GaryMrMets
05-28-2004, 04:16 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/8778760.htm
Posted on Fri, May. 28, 2004
Braves continue to mire Millwood
The Phils righty is now 0-5 against his old team. He lasted just four innings and gave up a grand slam.
By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer
In 1997, Kevin Millwood and Jaret Wright were two of baseball's most exciting young pitchers, rookies with bright futures.
While Wright's career with the Cleveland Indians was detoured by a shoulder injury, Millwood's flourished with the Atlanta Braves. He won 75 games for the boys with the tomahawks on their chests until being traded to the Phillies after the 2002 season.
All these years later, with plenty of miles on their odometers, Millwood and Wright found themselves facing each other last night at Citizens Bank Park.
Millwood continued to struggle against his former team, walking a career-high six. Meanwhile, with his career resurrected in Atlanta, Wright pitched a gem.
And so the first of 19 meetings this season between the Braves and the Phillies ended with Atlanta streaking to a 6-1 win. The teams will meet seven more times over the next 10 days.
The loss dropped the Phillies out of first place in the National League East. Florida, which beat Cincinnati yesterday, moved back into the division's top spot.
Ah, but it's early. This race has barely left the starting blocks, and you can bet that the Braves, winners of 12 straight division titles - nine in the NL East - will be heard from.
They certainly were last night, although Millwood aided their cause.
He lasted just four innings and was tagged for six runs while throwing 97 pitches. He allowed six hits, including a grand slam to Andruw Jones in the fourth. In addition to walking six, he hit a batter. Millwood is winless in his last three starts. He has allowed 15 earned runs and 13 walks in 15 innings over that span.
"I'm not locating my fastball, and that's pretty much killing me," Millwood said. "I don't care who you are. If you can't locate your fastball, you'll be in trouble."
Millwood, 4-3 with a 4.90 ERA, plans to watch video to see whether his lack of control is a mechanical problem.
In five starts against his former team, the righthander is 0-5 and has allowed 25 earned runs in 26 innings.
After the game, Jones wondered whether Millwood was trying too hard against his former mates.
The pitcher said that wasn't the case.
"I'm just frustrated that I haven't done a lot to help this team win lately," Millwood said. "I don't care who's on the other side, I want to win. I haven't been giving us a chance lately."
Millwood gave up two runs in the first on three singles, two walks and a sacrifice bunt.
The inning that hurt him the most was the fourth. With a man on base and two outs, he walked Chipper Jones and Johnny Estrada to load the bases for Andruw Jones. The Braves' No. 6 hitter hit an 0-1 fastball that was up and out of the strike zone. The ball came down two rows beyond the right-field wall for a grand slam and a 6-0 Atlanta lead.
Jones appeared surprised that the ball had gone out, but after 21 games at the Bank, it's clear that any ball that goes up has a chance to go out. There have been 61 home runs in the 21 games.
"I was a little surprised it went out," Millwood said. "But then again, they're playing in the same park as us. In this park, you can't walk guys or it will bite you."
Millwood hopes to have better control against the Braves on June 6 in Atlanta.
Wright (3-5) carried a shutout into the eighth and allowed just six hits.
He left with one out in the eighth after a pop-up fell between leftfielder Chipper Jones and shortstop Rafael Furcal. The miscue allowed Jimmy Rollins to score the Phils' only run.
Wright was replaced by Chris Reitsma with one out in the eighth and the crowd of 38,802 trying to will a rally out of the Phils, who were down by five runs. With runners on first and second, Reitsma got the dangerous duo of Bobby Abreu and Jim Thome on a strikeout and a groundout, respectively, to end the inning.
In a non-save situation, John Smoltz took care of business in the ninth as the Phils lost for just the third time in the last nine games.
http://www.philly.com/images/philly/inquirer/8778/77056890758.jpg
The Braves' Andruw Jones circles the bases in the background after hitting a grand slam homer as Phillies pitcher Kevin Millwood stands in the foreground.
Posted on Fri, May. 28, 2004
Braves continue to mire Millwood
The Phils righty is now 0-5 against his old team. He lasted just four innings and gave up a grand slam.
By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer
In 1997, Kevin Millwood and Jaret Wright were two of baseball's most exciting young pitchers, rookies with bright futures.
While Wright's career with the Cleveland Indians was detoured by a shoulder injury, Millwood's flourished with the Atlanta Braves. He won 75 games for the boys with the tomahawks on their chests until being traded to the Phillies after the 2002 season.
All these years later, with plenty of miles on their odometers, Millwood and Wright found themselves facing each other last night at Citizens Bank Park.
Millwood continued to struggle against his former team, walking a career-high six. Meanwhile, with his career resurrected in Atlanta, Wright pitched a gem.
And so the first of 19 meetings this season between the Braves and the Phillies ended with Atlanta streaking to a 6-1 win. The teams will meet seven more times over the next 10 days.
The loss dropped the Phillies out of first place in the National League East. Florida, which beat Cincinnati yesterday, moved back into the division's top spot.
Ah, but it's early. This race has barely left the starting blocks, and you can bet that the Braves, winners of 12 straight division titles - nine in the NL East - will be heard from.
They certainly were last night, although Millwood aided their cause.
He lasted just four innings and was tagged for six runs while throwing 97 pitches. He allowed six hits, including a grand slam to Andruw Jones in the fourth. In addition to walking six, he hit a batter. Millwood is winless in his last three starts. He has allowed 15 earned runs and 13 walks in 15 innings over that span.
"I'm not locating my fastball, and that's pretty much killing me," Millwood said. "I don't care who you are. If you can't locate your fastball, you'll be in trouble."
Millwood, 4-3 with a 4.90 ERA, plans to watch video to see whether his lack of control is a mechanical problem.
In five starts against his former team, the righthander is 0-5 and has allowed 25 earned runs in 26 innings.
After the game, Jones wondered whether Millwood was trying too hard against his former mates.
The pitcher said that wasn't the case.
"I'm just frustrated that I haven't done a lot to help this team win lately," Millwood said. "I don't care who's on the other side, I want to win. I haven't been giving us a chance lately."
Millwood gave up two runs in the first on three singles, two walks and a sacrifice bunt.
The inning that hurt him the most was the fourth. With a man on base and two outs, he walked Chipper Jones and Johnny Estrada to load the bases for Andruw Jones. The Braves' No. 6 hitter hit an 0-1 fastball that was up and out of the strike zone. The ball came down two rows beyond the right-field wall for a grand slam and a 6-0 Atlanta lead.
Jones appeared surprised that the ball had gone out, but after 21 games at the Bank, it's clear that any ball that goes up has a chance to go out. There have been 61 home runs in the 21 games.
"I was a little surprised it went out," Millwood said. "But then again, they're playing in the same park as us. In this park, you can't walk guys or it will bite you."
Millwood hopes to have better control against the Braves on June 6 in Atlanta.
Wright (3-5) carried a shutout into the eighth and allowed just six hits.
He left with one out in the eighth after a pop-up fell between leftfielder Chipper Jones and shortstop Rafael Furcal. The miscue allowed Jimmy Rollins to score the Phils' only run.
Wright was replaced by Chris Reitsma with one out in the eighth and the crowd of 38,802 trying to will a rally out of the Phils, who were down by five runs. With runners on first and second, Reitsma got the dangerous duo of Bobby Abreu and Jim Thome on a strikeout and a groundout, respectively, to end the inning.
In a non-save situation, John Smoltz took care of business in the ninth as the Phils lost for just the third time in the last nine games.
http://www.philly.com/images/philly/inquirer/8778/77056890758.jpg
The Braves' Andruw Jones circles the bases in the background after hitting a grand slam homer as Phillies pitcher Kevin Millwood stands in the foreground.