| Douglas Benton. 7th October, 2005 - 4:13 am
 In a game the Braves had to have, they came out of the gates fast and cruised to a 7-1 win over Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros. They now have evened their National League Division Series at a game apiece heading into Houston on Saturday.
While the Astros took advantage of wildness of the part of Tim Hudson in game one, the Braves hitters returned the favor by capitalizing on a few misplaced pitches by Roger Clemens. The biggest of these mistakes was crushed by Braves catcher Brian McCann, who hit a fastball that caught too much into the Braves bullpen in the second inning. The blast put the Braves ahead 3-1 and erased any doubt that had crept into their minds.
It also gave John Smoltz some runs to play with, but he never came close to needing them. Smoltz was a little shaky in the first inning, but was almost unhittable the rest of the way. For the circumstances of this game, it might be the most impressive performance of his season. He finished by giving up only seven hits and one run in seven strong innings.
Now while the Astros didn’t play as well as they did in game one, they still had some bright spots. They came out very strong against Smoltz and I think they would have continued to cause problems had they not lost the lead so early, but they still received a good showing for Willy Taveras, who finished the game with three hits. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome a rocky start for Clemens.
Through it all, this night was about John Smoltz, who made his first postseason start since the 1999 World Series and didn’t even miss a beat. His dominance set the tone for the night and it went through the rest of the team. Now, the Braves aren’t this much better than the Astros, just like the Astros weren’t that much better in game one. This series is far from over and if it is anything like the performances we have seen in the first two games, we are in for a great finish. |
