posted May 15, 2008
) Photo by Tim Evearitt (file photo) Tom Glavine |
But before the game was over, there was reason for both manager Bobby Cox and Glavine to acquire a few more gray hairs.
Blaine Boyer limited the ninth-inning damage to one run and allowed the Braves to win for just the sixth time in 21 road games this year.
The 42-year-old left-hander was able to win for the first time in 11 starts.
With this being his seventh start, this was the longest Glavine has gone into a season before winning. The only seasons he waited as long as five starts before winning were 1988 and '99.
Glavine carried a one-hit shutout through five innings and then got bombarded during a four-run sixth inning that included a two-run Chase Utley homer. Still, the outburst only
cut the Phillies' deficit to four and allowed plenty of cushion for the Braves' bullpen.
"It was as good of location as I've had this season," Glavine said. "The mistake I made was when I went out in the sixth [inning] and pitched to the score."
After surrendering Jimmy Rollins' two-out RBI single, Boyer picked up his first career save by getting Shane Victorino to fly out to Jeff Francoeur in deep right-center field.
For Glavine, the final out meant his first win as a member of the Braves since Sept. 19, 2002, when he coincidently beat the Phillies.
Chipper Jones began yet another multi-hit game by accounting for one of the two first-inning solo homers against Phillies starter Brett Myers. But Jones, whose Major League-best batting average sits at .418, has been a constant both at home and on the road.
What has been lacking for the Braves was the timely hit on the road. They entered Wednesday hitting just .195 with runners in scoring position in road games. But thanks to Brian McCann and Gregor Blanco, they gained the timely hits that prevented late-inning disaster.
When Glavine looks back on his career, there will be many nights that he'll certainly deem more memorable than this one. But it will be tough for him to forget just how long he had to wait to actually realize this win.
After it was pointed out that he'd waited 11 starts to record his 304th win and just two starts to record his historic 300th victory, Glavine laughed and said, "If 300 was that hard, I would have had a heart attack before I got there."
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Adapted from MLB.com
) Photo by Tim Evearitt (file photo) Brian McCann |
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