MONTREAL - The Atlanta Braves aren't accustomed to seeing John Smoltz fail.
Jose Vidro hit a two-out RBI single off Smoltz in the ninth and Brad Wilkerson drove in the winning run with a two-out dribbler in the 10th inning Tuesday night, giving the Montreal Expos a 5-4 win over Atlanta.
Smoltz had saved 13 of 14 opportunities prior to Vidro's hit.
``It's definitely surprising when it happens, but John's human,'' Braves second baseman Marcus Giles said. ``He's going to make mistakes and we've got to be there to pick him up when that happens. And tonight we didn't pick him up. We didn't score runs when we needed to.''
Atlanta came close to regaining the lead in the 10th when Vinny Castilla was thrown out at the plate by center fielder Endy Chavez while trying to score from second on Jesse Garcia's one-out single.
``We had our chances and we just didn't take advantage of our opportunities,'' Giles said.
Vladimir Guerrero singled off Darren Holmes (2-1) to open the bottom half and Lee Stevens walked.
Both runners advanced on pinch-hitter Mike Mordecai's sacrifice and Fernando Tatis was walked intentionally to load the bases.
Left-hander Chris Hammond relieved and, with the infield playing in, pinch-hitter Wil Cordero grounded into a forceout at the plate.
Wilkerson hit Hammond's 1-2 pitch off the tip of the bat, sending a slow roller up the third-base line. Hammond fielded the ball but Wilkerson easily beat the throw to first base.
``When I first heard the ball hit off the end of his bat I figured it was going foul,'' Hammond said. ``And then when I saw it bounce, it was three or four feet into fair territory, and I'm like, 'Oh no!' I mean, he couldn't have rolled it out there any better.''
The Expos, coming off a 1-6 road trip, won for just the fifth time in 18 games.
``It was funny but it's about time we got a break,'' Wilkerson said. ``It's been going rough and we need a break like that to get us going.''
Vidro went 3-for-5 with two RBIs as he extended his career-high hitting streak to 16 games.
``It was a good win against a team in our division,'' Vidro said. ``It's time to turn it around. We haven't been playing good baseball. Even tonight we just battled and came back, and our pitchers gave us a chance to win the ballgame.''
Andruw Jones tied it twice for Atlanta with RBI doubles off Javier Vazquez in the sixth and eighth.
Montreal committed four errors in the game, including a throwing miscue by reliever T.J. Tucker (2-0) on a potential double-play ball in the ninth, which allowed the Braves to take a 4-3 lead.
After Jones' second double drew the Braves even at 3, Rafael Furcal hit a one-out single off Tucker in the ninth.
Giles hit a checked-swing grounder back to Tucker, who turned and threw under shortstop Orlando Cabrera's glove into center field for an error.
Furcal rounded third and slid home with the go-ahead run as center fielder Jose Macias' throw glanced off his helmet for another error, allowing Giles to advance to third.
NOTES: Atlanta is 3-6 in extra innings this season. Montreal is 4-4. ... Greg Maddux had no strikeouts and no walks while allowing 10 hits and three runs in six innings. ... Braves SS Mark DeRosa had surgery to repair torn tissue and ligaments in his right ankle Tuesday in Atlanta. He injured his ankle while running the bases in Colorado on Friday and is currently on the 60-day disabled list. ... Vidro is 26-for-66 (.394) with five doubles, one home run and 13 RBIs over the course of his hitting streak.
Friday
March 14th, 2025
12:02AM
