Paul bracket: Braves (69) defeat Braves (09) in five games

Game One: 09 Braves 3, 69 Braves 1
WP: Vazquez (1-0)
LP: Pappas (0-1)
Save: Soriano (1)
HR: T Gonzalez (1)

Game Two: 69 Braves 5, 09 Braves 2
WP: Reed (1-0)
LP: Jurrjens (0-1)
Save: Upshaw (1)
HR: McLouth (1), Cepeda (1)

Game Three: 69 Braves 4, 09 Braves 2
WP: Jarvis (1-0)
LP: Lowe (0-1)
Save: Upshaw (2)
HR: Prado (1)

Game Four: 69 Braves 15, 09 Braves 2
WP: P Niekro (1-0)
LP: Hanson (0-1)
HR: Cepeda (2), T. Gonzalez (2), Carty (1)

Game Five: 69 Braves 5, 09 Braves 2
WP: Stone (1-0)
LP: Vazquez (0-1)
Save: Upshaw (3)
HR: Stone (1)

The 1969 Atlanta Braves didn't get a lot from its handful of Hall of Famers, but they still had too much for the 2009 edition.

Phil Niekro left Game One after three perfect innings because of injury. Hank Aaron had just three singles in 16 official at-bats (with six walks). Orlando Cepeda was  just 4-for-22. But the 09 Braves mustered just 11 runs over the three games; the 69 Braves scored 15 in Game Four alone.

Javier Vazquez was quite effective in the opener. He gave up a homer to the first man he faced, Tony Gonzalez, but just four hits after that. Omar Infante tripled home two men in the fifth off Milt Pappas, who had relieved Niekro, and scored himself on a sac fly in the biggest inning the 09 Braves would have all series.

The 69 Braves evened the series in Game Two behind Ron Reed's eight innings of two-run ball. Nat McLouth gave the 09 Braves a quick lead with a leadoff homer of his own, but Cepeda tied it with a second-inning solo shot, and the 69 Braves added a run in the third, two in the fourth and another in the fifth. Reed and Cecil Upshaw combined to shut out the 09 Braves over the final five innings.

The series then moved to Turner Stadium, never to return to Fulton County Stadium. Pat Jarvis scattered five hits in seven innings to hold the 09 Braves scoreless in Game Three before he gave up a two-run homer to Martin Prado in the eighth. By then the 69 lineup had nibbled away for four runs off Derek Lowe and Mike Gonzalez, with Aaron collecting a pair of RBIs on outs in the process.

Game Four was a rout. Phil Niekro doubled home the first two runs and tossed four perfect innings. Tommy Hanson yielded seven runs in five innings, and relievers Kenshin Kawakami and Eric O'Flaherty gave up eight more in four innings of labor.

The 69 Braves, with a chance to put the series away, blasted Vazquez for three runs in the first inning of Game Five. Starter George Stone hit a two-run homer in the fourth for a 5-0 lead. Stone had bases-loaded jams in both the fourth and fifth innings but allowed just one run in each frame, and he and Upshaw combined to shut out the 09 Braves over the final four frames.

Player of the series: No real standouts for the '69 Braves, but we'll go with Clete Boyer, who was 6-for-18 with a pair of triples, scored five runs and played his usual stellar third base.

Pitcher availability: All will be rested for the second round.

Projected rotation: P Niekro-Reed-Jarvis-P. Niekro-(Stone or Pappas)-(Reed)-(P Niekro)