The #4 seed Montreal Expos played the #5 seed Atlanta Braves in a first round best-of-5 playoff series. The first two games were to be played in Atlanta, while games 3-5 would be in Montreal, if necessary. The winner would advance to the Semi-final round against San Francisco.
GAME 1
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Montreal 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 9 12 1
Atlanta 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 9 0
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Starting Pitchers: Montreal - Kevin Brown
Atlanta - Andy Ashby
WP - Kevin Brown (1-0) LP - Andy Ashby (0-1) S - None
E: Montreal - Sanchez
Atlanta - None
HR: Montreal - Fernando Tatis (1), Mark McGwire (2), Vladimir Guerrero (1),
Edgardo Alfonzo (1)
Atlanta - J.T. Snow (1), Andruw Jones (1)
INJURIES: Montreal - None
Atlanta - None
Highlights: The Expos played long ball early, highlighted by a McGwire 3-run
1st inning HR, a solo HR by Alfonzo in the 2nd, and a 2 run jack
by Big Mac in the 3rd. Ashby took the brunt of the punishment while
Brown went 9 innings, striking out 14 and walking just 1.
GAME 2
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 R H E
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Montreal 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 11 0
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 9 1
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Starting Pitchers: Montreal - Rick Helling
Atlanta - Andy Benes
WP - Donnie Wall (1-0) LP - Trevor Hoffman (0-1)
E: Montreal - None
Atlanta - Todd Zeile
HR: Montreal - None
Atlanta - Brady Anderson (1), Jeremy Burnitz (1)
INJURIES: Montreal - None
Atlanta - None
Highlights: Jeremy Burnitz ended a 13-inning thriller with a 2-run HR off Montreal
closer Trevor Hoffman. The game featured outstanding relief pitching with
the Braves relievers tossing 7 shutout innings, allowing just 4 hits and
no walks. The Expos combined for 6.2 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit and 2
walks before Hoffman opened the 13th allowing a single to Deivi Cruz before
Burnitz's heroic HR to tie the series at 1 game each.
GAME 3
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Atlanta 0 0 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 8 15 0
Montreal 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 4 9 1
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Starting Pitchers: Atlanta - Mike Hampton
Montreal - Bartolo Colon
WP - Mike Hampton (1-0) LP - Bartolo Colon (0-1)
E: Atlanta - None
Montreal - Vladimir Guerrero
HR: Atlanta - David Justice (1)
Montreal - Vladimir Guerrero 2 (3), Jason Giambi (1)
INJURIES: Atlanta - None
Montreal - Rey Sanchez (2 days)
Highlights: The Braves broke up a scoreless tie by scoring 4 times in the 4th,
featuring 6 hits. The Expos got 1 back in the bottom of the inning
thanks to a Guerrero HR. However, the Braves added 4 more in the 6th
with David Justice slugging a big 3-run HR. Guerrero added his 2nd HR
of the game in the 6th, a 2-run blow. Hampton didn't have his best stuff
but he kept the Expos off-balance enough to notch the win, putting the
Braves in the driver's seat with a 2-1 series edge.
GAME 4
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
Montreal 2 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 - 6 11 0
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Starting Pitchers: Atlanta - Kevin Millwood
Montreal - Kevin Brown
WP - Kevin Brown (2-0) LP - Kevin Millwood (0-1)
E: Atlanta - Todd Zeile 2 (3)
Montreal - None
HR: Atlanta - None
Montreal - Fernando Tatis (2), Mark McGwire 2 (4), Luis Sojo 1
INJURIES: Atlanta - None
Montreal - Alfonzo (1 day)
Highlights: The Expos jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st thanks to solo HRs by
Tatis and McGwire. Big Mac added a 2-run shot in the 5th, his 4th HR of
the series. With starting SS Rey Sanchez injured, the Expos suffered another
major blow to their playoff hopes when Edgardo Alfonzo was injured in the 2nd
inning after being struck in the forearm by a Kevin Millwood fastball. Luis
Sojo came on to play 2nd and added some punch to the Expos lineup when he hit
a solo HR in the 6th. Kevin Brown pitched a complete game 5-hitter, walking
just 2 and striking out 9 for his 2nd win of the series.
GAME 5
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Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 8 0
Montreal 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 3 6 2
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Starting Pitchers: Atlanta - Andy Ashby
Montreal - Rick Helling
WP - Roberto Hernandez (1-0) LP - Andy Ashby (0-2) SV- Trevor Hoffman (1)
E: Atlanta - None
Montreal - Luis Sojo (1), Alex Gonzalez (1)
HR: Atlanta - None
Montreal - Jason Giambi (2), Mark McGwire (5)
INJURIES: Atlanta - None
Montreal - None
Highlights: With the series knotted at 2 games each going into the deciding game, the Braves
and Expos locked up in a fine pitcher's duel. The Expos scored 1 in the 1st to
take a 1-0 lead when, with 2 outs, Ashby hit Giambi and McGwire doubled him home.
It stayed 1-0, with Ashby and Helling pitching well. Going into the 7th when the
Expos went to their pen, replacing Helling despite his 6 shutout innings, allowing
just 4 hits. Paul Shuey took the ball and the Expos defense, already weakened with
the loss of their starting shortstop and secondbaseman, faltered. Gonzalez allowed
a single and added a base with a throwing miscue. Shuey then uncorked a WP, moving
Jones to 3rd with 1 down. Eddie Perez hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.
With 2 down, and Shuey struggling, Roberto Hernandez got the call. As when Shuey
entered, the defense failed for Hernandez when Luis Sojo booted a routine grounder
to load the bases. With 2 down, Burnitz flied out to deep left, ending the threat.
The Braves grabbed a 2-1 lead in the top of the 8th when, with 2 down, Todd Zeile
singled and Jones doubled him home. The Braves were just 6 outs away from advancing
to face the mighty San Francisco Giants. However, the Expos got back to playing long
ball in the bottom of the 8th when Giambi and Big Mac slugged back-to-back HRs, giving
the Expos a 3-2 lead. Trevor Hoffman pitched a 1-2-3 9th for the save, redeeming
himself after giving up the game winning 13th inning HR to Burnitz in game 2.
Series Highlights: Mark McGwire slugged 5 HRs and had 10 RBI for the series. Kevin Brown
pitched 18 innings, allowing 3 runs, 14 hits, 2 walks, while striking
out 25.