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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Tony La Russa won his Game 1 gamble, although
not the way he had planned.
The St. Louis Cardinals scored six runs off Greg Maddux and
Atlanta's shoddy defense in the first inning and then survived
rookie Rick Ankiel's epic wildness for a 7-5 victory over the
Braves in their NL playoff opener Tuesday.
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GAME 1 AT A GLANCE
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Every game a hero
With Rick Ankiel throwing pitch after pitch to the backstop, the Cardinals
summoned the sideburned Mike James from the pen. He threw 2 1/3 scoreless
innings to get the win.
Key number
Greg Maddux fell to 10-11 in his postseason career. However, it was only his
second loss in seven starts in Division Series action. His other loss came last year against Houston.
Key move
Tony La Russa started Placido Polanco over Fernando Tatis at third base and
Polanco delivered a two-run single in the first. The Braves had
intentionally walked Carlos Hernandez to load the bases for Polanco.
They said it
"But with this game, you just don't know. You never know. The matchups could be overwhelming or lopsided, and you still never know what might happen. And that's what's so great about the game."
-- Mark McGwire
ESPN analysis
The first thing the Cardinals proved is they can hit the Braves' pitching. Greg Maddux pitched well enough to get out of the first inning with one run but the Braves made a bunch of physical errors, some mental errors, and I still believe there is some hangover left from Sunday when they were absolutely stunned. There's no way the first inning gets out of hand in Atlanta the way it did in St. Louis.
--Peter Gammons
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Ankiel, 21, was a surprise starter. He was only 11-7 in the
regular season, but his 3.50 ERA led the staff and he had a 7-2
record at Busch Stadium.
La Russa even shielded Ankiel from the media on Monday, sending
20-game winner Darryl Kile to the interview room so the rookie
could escape before the manager announced his rotation.
Then the script fell apart. Ankiel looked like a kid three years
removed from high school, which he is, becoming the first pitcher
in 110 years to throw five wild pitches in one inning as the Braves
scored four runs in the third.
"He threw some outstanding pitches and he threw some funny ones
that weren't so outstanding," La Russa said. "I mean, there's no
doubt about it, he struggled."
But he didn't hesitate to say Ankiel will start again in Game 4
on Sunday, if the best-of-5 series goes that long.
"If we're going to win enough games, Mr. Ankiel is going to
have to be there for us," La Russa said.
La Russa said Ankiel will do better after he and catcher Carlos
Hernandez, who caught him for the first time, review game tapes.
Ankiel wanted no part of that.
"I'm not even going to go back and look at it," Ankiel said.
"Why look at something bad?"
With the help of two errors and a fly ball that dropped between
Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones and left fielder Reggie
Sanders for a hit, St. Louis got to Maddux in the first.
"A crazy inning where things kind of went haywire," Braves
pitching coach Leo Mazzone said. "I guess that's the best way to
describe it."
Maddux lasted four innings, giving up seven runs -- five earned --
and nine hits. But Maddux, who dropped to 10-11 in the postseason,
didn't seem that unhappy about his outing or his stuff.
"It was good," Maddux said. "No better or worse than it's
been the last couple of months."
Placido Polanco, who started ahead of slumping Fernando Tatis
and went 3-for-4, hit a two-run single as the Cardinals tied a
postseason record for runs in the opening inning. Jim Edmonds added
a home run in the fourth.
Atlanta made three errors in all, contributing to two unearned
runs, just two days after Chipper Jones' ninth-inning error cost
the defending NL champions home-field advantage in the first round.
Mike James relieved Ankiel and got the final out of the third,
then pitched two more innings for the win. Dave Veres worked the
ninth for the save, allowing an RBI single to Brian Jordan.
"I don't care about the save," Veres said. "I wanted us to
score four or five more runs in the eighth."
After a day off Wednesday, the series resumes with Kile pitching
for St. Louis against Tom Glavine in a matchup of the NL's only
20-game winners, then travels to Atlanta for the weekend.
Ankiel is only the second pitcher in major league history to
throw five wild pitches in an inning. On Sept. 15, 1890, Bert
Cunningham did it for Buffalo of the Players League in the first
inning of the second game of a doubleheader.
All but one of Ankiel's wild pitches were fastballs, most of
them high over the head of Hernandez. The fifth was a curve that
bounced about five feet in front of the plate.
|  | | Braves pitcher Greg Maddux can't bear to watch Jim Edmonds accept congratulations from third-base coach Jose Oquendo after Edmonds' fourth-inning homer. |
Hernandez also made a leaping grab to prevent what would have
been another.
"A couple of them were too high," Hernandez said. "If I'm
Superman, maybe. But I don't think I can fly."
Ankiel threw 12 wild pitches in 175 regular-season innings. More
than half (34) of his 66 pitches Tuesday were balls.
Mark McGwire, limited to one plate appearance per game because
of knee pain, pinch hit in the eighth and was intentionally walked
by Kerry Ligtenberg.
Atlanta was just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position,
while St. Louis was 3-for-15.
St. Louis, which took a 3-1 lead against Atlanta in the 1996 NL
championship series and then lost three straight, quickly got
ahead.
Fernando Vina reached on an infield single leading off, J.D.
Drew singled and Edmonds' fly ball dropped next to Andruw Jones as
the game's first run scored.
Will Clark's single made it 2-0 and Ray Lankford reached when
his grounder bounced off the glove of third baseman Chipper Jones
as another run scored.
After a sacrifice and an intentional walk, Polanco hit a two-run
single to center and advanced to second when Andruw Jones' throw
home hit the mound.
Catcher Paul Bako allowed another run to score when he threw
wildly to second, trying to catch Polanco going for the extra base.
The third was even wilder.
Ankiel opened the inning with a four-pitch walk to Maddux, then
threw a fifth ball before getting a visit from pitching coach Dave
Duncan.
La Russa didn't start warming up a reliever until Jordan, the
sixth batter of the inning, hit an RBI single.
Andruw Jones scored on the first wild pitch, Jordan hit an RBI
single, and Walt Weiss had a two-run single.
Cardinals rookie Britt Reames, an unexpected member of the
postseason staff, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh when he
got Reggie Sanders on a popout and pinch-hitter Bobby Bonilla on a
groundout.
Game notes
The Cardinals have never lost a game in a best-of-five
series, sweeping the Braves in 1982 and the Padres in 1996. ... The
Braves, in need of offense, pinch hit Javy Lopez for Bako in the
second inning. But Lopez lined into an inning-ending double play on
a diving grab by shortstop Edgar Renteria and ended up 0-for-4. ...
The Braves were 11th in the NL with 129 errors.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
Stark: We've seen everything, but not this
RECAPS
Seattle 7
Chi. White Sox 4
Oakland 5
NY Yankees 3
St. Louis 7
Atlanta 5
AUDIO/VIDEO
 ESPN's Buck Martinez breaks down the St. Louis victory.
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Atlanta players sound off on their costly mistakes in Game 1.
avi: 1930 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Jim Edmonds just wanted to be aggressive.
wav: 210 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Andruw Jones talks about the one that got away.
wav: 135 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Brian Jordan didn't feel the Braves gave Game 1 away.
wav: 98 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Rick Ankiel couldn't explain his lack of control in the third inning.
wav: 101 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Will Clark said both sides had their share of mistakes.
wav: 86 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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