Atlanta Braves Replay: Takeaways from Game 1 of 1995 World series

Crime Dog, Bulldog, and Mad Dog go at it in Game 1 of the 1995 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

With Greg Maddux on the mound for Game 1, the match-up did not feature the greatest of starts for the Atlanta Braves as leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton reached first base on an Atlanta infield error, then proceeded to steal second and third.

The Indians jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Carlos Baerga drove in Lofton with a sacrifice groundout. The lead was short-lived, however, as Fred McGriff took Hershiser to deep center in the bottom of the second inning, tying the game 1-1 with an absolute no-doubter.

Greg Maddux put together an absolutely dominant performance, and threw a complete game, rarely allowing balls to even enter the outfield. Hershiser also had a solid outing, allowing just three hits in six innings pitched.

Hershiser eventually just ran out of gas after topping 100 pitches, and Cleveland was forced to call on their bullpen after he gave up a couple of walks to Fred McGriff and David Justice in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Reliever Paul Assenmacher came in following Hershiser and promptly walked Mike Devereaux to load the bases before being yanked out of the game and replaced by Julian Tavarez.

Pinch hitter Luis Polonia drove in Crime Dog with a sacrifice fielder’s choice ground out, giving the Braves a hard-fought 2-1 lead. Atlanta followed with a well-needed insurance run after Raphael Belliard laid down a perfect bunt to score Justice from third.

Kenny Lofton gave Braves fans a huge scare with a score in the top of the ninth; following a single into left field, the Indians’ center fielder nabbed second on a groundout from Omar Vizquel, and then took off for third base. Fred McGriff attempted to throw Lofton out, but his frantic efforts caused an errant throw past Chipper Jones, and Lofton took home with ease, cutting the Braves’ lead in half.

Maddux finished strong and was not deterred by the aforementioned costly mishap, and with one out to go, Carlos Baerga hit a pop fly into an extremely defensively-forgiving space in shallow foul territory near third base.

A young and perhaps overly-zealous Chipper Jones almost overran the ball but nevertheless caught the final out, giving the Braves a Game 1 win, despite collecting just three hits in the game.

Notable Performances

Greg Maddux – Mad Dog flashed his mastery over the art of contact pitching, forcing 19 groundouts out of 30 batters faced, pitching a complete game, and allowing no earned runs on two hits. A truly stellar performance from a Braves legend.

Fred McGriff – The Braves first baseman blasted a moon shot off of Cleveland veteran Orel Hershiser in the bottom of the second inning. He also drew a leadoff walk in the fateful bottom of the seventh inning, where he eventually scored the go-ahead run, gifting the Braves with a lead that they would hold on to for the win.

Kenny Lofton – The speedy center fielder stole two bases in the top of the first inning, and later hit a line-drive single during a critical top of the ninth inning, followed by an extremely risky move, taking home as a wild throw to third flew past Chipper Jones. He ended up scoring both of Cleveland’s two runs in the game, using his aggressive baserunning skills.

Takeaways

Among Legends – Jim Thome. Chipper Jones. Greg Maddux. This is just naming a few. Watching several current Hall of Famers play on the same field in postseason action is truly a sight to behold.

Bobby Cox argued an admittedly terrible call… and didn’t get thrown out – After second base umpire Bruce Froemming called Mike Devereaux out on a bobbled tag, Bobby Cox, in true Bobby Cox fashion, lost his cool. However, despite his title as the most ejected skipper in baseball history, the umpires let him have his piece and didn’t give him the thumb.

Unbelievable battle on the mound – The two starting pitchers, Maddux and Hershiser, combined for 196 pitches, allowing only five hits and three earned runs… combined. A good, old-fashioned, pitch-to-contact grudge match went down in Atlanta in Game 1, and it was a joy to watch.