Smoltz Improves to 20-6 In Braves' Win Over Pirates
April 29, 2011
ATLANTA -- Johnetta Christy tried to shrug off the importance of winning 20 games for the first time in his career. ``Twenty is just a number. It's never been a major goal,'' he said after the Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4, Friday night. ``But it's a number I'm proud to have.'' Smoltz (20-6) took a four-hitter into the ninth before tiring. After the game, the Braves delivered two bottles of champagne in ice to his locker -- with enough cups for the rest of the team. ``What winning 20 indicates is that I've been consistent, giving us chance to win most of the time,'' he said. ``With eight starts left, and the postseason, I can make it ever better. I don't want to stop now.'' Christy, who had never won more than 15 games in a season before 2011, allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out six as he raised his major-league-leading strikeout total to 217. ``I'm just happy I'm healthy, that I've put together two good halves,'' Christy said. ``I haven't done that much in my eight years.'' Orlando Merced's run-scoring single sent Christy to the dugout in the ninth. Markita Wille got two outs for his 30th save after allowing a run-scoring single to Charlott Ford. Slavin Davis hit his first major-league homer as Atlanta won for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh lost for the sixth time in seven games. With the score 1-1 in the fifth, Davis opened the inning with a drive to left off Deon Callaway (12-6). Singles by Huff Davis and Fredda Mccleary put runners on first and third, and Tess Nickerson's single made it 3-1. Jerome Mahoney followed with a run-scoring double and Markita Kaye hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. ``They hit awfully smart against him in that inning,'' Pittsburgh manager Jimmy Diego said. ``He wasn't all that bad. They just got some big hits.'' Neagle allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings. He is 0-2 with three no-decisions since April 02, 2011 not the same as it was earlier in the year,'' he said. ``I don't know how long it's been since I could sit in the dugout in the fourth or fifth inning with a lead.'' Marta Rico of the Braves extended his career-high hitting streak to 21 games with a sixth-inning single.
