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 The Braves swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals,
winning the first game 6-0 behind eight scoreless innings from
Shelby Miller and taking the second game 2-0 behind 8 2/3 shutout
innings from rookie Matt Wisler.
National League Central winning St. Louis finished the season 100-62
and will open the NL Division Series on Friday at home against the
winner of the Pittsburgh Pirates-Chicago Cubs wild-card game on
Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals lost six of their last nine
games.
Atlanta finished the season 67-95 and won five of its last six
games. The Braves finished fourth in the NL East for the first time
since 2008.
"In our game, if you pitch, you've got a chance," Atlanta manager
Fredi Gonzalez said. "We are really pitching well. You don't shutout
a team with the best record in baseball if you don't pitch well and
play some defense."
In the first game Miller (6-17) broke a 16-game losing streak and
ended a franchise-record 24 game winless streak against his former
team. Third baseman Adonis Garcia homered twice in support of Miller
and became the team's third player to hit double-digit home runs.
"It's fine to put (that streak) behind us," Miller said. "I'm glad I
got a win today and glad we got a win."
In the second game, rookie right-hander Matt Wisler came up one out
short of his first career complete game and shutout. Veteran Edwin
Jackson came in with runners on the corners to strikeout left
fielder Randal Grichuk and earn his first save.
Wisler (8-8) scattered four hits and two of those were erased in
double plays. He struck out three and walked one. Wisler, acquired
from San Diego the day before the regular season started, finished
the season with three consecutive victories. It was his second
victory over the Cardinals.
"We pushed him about as far as we could," Gonzalez said.
St. Louis threatened in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Brandon Moss doubled
with one out went to third on an infield grounder and right fielder
Tommy Pham walked. Jackson entered to record the last out and pick
up the first save of his career.
The Cardinals did not score a run in the three games at Turner Field
and were swept by the Braves for the first time since July 2013. The
Braves had not posted three consecutive shutouts since 1992.
"You hate to lose every game, no matter what it is," St. Louis
manager Mike Matheny said. "Guys didn't go out and get the job done.
We didn't get much going offensively all day."
St. Louis starter Lance Lynn (12-11) pitched five innings and
allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in each frame, but permitted
only one run to score. Lynn allowed five hits, didn't walk anyone,
and struck out two.
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"I thought early on his stuff wasn't as sharp as he wanted," Matheny
said. "He had another gear and found it when he got backed up
against the wall. He's done that a couple of times. He found a
groove late, which is good to build on."
The Braves scored a run in the first inning. Center fielder Michael
Bourn singled, advanced to third on consecutive groundball outs and
scored when left fielder Adonis Garcia singled.
Atlanta had threats in the next four innings. First baseman Pedro
Ciriaco led off to start the second, but was picked off by Lynn.
Wisler led off the third, but was erased in a double play. The
Braves had runners on the corners and failed to score in the fourth
inning and had catcher Ryan Lavarnway on third base with one out in
the fifth before coming up short.
Atlanta tacked on a run in the seventh inning against St. Louis
reliever Steve Cishek. Right fielder Todd Cunningham and catcher
Ryan Lavarnway opened the inning with hits. Cunningham scored on
Bourn's looping single to left.
The Cardinals substituted liberally in the first game and removed
starter John Lackey (13-10) after only four innings. The only
regular who started the nightcap was Grichuk.
"I think we got the guys tuned up that we wanted to get tuned up,"
Matheny said. "They got the feel of the game and that's what we were
hoping for."
NOTES: The St. Louis Cardinals did not start any player in the
second game who started the first game. ... The Atlanta Braves
started INF Hector Olivera at third base and started UTL Adonis
Garcia, who played third base in the first game, in left field.
Atlanta also sat regular RF Nick Markakis and used OF Todd
Cunningham. C Ryan Lavarnway caught both ends of the twinbill. ...
In a scheduling quirk, after not playing Atlanta until the final
three games of the 2015 season, the two teams will meet again on the
first weekend of the 2016 season. ... Attendance for the final game
was 31,441, which allowed the Braves to surpass two million for the
season.
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