Glavine Calmly Subdued Dodgers

As the Atlanta Braves sprayed the clubhouse with cheap champagne after sweeping the Dodgers out of the National League playoffs Saturday, starter Tom Glavine calmly sipped a beer behind a protective plastic curtain in his locker stall at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Glavine had every right to be subdued after pitching the Braves to a 5-2 victory and their to their fifth consecutive National League championship series.

Glavine, the most valuable player of the 1995 World Series, realizes there’s more work ahead.

“This is getting to be old hat for us, and that’s OK,” said Glavine, who hasn’t lost a postseason home game since 1991. “Those of us that have been around, we’re excited; don’t mistake the fact that we’re not going crazy for the fact that we don’t enjoy what we’re doing. But this is just one step along the way, and that’s the way we’re treating it.”

Glavine pitched one of the best games in World Series history last year when he gave up one hit and struck out eight in eight innings of a 1-0 victory over the powerful Cleveland Indians in the decisive Game 6. He didn’t display that type of control against the Dodgers, giving up one run and five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in 6 2/3 innings.

“If I could have that same stuff [as he did in the World Series clincher] every day, I’d be pretty good,” Glavine said. “It was a battle, to say the least. I guess the problem I had today was that my fastball was running so much I had a hard time getting it over the plate and because of that I was pitching behind in the count a lot.”

Glavine started fast, registering five strikeouts in the first three innings.

“Glavine was Glavine-like,” Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz said. “He didn’t give in. When you’ve got a pitcher like that in the postseason, and he’s been through the greatest game of his career winning the World Series, nothing will faze you.”

Glavine, who won his second Silver Slugger award last year and collected a career-high 22 hits this season, also triggered a four-run fourth-inning rally with a two-out double.

“I always like talking about my hitting,” said Glavine, who batted a career-high .289 this season. “I work on my hitting a lot. I wasn’t trying to hit a home run or anything, but with our offense I’m thinking with two outs, if I can get on with the top of the order coming up behind me, we’ve got a chance to do something.”

And the Braves did something.

Glavine doubled over the head of right fielder Raul Mondesi, bouncing a ball off the warning track to the base of the right-field wall. After Marquis Grissom walked, Lemke doubled, scoring Glavine and Grissom for a 3-0 lead.

“That was about as good as I can hit a ball,” Glavine said. “I guess if I’ve ever hit a ball that I thought was going to be a home run, that was it.”