Braves Pick Up Slack for Sluggish Maddux

Greg Maddux wasn’t at his best, but he was still good enough. And so were the Atlanta Braves.

Maddux, winner of four consecutive Cy Young Awards, gave up nine hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings Monday at Atlanta as the Braves opened defense of their World Series championship with a 10-8 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

After receiving their World Series rings before the game from National League President Leonard Coleman, the Braves hit five home runs off three San Francisco pitchers.

But Atlanta barely held on in the ninth. Trailing, 10-5, the Giants scored three times off Mark Wohlers on Mel Hall’s single and Glenallen Hill’s two-run homer before Pedro Borbon got Shawon Dunston on a fly to left.

Ryan Klesko had a two-run homer and two-run single for Atlanta. Jeff Blauser, Fred McGriff, Mark Lemke and Jerome Walton also homered for the Braves.

“Everybody in the lineup had a good day,” Klesko said. “We felt ready. Everybody has been swinging the bat good. There wasn’t anybody who really struggled in spring training. We’re just ready to roll.”

Maddux, undefeated in four opening-day starts with the Braves, beat the Giants for the seventh consecutive time. He also stretched his streak of regular-season scoreless innings to 25 before San Francisco scored two runs in the fifth on RBI groundouts by Kirt Manwaring and Stan Javier.

“Obviously I don’t want to go out there every time and give up four runs, but you play this game to win,” Maddux said. “We’re a team. If one guy doesn’t do so well, hopefully your teammates will pick you up.”

Chicago 5, San Diego 4--Ryne Sandberg warmed Cub fans at frosty Wrigley Field with his return to baseball, and Mark Grace made the celebration complete with a 10th-inning single that gave the Cubs the victory in 38-degree weather.

Sandberg, playing in his first game since June 10, 1994, when he retired, went 0 for 3 with two walks, but handled seven chances flawlessly at second base.

Grace slapped his decisive single to left field with one out in the 10th, immediately after Sandberg’s second walk of the game had loaded the bases off loser Trevor Hoffman.

Rey Sanchez, who earlier homered, led off the bottom of the 10th with a single. One out later, Brian McRae singled before Sandberg walked on a 3-2 pitch. Grace then placed the ball just inside the third base line, sending the Cubs out of the dugout in celebration with Sandberg one of the first to congratulate Grace.

Pittsburgh 4, Florida 0--Rookie catcher Jason Kendall, making his major league debut at 21, went three for four with two runs batted in to help the Pirates win at Miami.

Kendall, the son of former major-league catcher Fred Kendall, had two RBI singles and a double. He also threw out a runner trying to steal. Paul Wagner pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings for Pittsburgh.

Jay Bell broke open a 1-0 game with a two-out, two-run double in the eighth. Jon Lieber and Dan Plesac completed Pittsburgh’s three-hitter.

Wagner, who lost a major league-high 16 games last season, earned the victory by yielding only two hits and one walk and striking out five. He held Florida hitless for 4 2/3 innings before Charles Johnson hit a 420-foot double.

New York 7, St. Louis 6--The Mets began the 1996 season the way they ended 1995, with a come-from-behind victory over the Cardinals at New York.

The Mets clawed back from a 6-0 deficit for the first time since 1980, spoiling Manager Tony La Russa’s debut with the Cardinals. The Mets showed the same resolve that helped them win 28 of their final 43 games last season.

Held to four hits by Andy Benes and trailing, 6-3, through six innings, the Mets strung together five singles and a sacrifice fly to score four times in the seventh.

Todd Hundley hit a two-run home run in the fourth and former Cardinal Bernard Gilkey had a solo shot in the sixth for the Mets.