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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Just when it appeared the Atlanta Braves'
winning streak was going to end, they found another way to survive.
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POURING ON THE WINS
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Teams that have won 15 or more games in a row since 1900:
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Year
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Team
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Streak
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1916
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N.Y. (NL)
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26*
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1935
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Chi. (NL)
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21
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1906
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Chi. (AL)
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19*
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1947
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N.Y. (AL)
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19
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1904
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N.Y. (NL)
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18
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1953
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N.Y. (AL)
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18
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1907
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N.Y. (NL)
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17
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1912
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Washington
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17
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1916
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N.Y. (NL)
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17
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1931
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Phila. (AL)
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17
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1909
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Pittsburgh
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16
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1912
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N.Y. (NL)
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16
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1926
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N.Y. (AL)
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16
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1951
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N.Y. (NL)
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16
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1977
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Kansas City
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16
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1903
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Pittsburgh
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15
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1906
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N.Y. (AL)
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15
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1913
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Phila. (AL)
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15
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1924
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Brooklyn
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15
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1936
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Chi. (NL)
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15
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1936
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N.Y. (NL)
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15
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1946
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Boston
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15
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1960
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N.Y. (AL)
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15
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1991
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Minnesota
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15
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2000
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Atlanta
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15
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* one tie
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"You've got to have the breaks, and we've had more than our
share," manager Bobby Cox admitted after the Braves became the
first National League team in 49 years to win 15 straight games,
beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 Tuesday night.
"A lot of things are going right," said ace pitcher Tom Glavine, who grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. "We've won extra-inning games, close games, every different way."
The Braves trailed 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh when the
Dodgers loaded the bases with no outs and their best hitter coming
to the plate.
However, Bruce Chen (4-0) got Gary Sheffield to ground into a
double play and struck out Dave Hansen.
Then in the eighth, with the aid of Terry Adams' wildness, the Braves scored three times, with Andruw Jones hitting a two-run
single to drive in the tying and go-ahead runs.
The Braves, who set a franchise record for consecutive wins a
night earlier, are the first NL team with a 15-game winning streak
since the New York Giants took 16 straight from Aug. 12-27, 1951,
as they overcame the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the NL pennant.
Minnesota was the last major league team to win 15 straight,
accomplishing the feat from June 1-16, 1991, en route to a World
Series title.
John Rocker pitched the ninth for his seventh save in seven chances. Unlike Monday night, when a fan ran on the field and
mooned him, spectators remained calm.
Fans booed when he entered the game, and nearly two dozen
security men went on the field and the Braves' dugout. With two
outs and two on, Rocker retired Gary Sheffield on a fly to center, then walked off the field as security again went on the field and the dugout.
As has been the case recently, Rocker refused comment afterward.
Back-to-back doubles by Adrian Beltre and Todd Hundley with one
out in the sixth had given the Dodgers a 3-2 lead, and it appeared
they would extend their advantage in the seventh.
|  | | Bobby Bonilla, right, celebrates with Trinidad Hubbard during the Braves' 15th straight victory. |
However, Chen got Sheffield to ground into a double play and
struck out Dave Hansen.
Wally Joyner and Bobby Bonilla walked opening the Atlanta eighth against Adams (2-2). Pinch-runners Brian Jordan and Walt Weiss
moved up on a wild pitch before Jones lined a 2-2 pitch to center,
putting the Braves ahead 4-3.
"I swing at a bad pitch that he threw in the dirt," Jones
said. "After I got two strikes, I calmed down. He hung a slider;
he made a mistake pitch over the plate and I got a hit."
After Javy Lopez singled, Mike Fetters relieved Adams and
retired the next two batters before first baseman Dave Hansen
misplayed a pickoff attempt for an error that allowed Lopez to
score from third.
"It's a good streak they're on, but basically, we gave them the
game tonight," Hundley said. "They've got all the breaks going
for them, and they're playing good baseball in key situations."
The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead off Terry Mulholland in the second on Kevin Elster's infield out. The Braves tied it off Chan Ho Park
in the fourth on a two-out, RBI double by Lopez.
Park appeared to hit his first big-league hom leading off the
fifth, but first-base umpire Larry Young ruled a fan leaned over
the box seat railing in the right-field corner and caught the ball,
making it a ground-rule double. Dodgers manager Davey Johnson
argued to no avail.
The call became moot when Shawn Green hit a one-out single to drive in Park, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead, but Joyner's homer in
the sixth tied the game again.
The Dodgers reached Mulholland, who won his three previous
starts, for 10 hits in six innings, but managed only three runs.
Park allowed two runs and three hits in 6 2/3 innings while
walking seven, equaling a career high, and striking out six.
Game notes
The Braves have beaten the Dodgers five times in the last
eight days. ... There were two late lineup scratches -- one by each
team. Jordan didn't start because of a sore left rib cage, and
Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros sat out because of stomach flu. ... Braves 2B Quilvio Veras went 0-for-3 with two walks, ending his
career-high 12-game hitting streak. ... It appears Braves OF Reggie
Sanders, who sprained his left ankle in San Diego last Saturday,
won't play before Friday night when the Braves entertain
Philadelphia. "It's still real swollen, but I'm disappointed, I
want to be in there tomorrow," said Sanders, no doubt motivated by
a .139 batting average. ... Joyner, who brought a .440 career
batting average against Park into the game, played first base in
place of Andres Galarraga. Joyner's homer was his first in his 21st at-bat of the season. ... The Dodgers grounded into four double plays and Sheffield hit three. He hit into only two in his team's
previous 25 games.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Los Angeles Clubhouse
RECAPS
Baltimore 7
Anaheim 6
Detroit 7
Boston 6
NY Yankees 4
Cleveland 2
Texas 8
Tampa Bay 1
Toronto 4
Chi. White Sox 1
Kansas City 8
Oakland 7
Seattle 5
Minnesota 4
Cincinnati 7
Philadelphia 0
Chicago Cubs 11
Houston 1
Arizona 5
Milwaukee 1
Pittsburgh 10
St. Louis 7
Colorado 12
Montreal 6
San Diego 8
Florida 3
Atlanta 5
Los Angeles 3
San Francisco 7
NY Mets 1
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