| | ATLANTA -- As might be expected from the two teams with the best pitching staffs in baseball, Game 1 of the World Series proved to be a pitcher's duel, with Greg Maddux and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez locked in a brilliant mound matchup.
That Hernandez ultimately got the best of the battle shouldn't trouble the Braves greatly. That the Braves' lineup seems incapable of doing much damage against the Yankees' right-handed starters should.
|  | | Chipper Jones launches his fourth-inning homer off El Duque. That would be it for Atlanta's offense. |
"When you have one hit going into the ninth, you're not going to win many games," Atlanta shortstop Walt Weiss said after his team's 4-1 loss in the opener.
El Duque's assortment of release points, arm slots and nasty sliders darting out of the strike zone proved to be too much for Atlanta hitters. Chipper Jones solved him with a solo homer to right with one out in the fourth -- his first home run since Sept. 23 -- but through seven innings, the Braves had just two other baserunners.
Both reached via walks; neither advanced past second.
"We've won games before getting one or two hits," pitching coach Leo Mazzone said. "I honestly thought we were going to do that tonight."
But that may asking too much from the Atlanta staff. A one-run margin never seems slimmer than it does when you're playing the Yankees in October, even if it is being protected by a four-time Cy Young Award winner.
In the fateful eighth, when the Yankees scored all four of their runs, things unraveled quickly for the Braves, who were clinging to a 1-0 lead. Scott Brosius led with his third single of the night and was pinch-hitter Darryl Strawberry walked.
Chuck Knoblauch's bunt was mishandled by first baseman Brian Hunter to load the bases and Derek Jeter's single scored Brosius to tie the game.
John Rocker, Atlanta's testosterone-fueled closer, gave up a grounder to Paul O'Neill that slipped through the right side to score two runs. A walk to Jim Leyritz made it 4-1.
Atlanta managed a ninth-inning single from Bret Boone and a walk to Chipper Jones off Mariano Rivera, but couldn't push a runner past second.
"Tonight, our offense just didn't get anything going," Boone said.
Over the course of the season, the Braves led all major league teams with 103 wins, thanks to their starting pitching and sound defense.
But they finished sixth in hitting and eighth in runs scored in the National League, and now find offense tougher to come by than ever before.
"We're going to go with the same approach we've had all year -- we're going to scrap and try to score runs any way we can," said Boone. "We're not going to sit around and try to hit four home runs. This late in the season, you've got to find ways to manufacture runs."
To do that, they'll first need baserunners, something they didn't have much of in Game 1. And when the Braves did, they were 0-for-7 with runners on base.
Most troubling of all for the Braves is the notion of facing three right-handers in the first four games. During the season, the Braves hit 12 points lower against righty pitchers than lefties (.263 to .275). Of Atlanta's regulars, only Chipper Jones and Ryan Klesko fared better against righties.
El Duque is especially murder on righties, holding them to a .187 average over the regular season. Things won't get any easier for the Braves in Game 2 against David Cone, who presents some of the same problems to hitters that Hernandez does.
"There are a lot of similarities," agreed Weiss. "He's got all those arm angles all the time, the tough slider. That's an outstanding staff over there. It's going to be tough every game."
Boone agreed. "You're going to see the best pitching in baseball this series, from both teams," he said. "It's not going to be easy."
But the Yankees have demonstrated an ability to produce big hits against the game's best pitchers. If the Braves can't do the same, it may be a quick series.
Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal-Bulletin covers the American League for ESPN.com.
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