By Mark R. McCallum Edmonds drives in another run. Well, if St. Louis showed that Atlanta's dynasty nears the close of day, then the Braves barely managed a whimper as they failed to reach the NLCS for the first time since 1990. The Braves' heralded pitching staff posts a 7.92 ERA and allows 10 first-inning runs. The offense bats .189. The defense commits five errors and several more misplays.
Runners fail on three of four steal attempts.
St. Louis experiences the flip side, routing the defending NL champions. The Cards outscore the Braves 24-10, but it isn't that close thanks to Jim Edmonds. It wasn't close from the first inning of the first game. Although he presents 20-game winner Darryl Kile as his Game One starter, La Russa switches to rookie Rich Ankiel and holds back his ace. The Cards' second surprise also comes in the first.