In their last five postseason appearances, the Atlanta Braves have mounted a few miraculous comebacks and blown a few games that were seemingly under control.
They know what it’s like to rally from a 3-1 series deficit, as they did against St. Louis in last year’s NLCS. They know what it’s like to squander a 2-0 series lead, as they did against the Yankees in last year’s World Series.
So a minor inconvenience such as a series-opening playoff loss wasn’t something to make the Braves uptight.
After dropping their NLCS opener to Florida, the Braves bounced back in typical fashion Wednesday at Turner Field, trouncing the Marlins 7-1 to even the series at a game apiece.
Tom Glavine threw 7 2/3 innings of three-hit, one-run ball, and home runs by Ryan Klesko and Chipper Jones off Alex Fernandez ended the suspense before the shadows began to creep over the field.
“Everyone wants to know what’s the importance of playoff experience,” Glavine said. “Today is an example. No one in here panicked. Everyone in here was pretty loose. We understand the importance of the game, and it was a big game for us. But this ballclub has been in every conceivable situation in the regular season and postseason and today was was just another one of those situations.
“The more you’re in them, the more you understand what you need to do to turn things around, the more you understand what you need to do to be successful. As poorly as we played (in Game 1), and as much as we can sit here and tell ourselves we gave that one away, it’s over and done with. Forget about it.”
The series moves to Pro Player Stadium in Miami for Game 3 on Friday night when John Smoltz is to face Tony Saunders in an attempt to set an all-time record with 11 postseason victories.
Fernandez, the former White Sox pitcher who was lured to his hometown with a five-year, $35 million deal, got in trouble from the first batter. Kenny Lofton dropped a perfect bunt in front of the plate, where Gold Glove catcher Charles Johnson promptly threw it past first and into right field, committing his first error since June 23, 1996.
Keith Lockhart tripled to the wall in right-center to make it 1-0 and Klesko followed two outs later with a first-pitch, two-run homer to right to give Glavine a three-run cushion.
After Fernandez retired the side in order in the second, he gave up a leadoff single in the third to Lockhart, and then a two-run homer to Jones to put the game out of reach. Fernandez lasted only 2 2/3 innings in the shortest postseason performance of his career.
“It’s unexplainable,” he said. “But, obviously, it was a very bad day for me.”
Meanwhile, Glavine held the Marlins hitless until the fourth and scoreless until the eighth.
“They’re a team that never says never,” Johnson said of the Braves. “We know they’re a team that’s not going to give us a win.”
Of course, that’s exactly what Atlanta did in Game 1. Jones blamed himself for that loss because of a defensive lapse at third, but got it all out of his system Tuesday night.
“I have a pretty good formula for (letting go),” Jones said. “You take the ride home with your spouse to rant and rave and cuss. After you get out of the car, once you get home, it’s over. There’s still a ton of baseball to be played.”
