Johnson Beats Braves With Bat, Glove

First, Mark Johnson put Pittsburgh ahead with his bat. Then he preserved the lead with his glove.

Johnson singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and prevented a wild throw from allowing the tying run to score in the bottom half as the Pirates defeated the Braves, 3-2, Friday night at Atlanta.

With runners on first and third, Andruw Jones hit a line drive to pitcher Rich Loiselle, whose throw was wide of the bag. Johnson gloved the ball and beat Jeff Blauser to the bag, completing a game-ending double play.

“Rich had so much time he kind of squeezed one over there,” Johnson said.

Said Pirate Manager Gene Lamont said: “I was about to walk out to shake hands with the pitcher. I about lost my stomach.”

Atlanta, a major league-best 20-7, lost for only the third time in 15 games at Turner Field, its new ballpark.

Tony Womack led off the ninth with a single off Mike Bielecki (1-1), took second on Jermaine Allensworth’s sacrifice, stole third and came home on Johnson’s lined single to right off Alan Embree.

“I was going at him with my fastball,” Embree said. “That’s what I live and die with. Tonight, I died with it.”

Chris Peters (1-0) retired the side in the eighth before Loiselle came in for his first save.

Brave starter Greg Maddux failed to get a decision for the second time in six starts this season. He gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings, leaving when Atlanta hit for him in the seventh.

Jason Schmidt, traded from Atlanta to Pittsburgh last July, made his first start against his former team. He gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings.

New York 7, St. Louis 4--Alex Ochoa beat out an infield single, allowing the go-ahead run to score in the seventh inning at New York as the Mets stopped the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak.

With the score tied, 4-4, Carlos Baerga led off with a double off T.J. Mathews (0-1), took third on Rey Ordonez’s sacrifice and scored when Ochoa easily beat out a roller to third.

Butch Huskey, who earlier hit a two-run homer, added a run-scoring single in the eighth off Rick Honeycutt, who allowed another run to score by throwing a wild pitch with a runner on third as Carlos Baerga struck out.

Greg McMichael (2-2) won in relief of starter Armando Reynoso, giving up one hit in two innings and striking out three. John Franco pitched the ninth for his seventh save.

Houston 2, Florida 1--Derek Bell broke out of an slump with a go-ahead sacrifice fly as the Astros handed the Marlins a club-record 10th consecutive road loss.

Bell ended a string of nine consecutive games without a run batted in with the sacrifice fly to center field in the third inning. He drove in Craig Biggio, who had walked with one out before moving to third on a single by Bob Abreu and a walk to Jeff Bagwell.

Shane Reynolds (4-2), who entered the game with an 0-5 career record against Florida, got his first victory against the Marlins. He went eight innings, giving up one run on seven hits.

Pat Rapp (2-2) gave up six hits and two runs in six innings.

Philadelphia 7, Colorado 4--Rico Brogna hit his second career grand slam and Bobby Munoz won for the first time in nearly three years as the Phillies defeated the Rockies at Denver.

Brogna’s slam gave the Phillies a 5-0 first-inning lead to help Munoz (1-4) get his first victory in 12 decisions since July 27, 1994. The loss ended Colorado’s five-game home winning streak.

Munoz gave up four runs--three earned--and three hits in six innings. Ricky Bottalico pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

After giving up five runs in the first, Thompson (3-2) kept the Phillies in check until Mickey Morandini hit a two-out, two-run double to give Philadelphia a 7-3 lead in the sixth.

Montreal 5, San Diego 4--Chris Widger hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth inning as the Expos defeated the Padres at San Diego.

Tony Gwynn tied the game, 4-4, with his sixth homer of the year, a leadoff shot off Anthony Telford that went just inside the right-field foul pole.

But Doug Bochtler (0-1) struggled in the eighth, walking leadoff hitter David Segui and giving up a single to Henry Rodriguez. F.P. Santangelo’s grounder moved Segui to third, and he scored on Widger’s fly to right.

Montreal won its third consecutive game, while the Padres lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

Gwynn went three for five, giving him 2,602 hits in his career and sole possession of 60th on the career list.

Gwynn flied out to right with runners on first and second, ending the eighth. The Padres, who stranded 13, advanced the potential tying run to third with one out in the ninth. Ugueth Urbina, who got four outs for his third save, struck out John Flaherty and got Chris Jones to fly out.

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BESTS OF THE DAY

BATTING

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Player Team Performance Team’s Result Butch Huskey New York 2 for 3, 2 RBIs, homer, double Win Rico Brogna Philadelphia 1 for 4, second career grand slam Win D. DeShields St. Louis 3 for 5, triple, run Loss Deion Sanders Cincinnati 3 for 5, RBI, double Win

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PITCHING

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Player Team Performance Team’s Result Greg Maddux Atlanta 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 strikeouts Loss Shane Reynolds Houston 8 innings, 7 hits, 1 run, 6 strikeouts Win

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