ATLANTA - It was a game fitting of the playoffs: tight, well-pitched and could have changed on one play.

Of course, what else would you expect from the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros? What else would you expect from Greg Maddux and Darryl Kile?

Maddux, criticized for pulling himself out of a late-season game, pitched a seven-hitter and Atlanta defeated Kile and the Astros 2-1 in Game 1 of the NL division series Tuesday afternoon.

Houston, playing in the postseason for the first time since 1986, has stayed close to the Braves all year. The 11 regular-season games each were decided by one or two runs, with Atlanta winning seven.

Tuesday was more of the same. The Braves, making an unprecedented sixth straight postseason appearance, had only two hits against Kile and two relievers -- none after the first pitch in the second inning -- but both led to runs.

"They've been on our butts the whole season," said John Smoltz, who'll be the starter when the best-of-five series shifts to the Astrodome on Friday. "It's not going to be easy getting to the league championship series."

But others in the Braves clubhouse were supremely confident of beating the Astros now that the first victory is out of the way.

"Maybe we have a psychological edge, winning so many close ones against Houston," said Ryan Klesko, whose second-inning homer provided the winning margin. "They've got to be shaking their heads."

"I think it's going three," added catcher Eddie Perez, more businesslike than boasting.

Two hits were enough with Maddux on the mound -- especially in a day game. He was 10-0 with a 1.94 ERA in daytime starts during the season.

Working on eight days' rest, the four-time Cy Young Award winner limited the Astros to seven singles and shut down the top three hitters in Houston's order. Craig Biggio, Derek Bell and Jeff Bagwell were a combined 0-for-12 with three strikeouts.

"I'd like to think I can pitch better than I pitched today," Maddux said with a shrug. "I don't think you're ever satisfied unless you throw a perfect game."

Despite a 19-4 record, Maddux received some criticism for his failure to finish games this season -- in particular, a Sept. 12 contest against Colorado when he pulled himself out after the eighth inning with a 1-0 lead, despite throwing only 88 pitches. Atlanta wound up losing 3-1.

"You do what's right for the team," said Maddux, who had five complete games and ranked eighth in the NL with 232 2-3 innings. "You have to have a lot of confidence in what you're doing, let those things bounce off of you and do what's right for the team. I made a decision (against Colorado) and I stand by it."

Bagwell, who had 43 homers and 135 RBIs, struck out swinging in the eighth with a runner at second. Maddux's 114-pitch complete game ensured the Braves didn't have to go to their shaky bullpen.

"We didn't go out and choke," Bagwell said. "The top three guys went up there and didn't get any hits. But, shoot, Maddux has done to that to us before. They got two hits and they beat us."

Kile, a 19-game winner, is used to losing these sort of games to Maddux. In six career head-to-head starts, Kile is 1-4 with a 1.70 ERA, while Maddux is 4-1 with a 1.08 ERA.

"He pitched a tremendous game," Houston manager Larry Dierker said of Kile. "The series still has a long way to go -- I hope."

Kenny Lofton, hampered most of the season by a pulled groin muscle and unfamiliarity with NL pitchers, showed in the first how speed and daring on the basepaths can make the difference in a close game.

He blooped a hit just inside the left-field line and turned on the speed to stretch it to a double. Lofton tagged and sprinted for third on a fly to medium right, sliding in just ahead of the throw from Derek Bell, then scored on Chipper Jones' sacrifice fly to left.

"After I got hurt, I just tried to prepare myself for the playoffs," said Lofton, who had only 27 stolen bases, the lowest output of his major league career in a full season. "I wanted to make sure my body was where it needed to be, because the playoffs are the bottom line."

Kile threw a hanging curve to Klesko leading off the second, and Atlanta's top home-run hitter made him pay by putting it in the right-field bleachers.

"It was the pitch I wanted to throw," Kile said. "I hadn't thrown a curveball for a strike (in the first inning), so I wanted to show them I could throw it for a strike. He hit it out of the park. What can I say?"

The Astros scored their only run in the fifth in most unlikely fashion.

With one out, Tony Eusebio singled and stunned the Braves with the first stolen base of his major league career. The slow-running catcher has gone 296 regular-season games without swiping a base.

Eusebio moved to third on a groundout and scored on Kile's single up the middle. Kile, who hit .124 with 38 strikeouts in 89 at-bats this season, was 2-for-2 against Maddux.

Fans in Atlanta apparently have grown so accustomed to postseason baseball that the Braves failed to sell out a division playoff game for the second year in a row. Attendance at Turner Field was 46,467 -- about 3,000 short of capacity.

Notes: The Braves are now 7-1 in three NL division series. ... Game 1 marked the earliest start to postseason play since Sept. 28, 1955, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees met in the first game of the World Series. ... Bobby Cox of the Braves is the winningest manager in postseason history with 39 victories. ... The Astros have the worst record among the eight playoff teams, but they've been consistent winners over the past six years. The last time Houston had a losing record in the regular season was 1991 (65-97). ... Dierker was the first rookie manager to take his team to the playoffs since Hal Lanier, also of the Astros, in 1986. ... Tom Glavine (14-7) goes for Atlanta in Game 2 against Houston's Mike Hampton (15-10).

Jeff Bagwell shows his disappointment after his first strikeout

Disappointment soon turns to frustration

The mood in the dugout soured as the team could not put runs on the scoreboard

Despite outhitting the Braves 7 to 2, the Astros were outscored 2 to 1

There were no celebrations after the game

Biggio cannot hide his disappointment

Box Score

Houston              	AB  R  H BI BB SO  Avg.
Biggio 2b             	 4  0  0  0  0  0  .000
DeBell rf             	 4  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Bagwell 1b            	 4  0  0  0  0  2  .000
LGonzalez lf          	 4  0  2  0  0  0  .500
Spiers 3b             	 4  0  0  0  0  0  .000
Hidalgo cf            	 3  0  0  0  0  1  .000
b-Berry ph            	 1  0  0  0  0  0  .000
Eusebio c             	 3  1  2  0  0  1  .667
Gutierrez ss          	 2  0  0  0  1  1  .000
Kile p                	 2  0  2  1  0  0 1.000
a-Abreu ph            	 1  0  1  0  0  0 1.000
RSpringer p           	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
TMartin p             	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
Totals               	32  1  7  1  1  6   

Atlanta              	AB  R  H BI BB SO  Avg.
Lofton cf             	 4  1  1  0  0  0  .250
Lockhart 2b           	 3  0  0  0  0  0  .000
Graffanino 2b         	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
ChJones 3b            	 2  0  0  1  0  1  .000
McGriff 1b            	 3  0  0  0  0  0  .000
Klesko lf             	 3  1  1  1  0  2  .333
AJones rf             	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
Tucker rf             	 3  0  0  0  0  0  .000
Bautista lf           	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
EddPerez c            	 3  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Blauser ss            	 2  0  0  0  1  1  .000
GMaddux p             	 2  0  0  0  1  1  .000
Totals               	25  2  2  2  2  6      


Houston              	000 010 000--1 7  1
Atlanta              	110 000 00x--2 2  0

a-singled for Kile in the 8th. b-grounded out for Hidalgo in the 
9th. E--Biggio (1). LOB--Houston 5, Atlanta 2. 2B--Lofton (1). 
HR--Klesko (1) off Kile. RBIs--Kile (1), ChJones (1), Klesko (1). 
SB--Eusebio (1), Abreu (1). CS--Lofton (1). SF--ChJones. 
GIDP--Spiers. DP--Atlanta 1 (Lockhart, Blauser and McGriff).

Runners left in scoring position--Houston 2 (DeBell, Bagwell).
Runners moved up--Gutierrez, Lockhart.
   
Houston              	  IP     H  R ER BB SO  NP  ERA
Kile L, 0-1           	  7      2  2  2  2  4  92  2.57
RSpringer             	    2-3  0  0  0  0  2   8  0.00
TMartin               	    1-3  0  0  0  0  0   2  0.00

Atlanta              	  IP     H  R ER BB SO  NP  ERA
GMaddux W, 1-0        	  9      7  1  1  1  6 114  1.00    

Umpires--Home, Bonin; First, Rapuano; Second, Reliford; 
Third, Rippley; Left, Wendelstedt; Right, Hernandez.

   T--2:15. A--46,467 (50,528).

ATLANTA - A year ago, the Atlanta Braves learned a couple of valuable lessons about finishing off an opponent.

Now, just one victory from another trip to the NL Championship Series, they're in no mood to relax.

"You have to win that last one," said pitcher John Smoltz, who'll try to finish off the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the division series Friday. "You'd better not take anything for granted."

The Braves look every bit like a team that had the best record in baseball and is making an unprecedented sixth straight postseason appearance, routing the Astros 13-3 Wednesday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 playoffs.

"A three-game sweep would be huge," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "We've played close to 200 games when you count spring training. The body is getting tired. If we can get a couple of extra days of sleep, it would certainly help."

Atlanta was on both sides of having a seemingly safe lead during the 1996 postseason. The Braves trailed St. Louis 3-1 in the NLCS before rallying to win the last three games. In the World Series, however, Atlanta lost four straight to the Yankees after winning the first two on the road.

"Houston's behind the eight-ball, but I'm sure they'll have a big, excited crowd behind them Friday and will play us with reckless abandon," Smoltz said. "Being down 2-0 is not impossible."

The Astros probably will feel more comfortable when they get back to the Astrodome, but the team that lost two straight at Turner Field looked rather timid making its first postseason appearance since 1986.

"It looked like we were a little jittery, the guys were pressing, trying too hard," manager Larry Dierker said.

Not even Dierker, a rah-rah rookie manager, sounded particularly hopeful about beating the Braves in three straight games -- even when those games would be at the Astrodome. Heck, the Braves had a better record on the road (51-30) than they did at home (50-31).

"It's going to be hard to sweep the Braves, if that's possible," he said. "It's very unlikely that we will."

The Astros need a confidence boost after their latest performance. Starter Mike Hampton had eight walks -- Houston pitchers had 10 all together -- and "The Killer Bs" have become "The Killer Zs," snoozing through the series with just one hit.

In 11 regular-season games between the Braves and Astros, the margin of victory was never more than two runs -- a trend that continued in Game 1 of the division series when Atlanta won 2-1.

There wasn't any drama Wednesday.

Hampton, who had only two walks in 17 innings during his final two starts of the regular season, allowed a three-run homer to Jeff Blauser in the third and walked four in the first four innings. And things only got worse in the fifth.

With two outs and score at 3-all, Hampton threw 16 balls in an 18-pitch span, resulting in consecutive walks to Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, Javy Lopez and Andruw Jones to force home the go-ahead run. Hampton, who threw only 38 strikes in 87 pitches, was replaced by Mike Magnante, who gave up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Greg Colbrunn that made it 6-3.

"I was just trying to be a little too perfect and it wound up costing me," Hampton said. "I probably just tried to nibble too much."

Colbrunn's hit ended an 0-for-25 postseason slump by Atlanta pinch-hitters, dating back to the '95 World Series.

Atlanta added five runs in the sixth -- four unearned -- once again striking with two outs. Fred McGriff had an RBI single and two more scored when first baseman Jeff Bagwell let a high throw deflect off his glove for an error. Danny Bautist a followed with a two-run single.

Craig Biggio, Derek Bell and Bagwell, the top three hitters in the Astros order, are 1-for-25 with no RBIs. They've even been outhit by the Houston pitchers, who are 3-for-4.

Bagwell had 43 homers, 135 RBIs and 31 stolen bases during the regular season but he's 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in the playoffs.

Atlanta starter Tom Glavine threw 117 pitches through six innings, allowing all three runs and five hits. The big lead allowed the Braves bullpen to get some work, with Mike Cather throwing two scoreless innings and Mark Wohlers finishing.

Houston scored their runs in the fourth, taking advantage of Glavine's wildness. Two walks set up Brad Ausmus for a two-run double, the ball sailing just beyond the glove of Ryan Klesko as he dove in the left-field corner. Ausmus scored on Hampton's single.

Notes: Hampton walked 77 in 223 regular-season innings, an average of 3.1 per nine innings. ... For the second day in a row, the Braves failed to sell out the playoff game. The crowd of 49,200 was a few hundred short of capacity at Turner Field. ... Ausmus was hitting .045 (1-for-22) in his career against Glavine before the two-run double. ... During the season, Colbrunn was 8-for-16 with a homer and two RBIs as an Atlanta pinch-hitter. He spent most of the season with the Twins.

Jeff Bagwell strikes out 3 more times

Mike Hampton contemplates his early exit after walking eight batters

Luis Gonzalez can't get to Jeff Blauser's homer

Game Two ends with another quiet dugout

Box Score

Houston              	AB  R  H BI BB SO  Avg.
Biggio 2b             	 4  0  1  0  1  0  .125
DeBell rf             	 5  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Bagwell 1b            	 4  0  0  0  1  3  .000
LGonzalez lf          	 4  0  1  0  0  0  .375
Hidalgo cf            	 2  1  0  0  1  1  .000
Magnante p            	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
RGarcia p             	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
Lima p                	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
b-THoward ph          	 0  0  0  0  1  0   ---
Pena c                	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
Spiers 3b             	 3  1  0  0  1  0  .000
Gutierrez ss          	 4  0  1  0  0  0  .167
Ausmus c              	 3  1  2  2  0  0  .667
c-Abreu ph            	 1  0  0  0  0  1  .500
BWagner p             	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
Hampton p             	 2  0  1  1  0  0  .500
Carr cf               	 1  0  0  0  1  1  .000
Totals               	33  3  6  3  6  7      

Atlanta              	AB  R  H BI BB SO  Avg.
Lofton cf             	 4  1  0  0  1  2  .125
Blauser ss            	 5  2  2  3  0  1  .286
ChJones 3b            	 2  2  1  0  3  1  .250
McGriff 1b            	 4  3  2  1  1  1  .286
JLopez c              	 3  2  1  1  2  0  .333
AJones rf             	 4  1  0  1  1  0  .000
Klesko lf             	 2  0  0  0  0  0  .200
a-Colbrunn ph         	 1  0  1  2  0  0 1.000
Bautista lf           	 2  0  1  2  0  1  .500
Graffanino 2b         	 2  0  0  0  2  0  .000
Glavine p             	 3  2  2  0  0  0  .667
Cather p              	 1  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Wohlers p             	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
Totals               	33 13 10 10 10  7      

Houston              	000 300 000-- 3  6  2
Atlanta              	003 035 02x--13 10  1

a-singled for Klesko in the 5th. b-walked for Lima in the 8th. 
c-struck out for Ausmus in the 8th. E--Bagwell (1), LGonzalez (1), 
Klesko (1). LOB--Houston 9, Atlanta 6. 2B--Ausmus (1), JLopez (1). 
HR--Blauser (1) off Hampton. RBIs--Ausmus 2 (2), Hampton (1), 
Blauser 3 (3), McGriff (1), JLopez (1), AJones (1), Colbrunn 2 (2), 
Bautista 2 (2). SB--ChJones (1). GIDP--Lofton. DP--Houston 1 
(Biggio, Gutierrez and Bagwell).

Runners left in scoring position--Houston 4 (Biggio, Bagwell, 
Ausmus, Abreu); Atlanta 2 (Bautista, Graffanino).
Runners moved up--Gutierrez, AJones.
   

Houston              	  IP     H  R ER BB SO  NP  ERA
Hampton L, 0-1        	  4 2-3  2  6  6  8  2  87 11.57
Magnante              	  1      4  3  1  0  2  20  9.00
RGarcia               	    1-3  1  2  0  1  0  10  0.00
Lima                  	  1      0  0  0  1  1  13  0.00
BWagner               	  1      3  2  2  0  2  27 18.00

Atlanta              	  IP     H  R ER BB SO  NP  ERA
Glavine W, 1-0        	  6      5  3  3  5  4 117  4.50
Cather                	  2      0  0  0  1  2  28  0.00
Wohlers               	  1      1  0  0  0  1  14  0.00    

Inherited runners-scored--Magnante 3-2, RGarcia 2-2.

Umpires--Home, Rapuano; First, Reliford; Second, Rippley; 
Third, Wendelstedt; Left, Hernandez; Right, Bonin.

   T--3:06. A--49,200 (50,528).

HOUSTON - John Smoltz's killer instinct was too much for the Killer Bs.

Smoltz completed what Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine started with a 3-hitter Friday as the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros 4-1 for a 3-0 sweep. Atlanta advanced to an unprecedented sixth straight League Championship Series.

"I have to maintain that killer instinct with every pitch," Smoltz said.

"When you're facing myself, unlike Maddux and Glavine, you have to be a little more aggressive. When things work for me, it looks awesome. When it doesn't, I look like an average pitcher."

On this day, Smoltz was awesome, increasing his playoff record to 10-2 and sending the Braves on to the NL championship series.

Smoltz sent the heart of the Astros lineup, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Derek Bell -- known as the Killer Bs -- into the offseason with two hits in 37 at-bats over the three games.

"This is one of the greatest games I've pitched," Smoltz said. "From inning one until inning nine, I never felt like I was in trouble. I wish I could feel this way after every game."

The only hits against Smoltz were a first-inning single by Jeff Bagwell, a seventh-inning homer by Chuck Carr and a two-out single by Luis Gonzalez in the ninth. Smoltz had 11 strikeouts -- one short of his season high.

The Astros haven't been in the playoffs in 11 years. That helped, Smoltz said of the Braves' mastery of the Killer Bs.

"We've been through so many great lineups," Smoltz said. "We shut down probably the scariest Colorado Rockies lineup we'll ever see. That helps because you don't waver from your game plan.

"Bagwell is an MVP type guy. They'll learn from it like we have. I don't think there's any secret that we have dominating pitching. We take pride in that."

The Braves won 101 games this season, and they were just too much power for the Astros, who struggled to win the weak Central Division with an 84-78 record, worst among all playoff teams.

"They seemed to be everywhere," Biggio said. "Every time we hit a ball hard, they seemed to be there to catch it. There's a reason they've been in the postseason six straight years.

"It's taken me 10 years to get here and now it's over. I wish it could have turned out different. I honestly thought we'd play until Sunday."

The Astros hit only .167 in the series, and that included a 3-for-5 performance by their pitchers.

"Our offense sputtered," Bagwell said. "We just didn't score enough runs, but we were up against the best pitching staff in the game. But this should give us momentum going into spring training. Now we have unfinished business."

Chipper Jones hit a two-out homer in the first against Houston starter Shane Reynolds, a drive down the right-field line that landed in the third deck.

The Braves added a run in the second, once again with a two-out hit on Jeff Blauser's single up the middle to score Ryan Klesko.

After escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third with a double play, Reynolds was dominating. He retired the last 10 hitters he faced, leaving the game for a pinch-hitter in the sixth.

The Braves' scored their final runs on Michael Tucker's single in the seventh and a passed ball by Brad Ausmus in the eighth. Other than Carr's homer, Houston didn't get a runner past first.

"They're a better team," said Bagwell, who had 43 homers and 135 RBIs during the regular season. "I'm proud of the guys in this locker room. I'll play with them any time. It's just frustrating. We hit some balls hard."

Notes: Atlanta is 9-1 in division series games. While impressive, the Braves' pitching was even better in the 1996 division series against Los Angeles with a 0.96 ERA. ... The Astros eclipsed the previous attendance record for a baseball game at the Astrodome, set in 1983 when 53,657 turned out to watch Nolan Ryan in an exhibition game. ... Four of Jones' five postseason homers have come in the division series. ... Smoltz allowed two or fewer runs in 22 of 35 starts during the regular season and worked at least seven innings in 26 of his final 29 appearances. ... Kenny Lofton began his career with the Astros, but didn't have much of an impact in Houston. He hit .203 in 20 late-season games in 1991 and was traded to Cleveland the following year. ... The fourth of Houston's "Killer Bs," third baseman Sean Berry, batted only once in the series because of recurring injuries.

During the off day, Shane Reynolds earnestly prepares for the most important start of his career

Being back home raises spirits during an off-day batting practice

Box Score

Atlanta              	AB  R  H BI BB SO  Avg.
Lofton cf             	 5  0  1  0  0  0  .154
Lockhart 2b           	 3  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Graffanino 2b         	 1  0  0  0  0  1  .000
ChJones 3b            	 4  1  3  1  0  0  .500
McGriff 1b            	 2  1  0  0  2  1  .222
Klesko lf             	 3  1  1  0  0  0  .250
Bautista lf           	 1  0  0  0  0  0  .333
JLopez c              	 4  1  1  0  0  1  .286
Tucker rf             	 3  0  1  1  0  1  .167
AJones rf             	 1  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Blauser ss            	 3  0  1  1  1  0  .300
Smoltz p              	 4  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Totals               	34  4  8  3  3  7     

Houston              	AB  R  H BI BB SO  Avg.
Biggio 2b             	 4  0  0  0  0  0  .083
DeBell rf             	 4  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Bagwell 1b            	 4  0  1  0  0  0  .083
LGonzalez lf          	 4  0  1  0  0  1  .333
Spiers 3b             	 4  0  0  0  0  2  .000
Carr cf               	 3  1  1  1  0  2  .250
Gutierrez ss          	 2  0  0  0  1  0  .125
Ausmus c              	 2  0  0  0  0  1  .400
b-Abreu ph            	 1  0  0  0  0  1  .333
Pena c                	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
Reynolds p            	 1  0  0  0  0  1  .000
a-RuJohnson ph        	 1  0  0  0  0  1  .000
RSpringer p           	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
TMartin p             	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
RGarcia p             	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
c-THoward ph          	 1  0  0  0  0  1  .000
Magnante p            	 0  0  0  0  0  0   ---
Totals               	31  1  3  1  1 11      

Atlanta              	110 000 110--4 8  2
Houston              	000 000 100--1 3  1

   a-struck out for Reynolds in the 6th. b-struck out for Ausmus in the 8th. 
   c-struck out for Garcia in the 8th.
   E--Lockhart (1), ChJones (1), Bagwell (2). LOB--Atlanta 6, Houston 4.
2B--Klesko (1), JLopez (2). HR--Carr (1) off Smoltz; ChJones (1) off Reynolds.
RBIs--ChJones (2), Tucker (1), Blauser (4), Carr (1). GIDP--Klesko, Ausmus.

   Runners left in scoring position--Atlanta 3 (Graffanino, AJones, Smoltz).
   DP--Atlanta 1 (Blauser, Lockhart and McGriff); Houston 1 
(Gutierrez, Biggio and Bagwell).

Atlanta              	  IP     H  R ER BB SO  NP  ERA
Smoltz W, 1-0         	  9      3  1  1  1 11 105  1.00

Houston              	  IP     H  R ER BB SO  NP  ERA
Reynolds L, 0-1       	  6      5  2  2  1  5  83  3.00
RSpringer             	  1      2  1  1  1  1  24  5.40
TMartin               	    1-3  1  1  0  1  0   7  0.00
RGarcia               	    2-3  0  0  0  0  1  11  0.00
Magnante              	  1      0  0  0  0  0  11  4.50    

Inherited runners-scored--RGarcia 2-1.

   PB--Ausmus.

   Umpires--Home, Hallion; First, DeMuth; Second, Tata; 
Third, Gorman; Left, Hirschbeck, M.; Right, Darling.

   T--2:31. A--53,688 (54,370).