WORLD SERIES
Chicago White Sox vs. Atlanta Braves 
Game 1: Bartolo Colon vs. Russ
Ortiz, Turner Field
BRAVES CAPITALIZE EARLY, CRUISE TO GAME 1 VICTORY
ChiSox Strand 11
ATLANTA, Oct. 19 (AP) - The Atlanta Braves scored five times over the first two
innings of play and coasted to a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox in Game
1 of the World Series at Turner Field. Russ Ortiz fought his control
throughout, but still surrendered only two runs in 5 2/3 innings of work.
Four Braves relievers combined to toss 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball.
The White Sox broke out on top in the first inning against Ortiz, but settled
for only one run, missing a golden opportunity to take a commanding early
lead. Roberto Alomar led off the game with walk--one of three he drew in
the contest--and, one out later, Frank Thomas drew another free pass, putting
runners on first and second. Magglio Ordonez put the White Sox on top by
roping a double into the left field corner, scoring Alomar and advancing Thomas
to third. Carl Everett then drew the third base on balls of the inning,
filling the sacks. But Joe Crede popped to third and, on a 3-2 pitch, Jose
Valentin rolled to second to end the inning with Chicago on top just 1-0.
The Braves, like clockwork, then exploded for four runs in the bottom of the
first, taking a lead they would never relinquish. Rafael Furcal drew a
lead-off walk from White Sox starter Bartolo Colon and Marcus Giles followed
with a swinging bunt to the right side that died in the grass for an infield
hit, putting runners on first and second. Gary Sheffield then hit a tailor
made double play grounder to short but Valentin kicked it, leaving all hands
safe. Rather than two outs and a runner on third the Braves had the bases
loaded with no one out. Chipper Jones lined a base hit to left-center,
scoring Furcal and Giles and advancing Sheffield to third. Andruw Jones
followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Sheffield to give Atlanta a 3-1
lead. Javy Lopez flied to left for the second out but Robert Fick lined a
double to the right-center field gap, scoring Jones and giving the Braves a 4-1
bulge. Vinnie Castilla then drove a single to left but Carlos Lee gunned
Fick down at the plate to finally end the inning.
In the second, the Braves added another run when Furcal singled to left with one
out, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Giles' grounder to
second and scored on Sheffield's double to right.
Colon mostly righted the ship at that point, but the damage had already been
inflicted. And the Braves weren't completely done scoring. Andruw
Jones led off the bottom of the fifth with a long home run into the seats in
straight away left field for a 6-1 Atlanta lead.
Ortiz, meanwhile, was pitching out of jams partly created by his ongoing control
issues in both the second and third inning. By the fourth, however, he'd
mostly solved his problems, but he'd thrown so many pitches early on that he was
destined to be removed before the end of the sixth inning. Right on cue,
the White Sox got on the scoreboard again with two outs in the sixth on pinch
hitter Brian Daubach's home run down the right field line, cutting the Atlanta
lead to 3-2. That was the end of the day for Ortiz, he was replaced by
Kent Mercker who yielded a double to Alomar before retiring Lee on strikes to
end the inning.
There was to be no more scoring. After Mercker, Kevin Gryboski, Roberto
Hernandez and John Smoltz each tossed a scoreless inning, with Smoltz closing
out the game in the ninth. Chicago stranded 11 runners in the contest,
eight of them in the first four innings when the game got away.
10/19/2003, CWS03-Atl03, Turner Field
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 White Sox 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 7 1 11 0
2003 Braves 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 x 6 9 1 7 0
White Sox AB R H BI AVG Braves AB R H BI AVG
Alomar,R 2b 2 1 1 0 .500 Furcal ss 4 2 1 0 .250
Lee,Ca lf 5 0 1 0 .200 Giles,M 2b 3 1 1 0 .333
Thomas,F 1b 4 0 0 0 .000 Sheffield rf 3 1 1 1 .333
Ordonez,M rf 5 0 2 1 .400 Jones,C lf 3 1 1 2 .333
Everett,C cf 3 0 0 0 .000 Jones,A cf 3 1 1 2 .333
Crede 3b 3 0 0 0 .000 Lopez,JT c 4 0 0 0 .000
Valentin,Jo ss 4 0 1 0 .250 Fick 1b 3 0 2 1 .667
Olivo c 3 0 0 0 .000 Franco,Ju ph 1 0 1 0 1.000
Rowand ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Castilla 3b 4 0 1 0 .250
Alomar,S c 0 0 0 0 .000 Ortiz,Ru p 2 0 0 0 .000
Colon p 2 0 1 0 .500 Mercker p 0 0 0 0 .000
Daubach ph 1 1 1 1 1.000 Franco,M ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Sullivan p 0 0 0 0 .000 Gryboski p 0 0 0 0 .000
Koch p 0 0 0 0 .000 Hernandez,Ro p 0 0 0 0 .000
Konerko ph 1 0 0 0 .000 DeRosa ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Schoeneweis p 0 0 0 0 .000 Smoltz p 0 0 0 0 .000
34 2 7 2 32 6 9 6
White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Colon L 0-1 5.0 8 6 4 3 4 102 67 7.20
Sullivan 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 22 14 0.00
Koch 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 12 8 0.00
Schoeneweis 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 16 10 0.00
8.0 9 6 4 4 8 152 99
Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Ortiz,Ru W 1-0 5.2 5 2 2 5 4 108 61 3.18
Mercker H 1 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 7 4 0.00
Gryboski H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 11 7 0.00
Hernandez,Ro 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 16 7 0.00
Smoltz 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 19 9 0.00
9.0 7 2 2 6 6 161 88
CWS: Daubach batted for Colon in the 6th
Rowand batted for Olivo in the 8th
Konerko batted for Koch in the 8th
Alomar,S inserted at c in the 8th
Atl: Franco,M batted for Mercker in the 6th
Franco,Ju batted for Fick in the 8th
DeRosa batted for Hernandez,Ro in the 8th
Franco,Ju moved to 1b in the 9th
E-Valentin,Jo, Sheffield. 2B-Alomar,R(1), Ordonez,M(1), Valentin,Jo(1),
Sheffield(1), Fick 2(2). HR-Daubach(1), Jones,A(1). RBI-Ordonez,M(1),
Daubach(1), Sheffield(1), Jones,C 2(2), Jones,A 2(2), Fick(1). K-Lee,Ca 2,
Thomas,F, Ordonez,M, Olivo 2, Furcal 2, Giles,M, Jones,C, Lopez,JT 2,
Castilla, Franco,M. BB-Alomar,R 3, Thomas,F, Everett,C, Crede, Furcal,
Giles,M, Sheffield, Jones,C. SF-Jones,A. WP-Colon.
GWRBI: Jones,C
Temperature: 60, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 5 MPH.
Attendance: 49,990
Game Time: 3:08
Game 2: Jon Garland vs. Greg Maddux, Turner Field
BRAVES PROVE THEY'RE NEVER OUT OF A GAME, DEMOLISH CHISOX
Overcome 10-1 Deficit; Sheffield, Lopez Homer Twice Apiece
ATLANTA, Oct. 20 (AP) - For years to come baseball fans will discuss the World
Series game in which the Atlanta Braves overcame a 10-1 deficit, scoring the
next 22 runs (not a typographical error) en route to a 25-13 waxing of the
Chicago White Sox. It sounds like a fairy tale, but it really happened in
Game 2 of the 2003 World Series at Turner Field. The shell shocked White
Sox return home to U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago to see if they can, somehow,
overcome an inexplicable setback. The Braves now lead the series, two
games to none.
More important than the actual 2-0 lead is how Game 2 unfolded. The White
Sox seemingly had an insurmountable lead nearly midway through the game only to
find themselves, after 4:22 of game play, on the short end of a 12-run margin.
The 25 runs the Braves scored in this game were more than any major league team
scored in any of the 2430 regular season games that were played this year.
Far more, in fact. The Detroit Tigers tallied 20 runs in a win over the
Minnesota Twins on Sept. 27, the second to last day of the season, to record the
top mark. The season high for a National League team was 18, set by four
different clubs. The Braves effectively lapped the field in this World
Series game.
The Braves had many offensive heroes, but none as prominent as Gary
Sheffield. The Atlanta right fielder had five hits in five official at
bats, including two home runs--one of them a grand slam--and three
doubles. He also scored six runs and drove in six and amassed 14 total
bases. Sheffield had one plate appearance that didn't result in a
hit. On that occasion he walked. And eventually scored.
Javy Lopez also belted a pair of home runs in the game and drove in five
runs. Andruw Jones had a couple of hits including a home run and drove in
four. Vinnie Castilla banged out four hits and scored three times.
Lost amid all the Atlanta cacophony was the outstanding game from Frank Thomas
of Chicago. Thomas had three hits, including a pair of home runs, drove in
three runs and drew a walk for good measure. It was scarcely noticed given
the broad view developments.
The White Sox knocked Braves starter Greg Maddux out of the game in the very
first inning, amassing six runs on seven hits. Roberto Alomar singled,
Thomas drew a one-out walk and Magglio Ordonez was hit by a pitch to load the
bases. Carl Everett then unloaded them, crushing a grand slam to
right-center for a 4-0 lead. Four more singles, including RBI base hits
off the bats of Joe Crede and Alomar, gave Chicago a 6-0 lead and ended the day
for Maddux. He was replaced by Jaret Wright.
The Braves got a run back in the bottom of the first off Jon Garland when
Sheffield doubled with two outs and scored on a Chipper Jones base hit.
But the White Sox scored twice more in the second when Everett singled to right
with two down and Valentin followed with a home run down the right field line,
increasing the Chicago lead to 8-1.
That lead ballooned to 10-1 in the fourth when Lee led off with a double to left
and Thomas followed with a long home run halfway up the seats in left
field. The game appeared to be over. But it wasn't.
Sheffield led off the fourth with a home run to cut the deficit to eight runs,
but no one thought much of it when Garland retired the next three hitters in
order.
Chicago led 10-2 entering the bottom of the fifth and, at the time, most of the
attention among the Braves fans left at Turner Field--and, to their credit, not
many had departed--was how Atlanta would get through the rest of the game
without blowing out its entire pitching staff.
Robert Fick led off the fifth inning by flying to left field. Castilla
laced a double to left. Matt Franco came on to pinch hit and drew a
walk. Rafael Furcal rolled to short with the runners advancing to second
and third. The White Sox needed just one more out to retain their huge
lead. And then it happened. Marcus Giles grounded routinely to
Alomar at second and he misplayed the ball for an error. By all rights,
the White Sox should have been back in the dugout getting ready to hit in the
sixth inning with an eight-run lead. Instead, Castilla scored to cut the
advantage to 10-3 and the Braves still had runners on first and third.
Sheffield came to the plate and hammered a 1-0 offering high up into the left
field grandstand for a three-run home run, cutting the Chicago lead to
10-6. There was a palpable buzz in the stands at Turner Field after
Sheffield's round-tripper. The Braves were, it seemed, not quite out of
this game after all. The White Sox got Dan Wright up in the bullpen after
Sheffield went deep and he was just beginning to loosen as Garland, apparently
rattled, walked Chipper Jones. He barely had time to regain his bearings
before Andruw Jones belted the second Atlanta home run of the inning inside the
left field foul pole to make it 10-8. Now the crowd wasn't just buzzing,
it was rocking. That was it for Garland; Wright replaced him but the tide
had shifted completely. Lopez greeted Wright with the third Braves home
run of the frame, cutting the deficit to a single run. Fick, the tenth
batter to come to the plate that inning, grounded out, but the Braves had
exploded for seven runs and were right back in a ball game that had appeared all
but officially over 20 minutes earlier.
Ray King came on to pitch for the Braves in the sixth and kept the crowd
animated by slamming the door on the White Sox bats, retiring them in order, and
striking out two for good measure.
That brought the Braves to the plate again and it was as though the fifth inning
had never ended. Castilla led off with a single to right and Darren Bragg
hit for King and punched a base hit to left. Furcal dropped a single into
right, loading the bases. Tom Gordon replaced Wright on the mound, but to
no avail. Giles singled sharply to left, scoring Castilla to tie the game
and leaving the sacks full. Sheffield then doubled, again, to left,
driving home two more to give the Braves their first lead of the contest.
With runners on second and third and none out, Chipper Jones was walked
intentionally, but Andruw Jones drew an unintentional walk, forcing home Furcal
and putting Atlanta ahead 13-10. Lopez then seemed to ice the game,
clobbering his second home run of the contest, this one a grand slam, for a
17-10 lead. The Braves had followed a seven-run inning with an eight-run
inning.
Just to tie a bow on this one--and make sure that the White Sox didn't match the
Atlanta comeback--the Braves scored six more times in the bottom of the seventh,
extending a streak of 22 straight runs scored by a single team. The
capping blow in the inning was a three-run pinch hit home run off the bat of
Mark DeRosa.
The White Sox finally broke the run streak in the eighth when Thomas belted his
second home run of the game but the Braves, as if mocking Chicago, scored two
more in their half of the inning. The White Sox tallied the final two runs
in the ninth on Brian Daubach's pinch triple, but it was irrelevant in the
greater scheme of things.
The two teams combined to score 38 runs, five more than in any regular season
game, on 33 hits. They also combined for 10 home runs--more than in all
but one regular season contest. Two of those home runs were grand slams.
It remains to be seen if the White Sox have any chance to recover from the
numbing events of Game 2. Game 3 of the World Series will be played at
U.S. Cellular Field on Oct. 22.
10/20/2003, CWS03-Atl03, Turner Field
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 White Sox 6 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 13 14 1 7 0
2003 Braves 1 0 0 1 7 8 6 2 x 25 19 0 5 0
White Sox AB R H BI AVG Braves AB R H BI AVG
Alomar,R 2b 6 1 2 1 .375 Furcal ss 5 1 1 0 .222
Lee,Ca lf 5 1 1 0 .200 Blanco c 0 0 0 0 .000
Harris,W cf 1 0 0 0 .000 Giles,M 2b 5 3 1 1 .250
Thomas,F 1b 4 3 3 3 .375 Mercker p 0 0 0 0 .000
Marte p 0 0 0 0 .000 Hernandez,Ro p 0 0 0 0 .000
Ordonez,M rf 4 1 0 0 .222 Sheffield rf 5 6 5 6 .750
Everett,C cf 3 2 2 4 .333 Jones,C lf 3 4 1 2 .333
Rowand ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Jones,A cf 5 2 2 4 .375
Valentin,Jo ss 3 3 2 2 .429 Lopez,JT c 4 2 2 5 .250
Crede 3b 4 1 1 1 .143 Garcia,J pr 0 0 0 1 .000
Gordon p 0 0 0 0 .000 Fick 1b 4 0 0 0 .286
Wunsch p 0 0 0 0 .000 Franco,Ju ph 2 1 1 1 .667
Konerko 1b 1 1 1 0 .500 Castilla 3b 6 3 4 1 .500
Olivo c 4 0 0 0 .000 Maddux p 0 0 0 0 .000
Daubach ph 1 0 1 2 1.000 Wright,Jar p 1 0 0 0 .000
Garland p 2 0 1 0 .500 Cunnane p 0 0 0 0 .000
Wright,D p 0 0 0 0 .000 Franco,M ph 0 1 0 0 .000
Graffanino 3b 2 0 0 0 .000 King p 0 0 0 0 .000
41 13 14 13 Bragg ph 2 1 1 0 .500
Gryboski p 0 0 0 0 .000
DeRosa ph 2 1 1 3 .333
44 25 19 24
White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Garland 4.2 6 8 2 2 2 105 62 3.86
Wright,D L 0-1 0.1 4 4 4 0 0 22 16 99.99
Gordon BS 1 1.0 4 5 5 2 2 33 19 45.00
Wunsch 1.0 3 6 6 3 0 40 16 54.00
Marte 1.0 2 2 2 2 0 32 16 18.00
8.0 19 25 19 9 4 232 129
Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Maddux 0.2 7 6 6 0 1 37 27 81.00
Wright,Jar 2.1 4 4 4 0 2 52 35 15.43
Cunnane 2.0 0 0 0 4 2 49 25 0.00
King W 1-0 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 15 9 0.00
Gryboski H 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 16 9 0.00
Mercker 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 19 13 6.75
Hernandez,Ro 1.0 2 2 2 1 0 24 16 9.00
9.0 14 13 13 5 9 212 134
CWS: Graffanino inserted at 3b in the 6th
Rowand batted for Everett,C in the 8th
Harris,W inserted at cf in the 8th
Rowand moved to lf in the 8th
Konerko inserted at 1b in the 8th
Daubach batted for Olivo in the 9th
Atl: Franco,M batted for Cunnane in the 5th
Bragg batted for King in the 6th
Garcia,J ran for Lopez,JT in the 7th
Franco,Ju batted for Fick in the 7th
DeRosa batted for Gryboski in the 7th
Blanco inserted at c in the 8th
Garcia,J moved to ss in the 8th
Franco,Ju moved to 1b in the 8th
DeRosa moved to 2b in the 8th
E-Alomar,R. 2B-Lee,Ca(1), Sheffield 3(4), Castilla(1). 3B-Daubach(1).
HR-Thomas,F 2(2), Everett,C(1), Valentin,Jo(1), Sheffield 2(2), Jones,A(2),
Lopez,JT 2(2), DeRosa(1). RBI-Alomar,R(1), Thomas,F 3(3), Everett,C 4(4),
Valentin,Jo 2(2), Crede(1), Daubach 2(3), Giles,M(1), Sheffield 6(7),
Jones,C 2(4), Jones,A 4(6), Lopez,JT 5(5), Castilla(1), Garcia,J(1),
Franco,Ju(1), DeRosa 3(3). K-Lee,Ca, Thomas,F, Ordonez,M 2, Everett,C,
Valentin,Jo, Olivo 3, Furcal 2, Jones,A, Bragg. BB-Thomas,F, Everett,C,
Valentin,Jo 2, Garland, Furcal, Giles,M, Sheffield, Jones,C 3, Jones,A,
Lopez,JT, Franco,M. SF-Garcia,J. HBP-Ordonez,M. HB-Maddux. WP-Maddux.
GWRBI: Sheffield
Temperature: 82, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 9 MPH.
Attendance: 49,310
Game Time: 4:22
Game 3: Mike Hampton vs. Estaban
Loaiza, U.S. Cellular Field
BRAVES BEST CHISOX AGAIN, TAKE STRANGLEHOLD OF SERIES
Hampton Allows 1 R Over 7 IP; A. Jones, Lopez Homer
CHICAGO, Oct. 22 (AP) - The Atlanta Braves moved to within a game of capping
their brilliant season with a World Series sweep, besting the Chicago White Sox,
5-1, at U.S. Cellular Field to take a three games to none lead in the Fall
Classic. Mike Hamption scattered seven hits over seven innings of one-run
ball to earn the win. Javy Lopez and Andruw Jones accounted for all of the
Atlanta scoring with a home run apiece. Gary Sheffield reached base three
more times and has now reached safely in 11 of his 15 plate appearances through
three games.
After the offensive fireworks of Game 2, Game 3 was much more subdued. In
fact, no one dented the scoreboard until the bottom of the fourth when the White
Sox rallied for their only run. Carl Everett, Paul Konerko and Joe Crede
laced consecutive singles, filling the bases with one out. Hampton struck
out Jose Valentin, but was only able to knock down Sandy Alomar's sharp
comebacker. It went as the fourth Chicago hit of the inning and Everett
scored on the play to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead.
Chicago starter Estaban Loaiza made that sole run hold up until the sixth.
Sheffield led off the frame with his fifth double of the series. Chipper
Jones popped to short but Andruw Jones' sharp grounder off the side of the mound
was knocked down by second baseman Roberto Alomar and went for an infield
hit. Sheffield took third on the play, leaving runners on the
corners. Lopez worked the count even at 2-2 and then picked out a Loaiza
fastball and drove it into the bullpen in left field, despite a stiff incoming
breeze. The three-run shot was Lopez's third home run of the series and
gave the Braves a 3-1 lead.
Atlanta really turned the screws in the eighth by adding a couple of insurance
runs. Chipper Jones led off with a single against reliever Scott
Schoenweiss, who was replaced immediately by Scott Sullivan. But Andruw
Jones lined his third home run of the series into the seats down the left field
line putting Atlanta on top, 5-1.
Whatever hopes the White Sox had of getting back in the game were crushed in the
bottom of the eighth.
Kevin Gryboski took the mound in relief of Hampton to start the inning and
yielded a lead-off single to Thomas and a free pass to Ordonez. With the
tying run standing in the on deck circle, Braves manager Bobby Cox called upon
Ray King to turn around switch hitter Carl Everett. The strategy played
out exactly as Cox had hoped as Everett rolled a tailor made double play
grounder to short which Rafael Furcal, Marcus Giles and Robert Fick successfully
turned into a twin killing. Konerko bounced out to first to end the
threat.
In the bottom of the ninth, John Smoltz came on and set the White Sox down in
order to close out the game.
The White Sox will try to avoid a sweep tomorrow when they are expected to send
Mark Buehrle to the mound against Horacio Ramirez for the Braves.
10/22/2003, Atl03-CWS03, U.S. Cellular Field
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 Braves 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 9 0 8 1
2003 White Sox 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 8 0
Braves AB R H BI AVG White Sox AB R H BI AVG
Furcal ss 3 0 0 0 .167 Alomar,R 2b 4 0 0 0 .250
Giles,M 2b 5 0 1 0 .231 Lee,Ca lf 4 0 0 0 .143
Sheffield rf 4 1 2 0 .667 Thomas,F dh 3 0 1 0 .364
Jones,C lf 4 1 1 0 .300 Ordonez,M rf 3 0 1 0 .250
Bragg lf 0 0 0 0 .500 Everett,C cf 4 1 1 0 .300
Jones,A cf 4 2 2 2 .417 Konerko 1b 4 0 1 0 .333
Lopez,JT c 4 1 1 3 .250 Crede 3b 4 0 2 0 .273
Fick 1b 3 0 0 0 .200 Valentin,Jo ss 4 0 1 0 .364
Castilla 3b 4 0 2 0 .500 Alomar,S c 3 0 1 1 .333
Franco,Ju dh 4 0 0 0 .286 Daubach ph 1 0 0 0 .667
35 5 9 5 34 1 8 1
Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Hampton W 1-0 7.0 7 1 1 1 1 92 60 1.29
Gryboski 0.0 1 0 0 1 0 7 3 0.00
King H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.00
Smoltz 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 12 8 0.00
9.0 8 1 1 2 2 113 73
White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Loaiza L 0-1 6.2 5 3 3 4 8 104 62 4.05
Schoeneweis 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 3 2 6.75
Sullivan 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 11 8 4.50
Koch 0.2 2 0 0 0 1 10 8 0.00
Marte 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 6 3 13.50
9.0 9 5 5 4 11 134 83
Atl: Bragg inserted at lf in the 9th
CWS: Daubach batted for Alomar,S in the 9th
2B-Giles,M(1), Sheffield(5), Castilla(2), Crede(1). HR-Jones,A(3),
Lopez,JT(3). RBI-Jones,A 2(8), Lopez,JT 3(8), Alomar,S(1). CS-Sheffield.
K-Giles,M 2, Jones,C, Jones,A, Lopez,JT 2, Fick, Castilla, Franco,Ju 3,
Crede, Valentin,Jo. BB-Furcal, Sheffield, Jones,C, Fick, Thomas,F, Ordonez,M.
HBP-Furcal. HB-Loaiza.
GWRBI: Lopez,JT
Temperature: 56, Sky: clear, Wind: in from center at 17 MPH.
Attendance: 46,321
Game Time: 2:44
Game 4: Horacio Ramirez vs. Mark
Buehrle, U.S. Cellular Field
CHISOX AVOID SWEEP, FORCE GAME 5
Early 5-0 Lead Holds Up; Braves Strand 13
CHICAGO, Oct. 23 (AP) - There will be a Game 5 of the 2003 World Series.
The Chicago White Sox ensured that outcome when they took an early 5-0 lead and
held on for a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 at U.S. Cellular
Field. The White Sox effectively won the game with a four-run first inning
off Braves starter Horacio Ramirez. Chicago starter Mark Buehrle allowed
one unearned run over six innings of work and the White Sox bullpen made the
early lead stand up despite a shaky ninth inning from Damaso Marte.
In the bottom of the first, Roberto Alomar led off with a single that Chipper
Jones misplayed. The error allowed Alomar to advance to second.
Carlos Lee grounded out but Frank Thomas gave the White Sox the lead with a
single to center, scoring Alomar. Thomas took second on the throw to the
plate. Magglio Ordonez popped up for the second out but Ramirez couldn't
limit the damage to a single run. Carl Everett ripped a double into the
left field corner, scoring Thomas, and Paul Konerko followed with a home run
into the left field bullpen, giving Chicago a 4-0 lead.
Buehrle pitched out of a potential mess in the top of the third. Henry
Blanco led off with a single and was forced at second by Rafael Furcal.
Marcus Giles singled to left, putting runners on first and second but Buehrle
retired Gary Sheffield and Chipper Jones to end the inning with Chicago still on
top by four runs.
The White Sox added a run in the bottom of the third when Ordonez cracked a solo
home run into the bleachers in left-center field for a 5-0 advantage.
The Braves got on the board in the fourth, with some help from the White
Sox. With one out, Javy Lopez reached on shortstop Jose Valentin's
error. Julio Franco grounded out, advancing Lopez to second. Vinnie
Castilla then singled Lopez home to cut the deficit to 5-1.
Buehrle pitched out of a second and third and one out situation in the fifth and
first and second and two outs in the sixth. His mounting pitch count drove
him out of the game and he was replaced by Scott Sullivan to open the
seventh. With one out, Sullivan walked Sheffield and Chipper Jones
followed with a base hit putting runners on first and second. Andruw Jones
filed to right, with Sheffield advancing to third, and then Sullivan hit Lopez
with a pitch, loading the bases. Robert Fick came on to pinch hit for
Franco and the White Sox countered with Kelly Wunsch. The Braves then sent
Mark DeRosa to hit for Fick but Wunsch got him to roll into an inning-ending
fielder's choice.
The White Sox took a 5-1 lead into the ninth and sent Marte to the mound to try
to close out the game, but he walked Giles leading off the inning and Sheffield
followed with a triple into the right field corner, scoring Giles to cut the
lead to 5-2. Chipper Jones grounded out to second, scoring Sheffield with
the third Atlanta run but clearing the bases. Andruw Jones then struck out
but Lopez walked. Matt Franco, who had come in the game to play first
base, also drew a free pass. Suddenly the tying runs were on base and the
potential go-ahead run was at the plate in the form of Castilla. But Marte
retired the Braves third baseman on a bouncer to second to end the game and
extend the World Series for at least one more day.
10/23/2003, Atl03-CWS03, U.S. Cellular Field
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 Braves 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 1 14 1
2003 White Sox 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 x 5 10 2 6 0
Braves AB R H BI AVG White Sox AB R H BI AVG
Furcal ss 4 0 0 0 .125 Alomar,R 2b 3 1 1 0 .267
Giles,M 2b 2 1 1 0 .267 Lee,Ca lf 4 0 0 0 .111
Sheffield rf 3 1 1 1 .600 Rowand lf 0 0 0 0 .000
Jones,C lf 5 0 1 1 .267 Thomas,F dh 4 1 1 1 .333
Jones,A cf 5 0 0 0 .294 Ordonez,M rf 3 1 2 1 .333
Lopez,JT dh 3 1 0 0 .200 Everett,C cf 4 1 1 1 .286
Franco,Ju 1b 3 0 1 0 .300 Harris,W cf 0 0 0 0 .000
Fick ph 0 0 0 0 .200 Konerko 1b 4 1 1 2 .300
DeRosa ph 1 0 0 0 .250 Crede 3b 3 0 1 0 .286
Franco,M 1b 0 0 0 0 .000 Valentin,Jo ss 4 0 0 0 .267
Castilla 3b 5 0 1 1 .421 Olivo c 3 0 3 0 .300
Blanco c 3 0 1 0 .333 32 5 10 5
34 3 6 3
Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Ramirez,H L 0-1 6.0 8 5 5 1 3 96 65 7.50
Hernandez,Ro 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 11 9 6.00
Mercker 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 29 20 3.86
8.0 10 5 5 2 3 136 94
White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Buehrle W 1-0 6.0 4 1 0 5 3 100 55 0.00
Sullivan H 1 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 20 8 3.38
Wunsch H 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 40.50
Gordon 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 14 10 22.50
Marte 1.0 1 2 2 3 1 27 13 15.43
9.0 6 3 2 9 6 163 88
Atl: Fick batted for Franco,Ju in the 7th
DeRosa batted for Fick in the 7th
Franco,M inserted at 1b in the 7th
CWS: Rowand inserted at lf in the 9th
Harris,W inserted at cf in the 9th
E-Jones,C, Lee,Ca, Valentin,Jo. 2B-Franco,Ju(1), Ordonez,M(2), Everett,C(1).
3B-Sheffield(1). HR-Ordonez,M(1), Konerko(1). RBI-Sheffield(8), Jones,C(5),
Castilla(2), Thomas,F(4), Ordonez,M(2), Everett,C(5), Konerko 2(2).
K-Furcal 2, Jones,A, Franco,Ju, Castilla 2, Crede, Valentin,Jo 2. BB-Furcal,
Giles,M 3, Sheffield 2, Lopez,JT, Blanco, Franco,M, Ordonez,M, Crede.
SH-Alomar,R. HBP-Lopez,JT. HB-Sullivan.
GWRBI: Thomas,F
Temperature: 61, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 23 MPH.
Attendance: 46,229
Game Time: 2:55
Game 5: Russ Ortiz vs. Bartolo
Colon, U.S. Cellular Field
BRAVES OVERCOME 3-0 DEFICIT, CLAIM WORLD SERIES IN 5 GAMES
Sheffield's Monster Series Performance Honored
CHICAGO, Oct. 24 (AP) - The Atlanta Braves put a capstone on a phenomenal 2003
season, winning the World Series with a 7-5 defeat of the Chicago White Sox in
Game 5 at U.S. Cellular Field. The Braves spotted the White Sox a 3-0 lead
through four innings but, as has been the case throughout the series, Atlanta's
offense roared to life in the middle innings and by midway through the seventh
the Braves held a 7-3 advantage.
Gary Sheffield was named the Series MVP, hitting .556, reaching base at a .680
clip and slugging an other-worldly 1.278. In all, Sheffield had 10 hits in
18 at bats, including five doubles, a triple and two home runs. He drew
seven walks, scored nine runs and drove in 10.
Russ Ortiz worked six serviceable innings, picking up his second victory of the
series. John Smoltz retired all five batters he faced to earn the save.
The White Sox scored first--something they did in every single game of the
series--in the top of the first when Carlos Lee drilled an Ortiz offering into
the left field seats for a solo home run. Chicago added to its lead in the
fourth when Carl Everett drew a one-out walk and coasted home on Paul Konerko's
second home run in as many games. The two-run shot to left put the White
Sox ahead 3-0.
But the Braves began their inevitable comeback in the fifth when Marcus Giles
doubled with one out and scored on Chipper Jones' single.
In the sixth, the Braves took the lead. Javy Lopez singled with one out
and took second on Robert Fick's base hit. Vinnie Castilla flied to deep
center, with Lopez tagging and taking third. Pinch hitter Darren Bragg
then singled to center, scoring Lopez and advancing Fick to second. White
Sox starter Bartolo Colon, who appeared to be fatiguing rapidly at this point,
walked Rafael Furcal to load the bases and was replaced with Scott
Sullivan. On a 1-1 pitch to Giles, catcher Miguel Olivo tipped Giles'
bat. He was called for catcher's interference; Giles was awarded first
base and all the runners advanced 90 feet, including Fick who scored the tying
run. Sheffield then walked on five pitches, forcing home Bragg with the
go-ahead run. The Braves now held a 4-3 lead. Scott Schoenweiss came
on to pitch for the White Sox and Chipper Jones grounded to third to finally end
the inning.
A double play grounder ended the bottom of the sixth and the Braves added to
their lead in the top of the seventh. Andruw Jones cracked a lead-off
double off Schoenweiss who was replaced by Billy Koch. Lopez struck out
and Fick was walked intentionally to set up the double play. But Castilla
foiled the strategy, belting a 1-0 fastball into the left-center field bleachers
for a three-run homer and a 7-3 Atlanta lead.
The White Sox had one last gasp in them. Will Cunnane entered the game for
the Braves in the bottom of the eighth and retired Lee but Thomas unloaded his
third home run of the series to cut the deficit to three runs. Ordonez
then dropped a single into right-center and Everett followed by doubling to
right, advancing Ordonez to third. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox came to the
mound, took the ball, and called on closer John Smoltz to get the final five
outs the Braves needed to close out the series. Smoltz retired Konerko on
a grounder to short, scoring Ordonez to make it 7-5, and then Joe Crede on a fly
to center to end the inning.
After Kelly Wunsch pitched around a single and a walk to hold the Braves
scoreless in the top of the ninth, Smoltz prepared to end the game. Jose
Valentin bounced to third for the first out and Sandy Alomar flied to left for
the second out. That brought Roberto Alomar to the plate as the last hope
for the White Sox. He took a ball and then bounced routinely to Castilla
at third. His throw to Fick at first was in plenty of time and the Braves
had their World Series title.
The Braves looked like the best team in Major League Baseball throughout a
dominant regular season that featured 116 wins. They were almost as
overpowering in the postseason, posting an 11-3 record and never facing an
elimination game.
10/24/2003, Atl03-CWS03, U.S. Cellular Field
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2003 Braves 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 7 12 0 12 1
2003 White Sox 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 5 9 1 5 1
Braves AB R H BI AVG White Sox AB R H BI AVG
Furcal ss 5 0 0 0 .095 Alomar,R 2b 5 0 0 0 .200
Giles,M 2b 3 1 1 1 .278 Lee,Ca lf 4 1 2 1 .182
Sheffield rf 3 0 1 2 .556 Thomas,F dh 4 1 1 1 .316
Jones,C lf 4 0 2 0 .316 Ordonez,M rf 4 1 1 0 .316
Jones,A cf 5 1 1 0 .273 Everett,C cf 3 1 2 0 .353
Lopez,JT c 5 1 2 0 .250 Konerko 1b 4 1 1 3 .286
Fick 1b 4 2 2 0 .286 Crede 3b 4 0 0 0 .222
Castilla 3b 5 1 2 3 .417 Valentin,Jo ss 4 0 2 0 .316
Franco,Ju dh 2 0 0 0 .250 Olivo c 1 0 0 0 .273
Bragg ph 2 1 1 1 .500 Daubach ph 0 0 0 0 .667
DeRosa ph 0 0 0 0 .250 Graffanino ph 1 0 0 0 .000
38 7 12 7 Alomar,S c 1 0 0 0 .250
35 5 9 5
Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Ortiz,Ru W 2-0 6.0 5 3 3 1 4 99 60 3.86
Wright,Jar H 1 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 8 7 13.50
King 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0.00
Cunnane 0.1 3 2 2 0 0 14 8 7.71
Smoltz S 1 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 17 13 0.00
9.0 9 5 5 1 4 141 91
White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Colon L 0-2 5.2 9 4 2 2 3 102 64 5.06
Sullivan BS 1 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 8 3 3.38
Schoeneweis 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 4 2 10.80
Koch 1.0 1 2 2 1 1 19 8 6.75
Gordon 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 19 10 15.00
Wunsch 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 23 11 23.14
9.0 12 7 5 6 6 175 98
Atl: Bragg batted for Franco,Ju in the 6th
DeRosa batted for Bragg in the 9th
CWS: Daubach batted for Olivo in the 7th
Graffanino batted for Daubach in the 7th
Alomar,S inserted at c in the 8th
E-Olivo. 2B-Giles,M(2), Jones,C(1), Jones,A(1), Everett,C(2),
Valentin,Jo 2(3). HR-Castilla(1), Lee,Ca(1), Thomas,F(3), Konerko(2).
RBI-Giles,M(2), Sheffield 2(10), Castilla 3(5), Bragg(1), Lee,Ca(1),
Thomas,F(5), Konerko 3(5). K-Giles,M, Lopez,JT 2, Fick, Castilla, Franco,Ju,
Thomas,F, Ordonez,M 2, Everett,C. BB-Furcal, Sheffield 2, Jones,C, Fick,
DeRosa, Everett,C. HBP-Giles,M, Olivo. CI-Giles,M. HB-Ortiz,Ru, Colon.
GWRBI: Sheffield
Temperature: 42, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 18 MPH.
Attendance: 46,264
Game Time: 3:27