ATLANTA -- After coming within an out of suffering his first postseason loss, Atlanta Braves right-hander John Smoltz won the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award, with a little help from his friends.
'This is a team award,' Smoltz said, after the Braves rallied from a 2-0 ninth inning deficit to win the National League playoff Game 7, 3- 2. 'I can't say enough about this team. This trophy makes me feel good for guys like Tommy Glavine and Steve Avery. I wish I could split with all the guys on this team, with Frank Cabrera.'
Cabrera's two-run pinch single with two out in the ninth got Smoltz off the losing end of a 2-1 game. Left-handers Glavine, a 20-game winner in back-to-back seasons favored to win his second consecutive Cy Young Award, and Avery, who held the Pirates scoreless in two starts last year, combined to record just five outs in the starts in Games 5 and 6.
Smoltz said of his team's dramatic victory, 'It erases a lot of bad memories that could have occurred if we had lost tonight on top of the last couple of nights.'
For the third consecutive postseason series, Smoltz was a starting pitcher in a seventh game. He shut out the Pirates to win the NLCS last season and held the Minnesota Twins scoreless in the final game of last year's World Series, matching zeroes with Jack Morris through 7 1-3 innings.
Manager Bobby Cox juggled his pitching staff to place Smoltz ahead of Glavine and Avery, even though the Pirates were thought to be more vulnerable to left-handers. Cox wanted Smoltz for the finale, and he delivered.
'He was outstanding tonight,' Cox said of Smoltz, who is undefeated in seven postseason starts. 'He had quality stuff. He was really sharp. '
Smoltz went six innings in the clincher, limiting the Pirates to two runs and four hits, walking two and striking out four. Overall, Smoltz hurled 20 1-3 innings, allowing just 14 hits, seven runs, six earned, for a 2.66 ERA with 10 walks and 19 strikeouts to win the media voting for the MVP.
Smoltz praised both teams' determination.
'It was just a situation where we never stopped fighting,' he said. 'Drabek pitched his heart out, and, first of all, you have to credit the Pirates for everything they did.'
Smoltz called the Braves' ninth-inning comeback 'a miracle win,' adding, 'It's a dream come true for Atlanta and all its fans.'
