BIG SPLASH; MARLINS SURPRISE BRAVES.

Byline: David O'Brien South Florida Sun-Sentinel 

The Florida Marlins came to the city where postseason dreams go to die and acted as if they didn't know or didn't care.

The Atlanta Braves have been to six consecutive National League Championship Series and four of the past five World Series? Greg Maddux is the best pitcher of his generation?

Yeah, whatever.

That's what the upstart Marlins seemed to be saying with their 5-3 victory against the Braves in the first game of the NLCS on Tuesday night before a stunned crowd of 49,244 at Turner Field.

The Marlins took advantage of Atlanta mistakes and piled up five runs in the first three innings, and that was more than enough for Kevin Brown and a Florida bullpen that has been close to sensational in the postseason.

``It's a great win for us, but we've got to win three more,'' manager Jim Leyland said. ``It's a great team we're facing. They were down 3-1 against the the St. Louis Cardinals last year (in the NLCS) and came back to win.''

Brown (1-0) wasn't at his best, but he was good enough. He was charged with three runs and five hits in six innings, and the trio of Dennis Cook, Jay Powell and Robb Nen limited the Braves to one hit the rest of the way.

``It was a tough night for me physically,'' Brown said. ``I didn't have good location, didn't have good movement. Not a good combination. But it was a team effort. The guys took advantage of some opportunities and got some runs, and we played good defensively. That's what it takes.''

All five runs charged to Maddux (0-1) were unearned, but the four-time Cy Young Award winner also yielded six hits, including a three-run double by Moises Alou in the first inning and an RBI double by Charles Johnson in the third after an error by center fielder Kenny Lofton.

First baseman Fred McGriff's error on a Jeff Conine grounder with two out in the first inning loaded the bases, and Alou's double down the left-field line skipped over Chipper Jones' backhanded attempt.

Jones, normally a sound defensive player, appeared to be favoring a sore right foot that has been struck twice by foul balls in the past week.

``We really caught a break,'' said Alou, who had four RBI. ``(Maddux) pitched well, though he threw a lot of pitches. We took advantage of opportunities.

``We didn't feel any pressure. We're playing the same way we played during the regular season. . . . It was great to get the first one. But this is a great team we're playing and everybody knows it's not going to be easy.''

Asked the effect of the errors, Braves manager Bobby Cox said, ``There were no earned runs, so obviously if we don't make any errors they don't get any runs. I thought Greg pitched very well. The first inning was just a nightmare. We didn't catch the ball. If we just catch the ball, we win. We just couldn't do it. We picked the wrong night not to.''

The Braves were so desperate, Cox pinch-hit for Maddux's personal catcher Eddie Perez in the bottom of the first, and Javier Lopez caught the rest of the game, going 0 for 4.

The Marlins were 9-0 when they scored five or more runs in Brown's starts during the regular season, so they had to feel confident, even with Brown not at his sharpest.

But there's a reason the Braves have played in six consecutive league championship series.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Braves manager Bobby Cox hangs his head after watching the Marlins pile up five runs in the first three innings.

(2) The Braves' Chipper Jones watches his third-inning home run sail over the left-center-field fence during the Marlins' 5-3 victory.

Associated Press