Smoltz expands fan club in Braves’ win

ATLANTA -- John Smoltz wasn’t content with 12 strikeouts, a Braves franchise record and a lead through eight innings. He wanted more, telling Manager Bobby Cox he was in a groove.

“I said ‘Groove? You’re completely unhittable. Nobody stands a chance,’ ” said Cox, who still brought in Bob Wickman to close out Atlanta’s 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Smoltz gave up only five hits and two runs and Mark Teixeira drove in four runs with two homers as the Braves slowed down the Diamondbacks.

Smoltz, 40, passed Phil Niekro as the Braves’ franchise strikeout leader. Smoltz has 2,920 strikeouts, eight more than Niekro.

Smoltz called the team record “an honor that I’ll think about later,” but Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said the record “is a huge milestone.”

“[Niekro] is one of the icons of the Braves organization,” Jones said. “For John to pass him . . . it’s another cool achievement in a very long career.”

Smoltz threw 118 pitches but still lobbied for the chance for the complete game.

“He said, ‘I’m perfectly fine. I’m strong. I’m great. I’m in a groove,’ ” said Cox, who opted for caution in not pushing Smoltz, who has pitched with a sore shoulder at times this season.

“We have always talked about the danger pitches, once you get over 115 pitches,” Smoltz said. “I just wanted to because I was feeling so good. But he made the wiser choice.”

Yunel Escobar added a home run as the Braves scored six runs on seven hits -- each for extra bases -- in the first four innings.