PHILADELPHIA, April 8 (UPI) -- John Smoltz pitched in and out of a big jam in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night before nailing down the win for Kevin Millwood as the Atlanta Braves held on for a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
A former Cy Young Award winner as a starter, Smoltz is beginning his first full season as a closer. On Saturday, he surrendered eight runs while retiring just two batters in the ninth inning of an 11-2 loss to the New York Mets.
Smoltz also put two runners on in the ninth on Sunday and quickly got himself in trouble against Philadelphia.
Marlon Anderson started the Phillies' ninth with a double on an 0-2 pitch and took third on an infield hit by Bobby Abreu. Smoltz fell behind 3-1 before retiring Scott Rolen on a pop-up to shallow right field, then struck out Travis Lee and Pat Burrell for his first save of the season.
Millwood (1-1) had to sweat out his first win of the year after giving up one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings with two walks and eight strikeouts. Mike Remlinger got the last two outs in the eighth before manager Bobby Cox turned to Smoltz.
Vicente Padilla (1-1) was the hard-luck loser for Philadelphia. A converted reliever, he allowed two runs -- one earned -- and five hits with five walks and three strikeouts in six innings.
