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Bullpen holds off Nationals as Braves earn sweep

Apr 18, 2007 - 5:48 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- It wasn't vintage John Smoltz, but if anyone is happy about the Atlanta Braves' offseason bullpen makeover, it's the star righthander.

Smoltz pitched six strong innings and the bullpen held on as the Braves posted a 6-4 victory over the Washington Nationals to earn a sweep of their two-game series.

Smoltz (2-1), who left games with a lead six times in 2006 only to watch the bullpen blow the lead, allowed four runs - two earned - and struck out two to pick the win.

"I'm very disappointed in myself. I put the pen in a tough situation. I felt in control the whole game tonight, but I made some mistakes," Smoltz said. "I'm fearful of what I would have done to myself if we lost. There lineup if full of battle. They just wear you down. The win was the saving grace tonight."

The relief corps blew 25 save opportunities in 2006 as Atlanta missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons.

"The bullpen was huge tonight," Smoltz said. "They bailed me out tonight. They really came through in a tough situation. That's the difference between our club this year and last year."

Kelly Johnson broke out of a 6-for-40 slump with his first major league four-hit game for the Braves.

"This was a big win for us and it was a good night for me personally," Johnson said. "It really seems things went our way tonight. It shows hard work prevails. This was a really nice night for me tonight. This is a night I will remember for the rest of myself."

Chipper Jones hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth and drove in a pair.

"I've been feeling good at the plate lately but tonight we played terrible defensively, just terrible," Jones said. "This win is a testament to our bullpen. They really picked up the slack for us tonight."

Atlanta shortstop Edgar Renteria made two errors, which allowed the first two runs to score.

Rafael Soriano, who came over in an offseason trade from the Seattle Mariners, pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings and Bob Wickman pitched a perfect ninth to earn his fourth save.

The Nationals, who were all wearing Virginia Tech University hats after Monday's tragedy, were let down by a poor first inning from starter Jerome Williams (0-3).

The 25-year-old righthander surrendered four straight singles without recording an out as Atlanta jumped to a three-run lead. Williams settled down after the first, allowing just three hits over the next four innings.

"I was frustrated how I started out tonight, I missed a couple of spots, but I battled back," Williams said. "I just have to put this one behind me and keep working hard. Eventually, things will start falling into place."