Padres Bury the Hatchet

Unable to complete their task in a comfortable setting, the San Diego Padres were forced to go on the road again in the National League championship series.

The Atlanta Braves went home in an attempt to make history, and momentum was seemingly shifting. San Diego had reason to be concerned.

Not anymore.

Ending the Braves’ season in the heart of Georgia, the Padres clinched the pennant with a 5-0 victory in Game 6 of the championship series Wednesday night at Turner Field.

Padre left-hander Sterling Hitchcock--selected the championship series most valuable player--continued his inspiring postseason run by pitching five-plus shutout innings on three days of rest. Hitchcock won his second game in the series, and his third in three playoff starts, as San Diego nailed down the best-of-seven series, 4-2.

“It’s hard to describe the feeling you have at this moment, for the guys who worked so hard, for your family and for your friends,” Padre Manager Bruce Bochy said. “This series . . . I don’t know if it can get any better than that. Both teams played incredible baseball.”

San Diego played a little better.

The Padres broke the game open by scoring all their runs in the sixth inning on six hits and a two-run fielding error by left fielder Danny Bautista. They sent 11 batters to the plate, chasing Atlanta starter Tom Glavine and deflating a tomahawk-chopping crowd of 50,988.

Following his proven formula, Bochy summoned three relievers to hold the lead for dominant closer Trevor Hoffman.

In a non-save situation, Hoffman retired the side in order in the ninth to help the NL West champions win their second pennant in franchise history, and the first since 1984.

San Diego thwarted the Braves’ efforts to become the first team in baseball history to win a series after trailing, 3-0. NL East champion Atlanta established a franchise record with 106 victories and played in its seventh successive championship series.

But once again, the team of the decade ends its season without what it covets most: a World Series title.

The Padres earned the right to represent the National League in the 1998 World Series against the American League champion New York Yankees, beginning Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

The Padres are eager to return to work, but not right away.

“I’m extremely happy for those guys over there in our locker room, for our organization, and for the city of San Diego,” said Padre all-star right fielder Tony Gwynn, an eight-time NL batting champion and the only remaining player from the ’84 club.

“We all have waited a long time, and the fact that we’re going to the World Series again is great. But I’m going to tell you now: We want to win.”

That much has been obvious.

San Diego surprised many by defeating the favored Houston Astros, 3-1, in the division series. The Padres raised even more eyebrows because of their stirring play against the powerful Braves.

The Padres swept the Braves in three games played at Turner Field. Atlanta is the only other team to win three road games in a championship series, accomplishing the feat against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1991.

“We came in here and beat them in their house three times--three times!” shouted champagne-drenched Padre leadoff batter Quilvio Veras, while “The Night That the Lights Went Out in Georgia” blasted through speakers in the visitors’ clubhouse.

“Nobody thought we had a chance against the Astros, they thought we couldn’t beat the Braves. They thought we couldn’t get to the World Series. Who’s going to the World Series?”

That would be the Padres, whose pitchers outdueled their more-celebrated counterparts. Led by Kevin Brown and Hitchcock, the Padres finished the series with a 2.78 earned-run average, limiting the Braves to a .235 batting average.

And the Braves? The club with the best starting rotation in baseball had a 3.50 ERA, which isn’t bad. But it wasn’t good enough against San Diego.

“They’ve got great pitchers, and they pitched very good against us,” said Atlanta slugger Andres Galarraga, who batted .095 with a homer and four runs batted in. “We tried hard every game, but they pitched very good.”

No one better than Hitchcock.

The Padres’ No. 4 starter during most of the regular season, Hitchcock was 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in the championship series. Overall, the left-hander is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in the postseason.

In the process, Hitchcock has defeated the Astros’ Randy Johnson, and the Braves’ Greg Maddux and Glavine. Wednesday, Hitchcock gave up only two singles. He struck out eight and walked three.

Glavine, who might win his second Cy Young Award in the next few weeks, pitched 5 2/3 innings, before things fell apart in the sixth.

“Through the whole postseason, he had to go against Johnson and Maddux and Glavine,” Bochy said of Hitchcock. “It’s incredible to think about what he accomplished, about what he helped us accomplish.

“He stepped up every time we needed him to, and he gave us what we needed on three days rest. It just goes to show he has the heart of a competitor.”

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World Series

NEW YORK vs. SAN DIEGO

All games on Channel 11

Game 1: Saturday at New York, 5 p.m.

Game 2: Sunday at New York, 4:55 p.m.

Game 3: Tuesday at San Diego, 5:20 p.m.

Game 4: Wed. at San Diego, 5:20 p.m.

Game 5: Oct 22 at San Diego, 5:20 p.m.*

Game 6: Oct. 24 at New York, 5 p.m.*

Game 7: Oct. 25 at New York, 4:55 p.m.*

*--if necessary

All times Pacific

Yankees

World Series Appearances: 35

World Series Victories: 23

Padres

World Series Appearances: 1

World Series Victories: 0