 6, as the Braves will now have their ace Greg Maddux on the mound.
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