League Championship Series

ATLANTA -- The Philadelphia Phillies' Curt Schilling, who gave up two runs in eight innings in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, says he didn't do anything fancy to hold the dangerous Atlanta Braves lineup in check."

PHILADELPHIA -- The first game of the National League Championship Series was a night of atonement, miracles and religious experiences, all felt by Philadelphia third baseman Kim Batiste, on the way to the Phillies' 4-3, 10-inning win over the Atlanta Braves.Batiste stroked a one-out single down the left-field line to drive inJohn Kruk with the winning run last night and give the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven NL playoffs one inning after throwing a double-play grounder into right field and giving the Braves a chance to force extra innings.

ST. LOUIS - This was the reason the New York Mets were so eager to get Mike Hampton. Pitching every bit like an October ace, Hampton won for the first time in the postseason, leading the Mets past the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2, last night in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. The Mets extended their postseason scoreless streak to a team-record 26 innings, allowing two unearned runs with two out in the ninth. Hampton kept the big guy - pinch-hitter deluxe Mark McGwire - on the St. Louis bench, and left after the seventh with a 3-0 lead.

SEATTLE - New York Yankees manager Joe Torre took his sweet time about it, but he finally named former Arundel High star Denny Neagle to start today's fifth game of the American League Championship Series. Neagle pitched a solid 5 2/3 innings in a losing effort in Game 1 - giving up just two runs on three hits - but Torre had left the issue of Game 5 open until after the Yankees took the lead in the series with a lopsided victory in Game 3 on Friday night. If the situation were more desperate, he might have moved postseason warhorse Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez up to start on three days' rest.

MINNEAPOLIS - One of the biggest challenges facing Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia in the American League Championship Series is finding a way to keep Ramon Ortiz calm. If Scioscia didn't think it would affect Ortiz's delivery, he'd probably try sitting on his Game 2 starter. Ortiz appeared to be a bundle of nerves in his only Division Series start, allowing six runs, walking four, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch in 2 2/3 innings against the New York Yankees. "I think Ramon will learn from the experience of his last start," said Scioscia, who has Ortiz opposing Minnesota's Rick Reed tonight.

SAN FRANCISCO - Every time that St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes goes out to the mound, he has to look at it as a bonus for himself and ... if all goes well ... for his team. He'll take the ball today in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series with his team's postseason destiny hanging in the balance, something he couldn't possibly have envisioned just five months ago. Benes never expected to be pitching in the postseason because he didn't expect to finish the season with the Cardinals after beginning a lengthy stay on the disabled list early in the season.

CHICAGO - There was an undercurrent of understandable angst at Wrigley Field last night, with the Chicago Cubs facing the possibility of losing the first two home games of the National League Championship Series. It took only one game for Cub Fever to turn into Cub fatalism, but it took only a few innings to push that feeling back into the Second City's collective subconscious. The Cubs erupted for eight runs in the first three innings and made things easy for youthful pitching ace Mark Prior on the way to a 12-3 victory over the Florida Marlins that evened the best-of-seven series at a game apiece.

NEW YORK - The Boston Red Sox didn't worry that yesterday's pitching matchup favored the other team, or when they fell behind in the first inning, or after grabbing a three-run lead. As the pressure built, so did their confidence and resolve. They still can't envision the World Series being played without them. And they certainly can't take a hint. Nomar Garciaparra broke out of a prolonged slump with four hits, and the Red Sox took advantage of every mistake by the New York Yankees in the seventh inning to win Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, 9-6, and set up a dramatic and potentially volatile finish.

NEW YORK - The thumb on shortstop Mike Bordick's right hand remains a little stiff, limiting his range of motion. The big toe on catcher Mike Piazza's right foot is still sore, the reminder coming each time he runs. Second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo had his left hand wrapped during Friday's workout after being hit by a ground ball. The New York Mets don't know adversity, only minor inconveniences. The St. Louis Cardinals? Now there's a team with problems. Huge, throat-griping problems - the kind that have left them gasping for air in the National League Championship Series.