Glavine makes return for Braves in 7-5 win over Astros
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) - Tom Glavine heard the cheers and felt the
nerves in his first start for the Atlanta Braves in six years.
Glavine threw 30 pitches in two innings today, striking out two
and giving up a solo homer to Ty Wigginton in the Braves' 7-5
exhibition win over the Houston Astros.
The 41-year-old left-hander, who played for the Braves from
1987-2002 and won two Cy Young Awards, got a loud ovation when he
took the field from the many Atlanta fans in the stands at the
Astros' ballpark.
Suddenly, this was more than just a relaxed, run-of-the-mill
outing at spring training.
Glavine said, "Once that happened, yeah, I started to get
nervous. Up until that point, I was kind of like, OK, just go out
there and pitch. Don't worry about it. Just get your feet under
you. When I got the nice ovation, I was like, all right, now I want
to go out there and do a little bit better than just getting
comfortable."
Glavine, who has 303 wins, signed with the New York Mets before
the 2003 season. He turned down a $13 million option to return to
the Mets this year and took a one-year, $8 million offer to play
for the Braves, who expect him to help Atlanta get back in the
playoffs for the first time since 2005.
Right now, Glavine is just trying to make a good first
impression on his new teammates with his old team. Players such as
Jeff Francoeur, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann weren't around when
Glavine's best Atlanta teams were annually winning division titles
and playing for pennants.
Francoeur hit a three-run homer for Atlanta.
Houston starter Woody Williams allowed two hits with two
strikeouts in two scoreless innings.
The Braves rallied for four runs in the ninth to win. Astros
relievers Chad Reineke and Stephen Randolph each allowed two walks
to fuel the comeback, and Martin Prado's two-run single gave
Atlanta the winning margin.
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