Braves Complete Colossal Collapse, Lose To Phils
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Philadelphia Phillies never let up, even in a game they didn't need to win.
Now, it's on to the playoffs for the games that really matter.
The Phillies rallied against Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning, then Hunter Pence came through with a two-out, run-scoring single in the 13th that gave Philadelphia a 4-3 victory Wednesday night and eliminated the Braves from the playoff picture.
The five-time NL East champions had long ago wrapped up their trip to the postseason, but manager Charlie Manuel wanted his team to be at its best—not coasting—going into a divisional series against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals. Game 1 is Saturday in Philadelphia.
The Phillies completed a sweep of the Braves with their 102nd victory, the most in franchise history.
"I think that was very fitting," Manuel said. "We have a big season, but at the same time we still have a lot of work to do. Our ultimate goal, of course, is to go to the World series and win. I think we're sitting in a pretty good position and it's up to us to go get it."
The game ended more than an hour after St. Louis routed Houston 8-0 to claim at least a share of the wild card. The Cardinals got it outright when Philadelphia's David Herndon earned his first career save by retiring Freddie Freeman on a double play that ended Atlanta's season short of the playoffs, a postseason appearance that looked like a certainty just a few weeks ago.
The Braves were 10 ½ games ahead of St. Louis before play on Aug. 26. They were still up by 8 ½ games on the morning of Sept. 6. Instead of popping champagne for a second straight trip to the playoffs, they became the first team in major league history to squander a lead of at least eight games for a playoff spot in September.
They had some company a short time later when Boston did the same in the AL, also blowing a ninth-inning lead and handing the wild card to surging Tampa Bay.
"This last day of the regular season was just absolutely crazy," Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard said. "You never knew who was going to do what. It's good to see that it's clear now who we're going to play so that we can get focus on it. It's going to be a fun series. I'm ready for it."
In Atlanta, the mood was disbelief. This one might hurt as bad as all those postseason losses in the 1990s and early 2000s.
"This is tough," catcher Brian McCann said. "This is one of the worst feelings I've ever had coming off a baseball field."
The Braves had this one. And they blew it, losing five straight to end the regular season and going 9-18 in the final month.
"I can't fathom it," said Freeman, who was still wearing his No. 5 jersey almost an hour after the game, as if he couldn't believe he'd be taking it off for the final time. "The Cardinals took care of business."
Riding a strong showing by starter Tim Hudson and a two-run homer by Dan Uggla, Atlanta went to the ninth with a 3-2 lead and its record-setting rookie closer on the mound.
But the hard-throwing Kimbrel couldn't get the three outs needed for his 47th save and a trip to St. Louis for a one-game playoff Thursday night. He was all over the place, walking three, and Chase Utley's sacrifice fly tied it. The stocky right-hander couldn't even finish the inning, giving way to Kris Medlen.
"It was tough to be so close and then have the feeling like it was falling out of your hands," Kimbrel said. "And that's the feeling I have now."
Medlen had pitched only one game in the big leagues all year after coming back from Tommy John surgery, but he got the third out in the ninth and breezed through the 10th as well. Unheralded Anthony Varvaro and Cristhian Martinez also pitched scoreless innings, but the Braves' punchless offense just couldn't produce another run in time.
Atlanta scored only seven runs in its last five games.
In the 13th, Scott Linebrink (4-4) got himself in trouble with a one-out walk to Brian Schneider, a .176 hitter. Jimmy Rollins flied out to center, but Utley grounded a 3-2 pitch into right field to keep the inning going. Pence followed with a broken-bat blooper to right off the fists, the weakly hit ball barely making it to the outfield grass.
But it was in just the right spot. Uggla slid out to get it but had no play anywhere. Schneider raced in with the go-ahead run.
"I just got jammed. My main goal was to stay inside the ball and give myself a chance," Pence said. "When you do get jammed you (try) to find a hole or something. It's definitely one of those lucky hits, but sometimes miracles can happen.
Chipper Jones struck out to start the bottom half of the 13th, but Uggla gave the Braves a glimmer of hope by drawing a walk off Herndon. What was left of the raucous crowd of more than 45,000 pleaded for Freeman to come through, but all he could do was hit a grounder to first baseman John Mayberry, who started the 3-6-3 double play that ended the Braves' season.
Uggla crawled on his knees near second base. Freeman buckled over down the right-field line, burying his head in his hands.
Justin De Fratus (1-0) earned his first career win with a scoreless 12th.
Hudson pitched six-hit ball over 6 1-3 innings, just the sort of performance Atlanta needed given its offensive struggles of late. But the final innings were excruciating for the Braves, who saw the Cardinals' big lead on the out-of-town board and knew they had to have a win.
Eric O'Flaherty got a double play with two aboard to escape the seventh. Jonny Venters struck out Raul Ibanez with the bases loaded to end the eighth. But Kimbrel, who set a rookie record for saves this season, couldn't get the one he needed most.
Shortly before Atlanta took the field, the 39-year-old Jones— the only remaining player from the 1995 World Series champions— gathered the entire team around him in the dugout for a pep talk. Everyone listened intently, then began clapping when he finished.
The Phillies went with little-used Joe Blanton as their starter, but they didn't go easy on their division rival. All the regulars except Shane Victorino were in the lineup, and even Blanton only went two innings before giving way to Big Four starter Cole Hamels, who made the first relief appearance of his career to tune up for the playoffs.
With the game tied 1-1, the Braves struck against Hamels in the third. Michael Bourn led off with a single and stole second. Martin Prado followed with an infield hit, Bourn holding at second. Then, Bourn took off for third base, going for his third steal of the night. He was thrown out on a disputed call, ripping off his helmet and griping that his left foot got to the bag just before Polanco made the tag.
The replay showed Bourn had a point, and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez came out to argue briefly with umpire Dan Iassogna. Jones struck out and Hamels was one strike from getting out of the inning after jumping ahead 0-2 on Uggla. The lefty tried to fool the slugger with a fastball. It didn't work.
Uggla drove the pitch into seats in left-center for his 36th homer of the season.
Turns out, it was just an afterthought.
More than three hours later, the lead was gone. So was the game. And the season.
NOTES: Atlanta finished the season with an attendance of 2,372,940, its lowest total since 2004. Two rainouts left the Braves with only 79 home dates. ... Braves SS Alex Gonzalez couldn't play because of an injured right calf. Jack Wilson took his place, and Tyler Pastornicky was called up from the instructional league as the back up. ... Hudson passed 2,500 innings in his career. ... Manuel (646-488) moved past Gene Mauch for the most wins by a manager in Phillies history.
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