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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Astros provided one final thrill at
the Astrodome. It wasn't enough to keep the Atlanta Braves from
advancing to another NL Championship Series.
John Smoltz pitched seven strong innings before the Braves withstood a furious rally by the Astros, moving on to their eighth
straight LCS with a 7-5 victory over Houston on Saturday.
|  | | Eddie Perez, right, and John Rocker celebrate the Braves' series-clinching victory. |
The Astros trailed 7-0 before closing the gap with a run in the
seventh and four more in the eighth, actually bringing the tying
run to the plate. But John Rocker got the final four outs for a save -- retiring Ken Caminiti, who had homered earlier, on a deep fly with a runner on base to end it.
The Braves won the best-of-5 opening-round series 3-1.
"It was a little scary," Chipper Jones said. "But Rocker was up to the challenge. He made some big pitches."
A crowd of 48,553, about 6,000 short of capacity, watched the
last game at the Astrodome, dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World
when it opened in 1965. Houston is moving to a new downtown park
next season after 35 years at the world's first domed stadium.
Manager Larry Dierker is glad to make the move. The Astros have
never won a postseason series, so maybe a change of scenery will
help.
"The greatest pleasure for me is knowing we won't have any more
games here," Dierker said. "I keep saying I'm not going to go to
a World Series until we're in it. I hope I live long enough."
The LCS begins Tuesday night at Turner Field. The Braves will
meet the New York Mets, who beat Arizona 4-3 in 10 innings Saturday
to win their series, also 3-1.
The Mets lost nine of 12 regular-season meetings to Atlanta.
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GAME 4 AT A GLANCE
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Every game a hero
For the second straight game John Rocker came into a big spot and rescued the Braves. This time with a runner on third base and two outs and the Astros threatening to take the lead, Rocker entered and quickly defused the rally as he struck out Craig Biggio. He then closed it out in the ninth by striking out Jeff Bagwell and Carl Everett before getting Ken Caminiti, who in the eighth inning hit a three-run homer, to fly out to center field to end the game.
Key number
Five. The number of consecutive trips the Braves have now made to the NLCS. In the previous four, the Braves have gone on to win two and lose two.
Last word
"(The eighth inning) was a little scary. But Rocker was up to the challenge. He made some big pitches."
-- Chipper Jones
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"We obviously know we can beat them," Jones said. "We need to
go out and play them the same way we have all season. To win nine
of 12 is pretty good against a club of that caliber."
Atlanta took control of its first-round series with a thrilling
5-3 victory in 12 innings Friday, escaping from the edge of defeat
in the 10th when shortstop Walt Weiss made a brilliant defensive play and the Astros couldn't score against Rocker with the bases
loaded and no outs.
In Game 4, the Astros loaded the bases in the first and put two
runners on in the second against Smoltz, but failed to score either
time. Houston finally came through with some clutch hits in the
eighth when Caminiti hit his third homer of the series, a three-run
shot over the center-field fence.
Tony Eusebio followed with a single and came around to score on Tim Bogar's third hit of the game, a double to the gap in left-center. But Kevin McGlinchy and Rocker ended any hope of a storybook finish for the Astrodome.
"I knew it wasn't do or die for us," said Rocker, who picked
up the win in Game 3. "I knew we still had a Cy Young guy (Greg Maddux) going tomorrow. I just tried to relax, go out there and get it done."
Houston couldn't overcome its history of playoff failure. The
Astros have been to the postseason six times without ever winning a
series, also losing to the Braves in the opening round two years
ago.
The division series has never been much of an obstacle for the
Braves, who have an overall record of 15-2 since the expanded
playoffs began in 1995 -- including 8-0 on the road. They won three
in a row after losing the first game in Atlanta, 6-1.
For the third year in a row, the Killer B's -- Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell -- were big zeros in the postseason. Biggio went 2-for-19 in the series and has a career average of .119 in the
playoffs, while Bagwell's 2-for-13 performance dropped him to .128
for his postseason career.
Biggio, one of Houston's most popular players, was booed loudly
after he struck out swinging to lead off the fifth, chasing a high
pitch. He also struck out against Rocker with a runner on third to
end the eighth.
After giving up a leadoff walk to Stan Javier in the ninth,
Rocker struck out Bagwell, too.
"Biggio and Bagwell are two guys who are used to getting it
done," Rocker said. "When you pitch around them like we did,
they're not getting the pitches to hit and they're not getting it
done. Then they start to press and start to swing at some bad
pitches."
The Braves sent up 10 batters in the sixth, pecking Houston into
submission with seven singles against Game 1 winner Shane Reynolds and two relievers. Eddie Perez and Gerald Williams each had two-run
hits and Andruw Jones drove in the other run, sending thousands in the crowd toward the exits.
Smoltz lost his shutout in the seventh when Eusebio led off with
a homer. The Atlanta starter allowed six hits and four runs,
failing to get an out in the eighth.
Two years ago, Smoltz went the distance in the deciding Game 3
against the Astros, allowing only three hits and a run while
striking out 11.
Williams doubled on the first pitch of the game and came home on Chipper Jones' sacrifice fly, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead.
Atlanta added another run in the third when Smoltz led off with
a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Bret Boone's single to left. Smoltz also singled in the fifth and had a sacrifice bunt in the sixth.
Reynolds, working on three days' rest for only the second time
this season, was lifted in the fifth after giving up two hits.
Reliever Chris Holt failed to get an out, the Braves adding three more hits, and Scott Elarton gave up Williams' two-run single before the inning mercifully ended for the Astros.
Game notes
Billy Wagner, bothered by tendinitis in his left elbow,
pitched only one inning in the series. He probably could not have
pitched Saturday but wasn't needed anyway. ... Prior to the game,
Houston pitcher Jose Lima walked around the edge of the stands with a bag draped around his shoulder, pulling out dozens of balls and
tossing them to the early-arriving fans. ... Lima also came back on
the field to catch the ceremonial first pitch, thrown out by actor
Kevin Spacey. ... Plenty of good seats still available: None of the
four games was played before a full house. ... Houston's final
record at the Astrodome with regular and postseason games:
1,568-1,218.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 9
Cleveland 3
NY Yankees 3
Texas 0
Atlanta 7
Houston 5
NY Mets 4
Arizona 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 John Smoltz says the Braves were determined to win.
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