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Green
knocks Boston's Sox off
Braves win on Green's walk-off HR
Atlanta keeps rolling with 12-inning win
over Boston |
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
ATLANTA -- Forget the fact that this
wasn't a Yankees-Red Sox matchup in the
Bronx. It provided all of the excitement
and atmosphere any baseball fan would
savor, whether it be in October, or in
this case, early July.
One night after dropping a 13-inning
epic battle at Yankee Stadium, the Red
Sox ventured into Turner Field on Friday
night and found 42 ,231
energized fans witness Nick Green end a
classic battle and further establish
himself as a hometown hero.
Green's walk-off, three-run homer off
Anastacio Martinez with nobody out in
the 12th inning enabled the Braves to
continue their winning ways with a
rousing 6-3 win over the fatigued and
slumping Red Sox.
"It's a pretty important win," the
always humble and shy Green said. "The
fact that we continued winning is the
most important thing."
While winning for the seventh time in
their past nine games, the Braves
received a splendid effort from their
bullpen and managed to trade jabs with
the Red Sox throughout most of the
evening before Green delivered his
knockout blow.
"You don't expect (Green) to go deep
there," said J.D. Drew, who along with
Chipper Jones, provided a solo homer to
account for the only runs the Braves
scored during the first nine innings.
"But that was a big hit in a big
situation."
Mark DeRosa began the 12th inning with a
single off Martinez, who had been called
up earlier in the day to assist the Red
Sox, after Boston depleted its bullpen
during Thursday night's 13-inning loss.
After a Rafael Furcal double gave the
Braves runners at second and third,
Green drilled a high fastball into the
seats in left-center field.
"I don't think he meant to throw me that
pitch," said Green, who was raised 20
minutes north of downtown Atlanta. "But
you've got to be ready for a mistake.
You can't be waiting to take a walk."
Since being promoted from Triple-A
Richmond and taking Marcus Giles' spot
at second base in mid-May, the
25-year-old Green has exceeded
expectations and solidified a spot in
the Majors. He's hitting .284 and each
of his three homers this year have
either tied or given the Braves a lead
after the sixth inning.
"I think pitchers are more likely to
make mistakes in important situations,"
said Green, whose sacrifice fly in the
10th inning scored Furcal and erased the
one-run lead the Red Sox had garnered in
the top half of the inning on a Manny
Ramirez one-out single off Kevin
Gryboski.
While Jaret Wright's strong six-inning
effort and the early homers from Jones
and Drew created an early stir, the
Turner Field crowd was as loud as it's
been all season when Chris Reitsma
escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam by
getting Ramirez to look at three
straight strikes to end the eighth.
As Reitsma exited the field, he was
greeted with the same type of roaring
standing ovation John Smoltz received
when he ended the ninth by getting Kevin
Millar to look at strike three with
runners on first and second base.
"It's nice to see," Drew said of the
enthusiastic crowd. "There was
definitely a lot of Red Sox fans. I
think that kind of got our fans fired
up. That gets you up and makes you want
to play."
Juan Cruz, who was credited with his
second win of the season, continued the
Braves' bullpen's Houdini act after
issuing two one-out walks in the 12th.
He impressively escaped unscathed by
recording back-to-back strikeouts of Red
Sox sluggers David Ortiz and Ramirez.
Despite limiting the Red Sox to two runs
on four hits in six innings, Wright was
pulled after a 100-pitch evening. But
the right-hander, who despite splendid
efforts is winless in his past four
starts, said his departure was due to
fatigue and not physical injury.
The only runs surrendered by Wright came
via an Ortiz solo homer during an
11-pitch, first-inning at-bat and a
two-out Bill Mueller single that scored
Jason Varitek just ahead of Drew's
perfect throw from right field.
After Varitek singled with two outs, he
stole second base to give him a
career-high five stolen bases this year.
"The thing that upset me was that run in
the second inning," said Wright, who has
a 2.08 ERA after 11 evening starts. "I
just let him steal second base. That was
on me."
After surrendering the early runs,
Wright received a solo homer from
Chipper Jones to begin the second inning
and then saw Drew continue his torrid
hitting with a two-out, game-tying homer
in the third inning.
Drew's homer, his fourth in the past six
games and 19th of the season, ended the
scoring until the extra frames. The
Braves left the bases loaded in the
fifth inning and stranded runners on
second and third in the ninth.
"It was a good night of baseball," Drew
said.
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