Sellout crowd for MLB's 1st wild-card playoff game
ATLANTA (AP) - A sellout crowd of 52,631 packed Turner Field to watch the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball's first wild-card playoff game.
It was the Braves' biggest crowd of the season.
Fans included former Braves owner Ted Turner, who set across an aisle from former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn. Former Braves manager Bobby Cox also attended the game.
Tributes to retiring third baseman Chipper Jones gave the Braves three sellouts to close their regular season, pushing attendance to 2,420,171, a slight increase from their 2011 total.
The potential for a sellout was jeopardized by the 5:07 p.m. start. Atlanta's Friday rush-hour traffic makes it difficult for fans to reach Turner Field for the first inning of night games. The late-afternoon start posed new difficulties.
Texas hosted Baltimore later Friday in the first AL wild-card playoff game.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Justin Upton gave Atlanta the lead with a sixth-inning grand slam and the Braves finally unveiled their full-strength lineup, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5 on Friday night.
Justin Upton gave Atlanta the lead with a sixth-inning grand slam and the Braves finally unveiled their full-strength lineup, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5 on Friday night.
Paul Goldschmidt hit three doubles, Eric Chavez drove in three runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves 5-3 on Wednesday.
Paul Goldschmidt hit three doubles, Eric Chavez drove in three runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves 5-3 on Wednesday.
Wednesday, May 15 2013 5:33 AM EDT2013-05-15 09:33:31 GMT
Patrick Corbin allowed three hits in seven innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks turned an infield double into two runs to beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 Tuesday night.
Patrick Corbin allowed three hits in seven innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks turned an infield double into two runs to beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 Tuesday night.
Tuesday, May 14 2013 4:28 AM EDT2013-05-14 08:28:30 GMT
Justin Upton snapped a 14-game homerless drought and had four hits to help the Atlanta Braves rout the Diamondbacks 10-1 on Monday night in his return to Arizona.
Justin Upton snapped a 14-game homerless drought and had four hits to help the Atlanta Braves rout the Diamondbacks 10-1 on Monday night in his return to Arizona.
