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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals hopped up and down on the
mound at Turner Field. Then they carried the celebration to the
clubhouse, where the music was turned up all the way and the
champagne flowed like a downpour.
Ahh, payback is sweet.
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GAME 3 AT A GLANCE
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Every game a hero
Once again, Jim Edmonds was a terror at the plate. His long two-run homer in the third inning gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. His two-out double in the fifth made it 4-1. Edmonds hit .571 in the series, had four doubles and two home runs, and drove in seven runs.
Key move
When Cardinals starter Garrett Stephenson left with two outs in the fourth inning due to tendinitis in his elbow, Tony La Russa summoned rookie Britt Reames from the bullpen. Reames tossed 1 1/3 hitless innings and Mike James, Matt Morris and Dave Veres concluded with four more hitless innings.
Key number
Ten years. That's how long it's been since there's been a National League Championship Series played without the Braves. That was between the Reds and Pirates in 1990. Since then, the Braves had defeated the Pirates (1991 and 1992), lost to the Phillies (1993), beat the Reds (1995), beat the Cardinals (1996), lost the Marlins (1997), lost to the Padres (1998) and beat the Mets (1999).
They said it
"M-V-P! M-V-P!"
-- Cardinals teammates to Jim Edmonds, in the postgame celebration, as they drenched him with champagne.
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The Cardinals avenged a 4-year-old postseason loss with a 7-1
victory over Atlanta on Saturday, sweeping the Braves out of the
opening round of the playoffs with shocking ease.
Jim Edmonds and Fernando Vina drove in three runs apiece as the
Cardinals completed a three-game blitz in the best-of-5 series.
St. Louis advanced to the NL Championship Series for the first time
since 1996.
"I didn't think it would take this long to get back at them,"
said Ray Lankford, one of three St. Louis holdovers from '96. "But
it was worth it."
Four years ago, the Cardinals squandered a 3-1 lead over
Atlanta, which won the final three games of the NLCS by a combined
score of 32-1. St. Louis turned things around in the rematch,
blowing out the Braves by an aggregate of 24-10.
"This is a different year," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa
said. "In 1996, we were close, but they were better."
Not this time. Atlanta got just three singles in the finale, and
the biggest cheers at Turner Field were for Mark McGwire, who
grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
"I told you guys! I told you guys!" Will Clark screamed while
spraying bubbly in the raucous Cardinals clubhouse. "We just kept
getting better and better."
Atlanta, making a ninth straight playoff appearance, will miss
the NLCS for the first time since 1990. The Cardinals open
Wednesday night, either at San Francisco or at home against the New
York Mets.
"Everybody still wants to play," said Kevin Millwood, who took
the loss for Atlanta. "But we ran into a hot ballclub that played
better baseball than we did. Now we get to watch."
After Paul Bako ended the game by striking out, the Cardinals
hopped up and down in the center of the field, thousands of their
fans crowded behind the third-base dugout.
"They're always here with us," Edmonds said. "They're a part
of our lives."
|  | | Atlanta's Brian Jordan couldn't stand the way things were going for the Braves, who were eliminated from the NLDS in three games. |
For the third time in four years, the Braves watched another
team celebrate a playoff victory on their field. Florida clinched
the NLCS in Atlanta in 1997, followed by San Diego in '98.
"We've seen it a few times here," Chipper Jones said. "Until
it (ticks) us off, we're going to keep on seeing it."
St. Louis set the tone for the series by scoring six runs in the
first inning of Game 1, going on to a 7-5 victory over four-time Cy
Young winner Greg Maddux.
The Cardinals followed with a 10-4 rout Thursday, handing
21-game winner Tom Glavine his shortest outing in seven years.
In Game 3, St. Louis struck another stunning blow on the second
pitch from Millwood -- a high fastball that Vina lined into the
first row of the right-field stands.
During the regular season, the Cardinals second baseman hit only
four homers.
Then, with the score tied at 1, Edmonds went to work to chants
of "M-V-P! M-V-P!" from the red-clad Cardinals fans who filled
out the less-than-sellout crowd at Turner Field.
In the third, he pounced on a 2-0 fastball from Millwood for a
two-run homer. Edmonds stood at the plate for a few seconds to
admire his towering, 418-foot shot into the Braves' right-field
bullpen.
Edmonds knocked out Millwood with a two-out, run-scoring double
in the fifth that was misplayed by left fielder Reggie Sanders. For
the series, the Cardinals outfielder was 8-for-14 (.571) and set a
Division Series record with four doubles.
"I'm so glad for him," La Russa said. "He had a huge season
and I'm happy he could do it in October, too."
The Braves were buried when St. Louis scored three more in the
sixth, prompting a serenade of boos before fans began clogging the
exits. Vina had a two-run single against Mike Remlinger.
"Fernando set the table up all series long," Clark said, "and
Jimmy came along and mopped it up."
Until this year, the Braves had reached the NLCS eight seasons
in a row (excluding strike-shortened 1994) and went on to the World
Series five times.
But as remarkable as the postseason streak has been, Atlanta
remains stuck on just one World Series championship.
"We've been trying to figure out why that is until we're blue
in the face," Glavine said. "We want to win as much as anybody."
The Braves have lost seven straight postseason games going back
to a sweep by the Yankees in last year's World Series.
But that team overachieved after losing Andres Galarraga and
Javy Lopez. The two sluggers returned this year, only to be part of
a total collapse in the last 1½{ weeks.
The Braves closed the regular season by losing four of five --
including a ninth-inning debacle in the finale that cost home-field
advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Leading Colorado 5-3, Jones botched a grounder to third that
should have ended the game. The Rockies took advantage of the error
to score seven runs, including a three-run homer by Todd Helton on
an 0-2 pitch from John Rocker.
The Braves never recovered.
St. Louis starter Garrett Stephenson, bothered by tendinitis the
last month, lasted only 3 2/3 innings before he was forced out with
a stiff elbow. He gave up Galarraga's RBI single in the first for
the only Atlanta run.
La Russa said Stephenson would be evaluated in St. Louis. His
status for the rest of the playoffs was uncertain, but he was
clearly upset when he left the field.
The Braves were hitless over the final 5 1/3 innings against
four St. Louis relievers, including winner Britt Reames.
"You don't win 90-plus games without getting great pitching out
of your bullpen," La Russa said.
In the middle of the fifth, the video board showed highlights of
a shining moment in Atlanta's postseason history -- Sid Bream
scoring the winning run in the 1992 NLCS.
The crowd hardly noticed.
Game notes
Until this year, the Braves had a record of 15-2 in the Division Series. They lost
more games in five days against St. Louis. ... Lopez left after the
sixth inning with a strained left knee. St. Louis 3B Placido
Polanco also failed to finish because of tightness in his right
hamstring. ... Millwood actually handled Clark, his biggest St.
Louis nemesis. The first baseman was 5-for-8 with four homers in
his career against Millwood before striking out and popping up. ...
The Cardinals have played three best-of-5 series in their
history, sweeping each time. ... St. Louis C Carlos Hernandez tied
a Division Series record by throwing out three runners attempting
to steal in the three games.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
Down and out in Atlanta
Edmonds a sure-fire hit in series sweep
Stephenson forced out by stiff elbow
RECAPS
Oakland 11
NY Yankees 1
St. Louis 7
Atlanta 1
NY Mets 3
San Francisco 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 ESPN's Jeremy Schapp talks with Fernando Vina and Will Clark
avi: 1504 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mark McGwire gives ESPN's Jeremy Schapp a champagne shower.
avi: 3257 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Tony La Russa talks about the Cardinals advancing to NL Championship series.
avi: 736 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Mark McGwire knows that winning in the postseason takes a total team effort.
wav: 80 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Eric Davis says the Cardinals have been playing good baseball all season.
wav: 86 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jim Edmonds wants to lead his team all the way to the World Series.
wav: 108 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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