Braves Carry Over Fast Finish in ’93 to Fast Start in ’94

The Atlanta Braves, who won the NL West with a second-half surge last season, have begun at an even faster pace in 1994.

The Braves took a 12-1 mark, including a 10-0 road record, into Monday night’s meeting at home with St. Louis. And in that game, Ryan Klesko, Fred McGriff and David Justice hit consecutive home runs in the first inning against Rick Sutcliffe.

Last Friday in Chicago, McGriff, Terry Pendleton and Tony Tarasco connected for three straight homers in a 19-5 rout.

It’s apparently no coincidence that since last July 20, the day McGriff joined the Braves, the club is 63-18 (.778) and 39-7 on the road (.848).

“He’s definitely been a part of it,” said shortstop Jeff Blauser. “He’s taken the pressure off some of our other big hitters and given us more of a threat to score runs in a big way.”

Not only have the Braves won this season, they’ve done it dramatically.

Kent Mercker, the club’s No. 5 starter, pitched a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8. On Friday the Braves set an Atlanta franchise record by scoring 19 runs and getting 46 total bases against the Chicago Cubs.

Through 13 games the Braves were hitting .301 and the pitching staff had a 2.34 ERA.

“You wish for a start like this,” manager Bobby Cox said. “I wish for it every season. This is the first time it’s ever happened.”

Last season the Braves didn’t win their 12th game until May 1, when they were 12-14, 4 1/2 games behind San Francisco.

With McGriff in the lineup last season, the Braves went 51-17 (.750) and made up a 10-game deficit to beat out the Giants for the West title on the last day of the season.

This season, because of realignment, the Braves are now in the Eastern Division. Two weeks into the season, Atlanta already held a four-game lead in a division that includes Philadelphia and Montreal.

“You always think you’re going to win every night. Every manager does,” Cox said. “It just doesn’t happen.”

The start is the Braves’ best since going 13-0 to start the 1982 season.

“It’s just been good pitching and a lot of hitting from our young guys,” Cox said.

Rookies have made a big splash. Klesko, playing left field in place of Ron Gant, who broke his leg during the winter and was released, leads the club with four home runs. He was hitting .366 with 11 RBIs.

First-year catcher Javier Lopez led the club with 12 RBIs and was hitting .286 with three homers.

But it hasn’t just been the young guys.

Deion Sanders, given the center field job when free agent Otis Nixon was allowed to sign with Boston, was hitting .333 with a couple of home runs and 11 RBIs and was tied for the league lead in steals with six.

Pendleton, playing third base, was hitting .351 with a pair of homers and 11 RBIs. McGriff, meanwhile, was steady as usual. The left-handed power hitter, who has hit more than 30 homers in six consecutive seasons, was at .319 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.

Greg Maddux, who has won two straight Cy Young Awards, is 3-0 with an ERA of 0.35; Tom Glavine, who is seeking a fourth consecutive 20-game season, is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA; and Mercker is a perfect 2-0 with an 0.56 ERA.

“Pitching is the one thing that’s going to be a constant,” Blauser said. “We sort of expect that. The run production, however, has been surprising.”

For Charlie O’Brien, a catcher who played for the New York Mets last season when they lost 103 games, it has been a whole lot more: “It’s like going from hell to heaven.”