2004 Atlanta Braves season

The 2004 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 39th season in Atlanta and 134th overall. The Braves won their tenth consecutive division title, finishing 10 games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies.

2004 Atlanta Braves
National League East Division Champion
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Turner Field
City	Atlanta
Record	96–66 (59.3%)
Divisional place	1st place
Owner	Time Warner
General manager	John Schuerholz
Manager	Bobby Cox
Television	TBS Superstation Turner South (Don Sutton, Joe Simpson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray) FSN South (Tom Paciorek, Bob Rathbun)
Radio	WSB (AM) (Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson) WWWE (Luis Octavio Dozal, Jose Manuel Flores)
← 2003 Seasons 2005 →

On September 29, 2004, Bobby Cox won his 2,000th game as a manager. He became the ninth manager to achieve the feat, doing so with a 6–3 win over the New York Mets at Turner Field in the final home game of the year ^[1] He was named Manager of the Year after the season ended.

J. D. Drew replaced Gary Sheffield (lost to the Yankees in free agency) in the outfield, free agent John Thomson joined the rotation, and rookies Adam LaRoche and Charles Thomas saw significant playing time on a younger 2004 Braves team.

The Braves would face the Houston Astros in the NLDS (the fourth time that these two teams met in seven years, all of which were won by Atlanta), but the Braves lost three games to two.

Offseason

• October 25, 2003: DeWayne Wise was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[2]
• November 14, 2003: Jorge Velandia was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[3]
• December 10, 2003: John Thomson signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[4]
• December 13, 2003: J. D. Drew was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Eli Marrero to the Atlanta Braves for Jason Marquis, Ray King, and Adam Wainwright.^[5]
• December 23, 2003: Antonio Alfonseca signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[6]
• January 12, 2004: Julio Franco was re-signed from free agency to the Atlanta Braves.^[7]
• February 5, 2004: Russell Branyan was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[8]
• March 26, 2004: Chris Reitsma was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Atlanta Braves for Bubba Nelson (minors) and Jung Bong.^[9]

Regular season

Opening Day starters

Position	Name
Starting Pitcher	Russ Ortiz
Catcher	Johnny Estrada
First Baseman	Julio Franco
Second Baseman	Marcus Giles
Third Baseman	Mark DeRosa
Shortstop	Rafael Furcal
Left Fielder	Chipper Jones
Center Fielder	Andruw Jones
Right Fielder	J. D. Drew

^[10]

Season standings

National League East

• v
• t
• e

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	96	66	.593	—	49‍–‍32	47‍–‍34
Philadelphia Phillies	86	76	.531	10	42‍–‍39	44‍–‍37
Florida Marlins	83	79	.512	13	42‍–‍38	41‍–‍41
New York Mets	71	91	.438	25	38‍–‍43	33‍–‍48
Montreal Expos	67	95	.414	29	35‍–‍45	32‍–‍50

Record vs. opponents

2004 National League record v t e Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2004
Team	AZ	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MIL	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Arizona	—	2–4	4–2	3–3	6–13	3–4	2–4	3–16	3–3	0–6	3–4	1–5	2–4	7–12	5–14	1–5	6–12
Atlanta	4–2	—	3–3	2–4	4–2	14–5	3–3	4–3	4–2	15–4	12–7	10–9	4–2	3–3	4–3	2–4	8–10
Chicago	2–4	3–3	—	9–8	5–1	3–3	10–9	2–4	10–7	3–3	4–2	3–3	13–5	4–2	2–4	8–11	8–4
Cincinnati	3–3	4–2	8–9	—	3–3	4–2	6–11	4–2	10–8	4–2	3–3	3–3	9–10	2–4	3–3	5–14	5-7
Colorado	13–6	2–4	1–5	3–3	—	1–5	1–5	8–11	2–4	2–4	1–5	5–3	2–4	10–9	8–11	1–5	8–10
Florida	4–3	5–14	3–3	2–4	5–1	—	3–3	3–3	4–2	11–8	15–4	12–7	1–5	4–2	2–5	2–4	7–11
Houston	4–2	3–3	9–10	11–6	5–1	3-3	—	1–5	13–6	2–4	2–4	6–0	12–5	2–4	2–4	10–8	7–5
Los Angeles	16–3	3–4	4–2	2–4	11–8	3–3	5–1	—	3–3	4–3	3–3	1–5	6–0	10–9	10–9	2–4	10–8
Milwaukee	3–3	2–4	7–10	8–10	4–2	2–4	6–13	3–3	—	5–1	2–4	0–6	6–12	2–4	1–5	8–9	8–4
Montreal	6–0	4–15	3–3	2–4	4–2	8-11	4–2	3–4	1–5	—	9–10	7–12	4–2	1–6	1–5	3–3	7–11
New York	4–3	7–12	2–4	3–3	5–1	4–15	4–2	3–3	4–2	10–9	—	8–11	1–5	1–6	4–2	1–5	10–8
Philadelphia	5-1	9–10	3–3	3–3	3–5	7–12	0–6	5–1	6–0	12–7	11–8	—	3–3	5–1	2–4	3–3	9–9
Pittsburgh	4–2	2–4	5–13	10–9	4–2	5–1	5–12	0–6	12–6	2–4	5–1	3–3	—	3–3	5–1	5–12	2–10
San Diego	12–7	3–3	2–4	4–2	9–10	2–4	4–2	9–10	4–2	6–1	6–1	1–5	3–3	—	12–7	2–4	8–10
San Francisco	14–5	3–4	4–2	3–3	11–8	5–2	4–2	9–10	5–1	5–1	2–4	4–2	1–5	7–12	—	3–3	11–7
St. Louis	5–1	4–2	11–8	14–5	5–1	4-2	8–10	4–2	9–8	3–3	5–1	3–3	12–5	4–2	3–3	—	11–1

Notable transactions

• April 25, 2004: Russell Branyan was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Cleveland Indians for Scott Sturkie (minors).^[8]
• June 7, 2004: Clint Sammons was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 6th round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed July 12, 2004.^[11]

Roster

2004 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 57 Antonio Alfonseca 34 Armando Almanza 36 Paul Byrd 34 José Capellán 40 Román Colón 51 Juan Cruz 26 Will Cunnane 46 Tim Drew 49 Kevin Gryboski 32 Mike Hampton 38 Tom Martin 28 Sam McConnell 45 Dan Meyer 40 C. J. Nitkowski 48 Russ Ortiz 30 Horacio Ramírez 37 Chris Reitsma 43 Travis Smith 29 John Smoltz 52 John Thomson 27 Jaret Wright		Catchers 23 Johnny Estrada 12 Eddie Pérez Infielders 24 Wilson Betemit 16 Mark DeRosa 14 Julio Franco  1 Rafael Furcal  2 Jesse Garcia 22 Marcus Giles 20 Nick Green 15 Mike Hessman 10 Chipper Jones 19 Adam LaRoche		Outfielders  7 J. D. Drew 20 Damon Hollins 25 Andruw Jones  8 Eli Marrero 26 Charles Thomas 11 DeWayne Wise		Manager  6 Bobby Cox Coaches 39 Pat Corrales (bench) 53 Bobby Dews (bullpen) 33 Fredi González (third base) 17 Glenn Hubbard (first base) 54 Leo Mazzone (pitching)  9 Terry Pendleton (hitting)

Game log

2004 Game Log: 96–66 (Home: 49–32; Away: 47–34)
April: 11–10 (Home: 6–3; Away: 5–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 6 Mets 2–7 Glavine (1–0) Ortiz (0–1) — 49,460 0–1 2 April 7 Mets 18–10 Gryboski (1–0) Trachsel (0–1) — 22,775 1–1 3 April 8 Mets 10–8 Cunnane (1–0) Franco (0–1) Smoltz (1) 26,585 2–1 4 April 9 Cubs 1–2 (15) Mercker (1–0) Cunnane (1–1) Borowski (2) 35,650 2–2 5 April 10 Cubs 5–2 Alfonseca (1–0) Pratt (0–1) Gryboski (1) 39,685 3–2 6 April 11 Cubs 2–10 Wood (2–0) Ortiz (0–2) — 27,701 3–3 7 April 12 @ Mets 6–10 Trachsel (1–1) Hampton (0–1) Looper (2) 53,666 3–4 8 April 14 @ Mets 6–1 Thomson (1–0) Yates (0–1) — 15,894 4–4 9 April 15 @ Mets 0–4 Leiter (1–0) Ramirez (0–1) — 33,212 4–5 10 April 16 Marlins 5–4 Wright (1–0) Oliver (1–1) Smoltz (2) 29,638 5–5 11 April 17 Marlins 4–1 Ortiz (1–2) Beckett (1–1) Smoltz (3) 31,401 6–5 12 April 18 Marlins 3–2 (10) Alfonseca (2–0) Perisho (2–1) — 29,829 7–5 13 April 20 @ Reds 2–3 Acevedo (2–0) Thomson (1–1) Graves (7) 20,232 7–6 14 April 21 @ Reds 9–5 (10) Reitsma (1–0) Reith (0–1) — 29,472 8–6 15 April 22 @ Reds 3–5 (5) Lidle (2–1) Wright (1–1) — 19,909 8–7 16 April 23 @ Marlins 6–1 Ortiz (2–2) Beckett (1–2) — 32,477 9–7 17 April 24 @ Marlins 4–7 Penny (2–1) Hampton (0–2) Benítez (9) 41,226 9–8 18 April 25 @ Marlins 7–2 Thomson (2–1) Bump (0–1) — 27,977 10–8 19 April 26 @ Giants 2–3 Schmidt (1–2) Ramirez (0–2) Herges (7) 35,866 10–9 20 April 27 @ Giants 12–3 Wright (2–1) Rueter (0–3) — 36,371 11–9 21 April 28 @ Giants 7–10 Tomko (1–1) Ortiz (2–3) — 36,210 11–10 – April 30 @ Rockies Postponed (snow); rescheduled for May 1
May: 14–15 (Home: 6–7; Away: 8–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 22 May 1 (1) @ Rockies 2–3 Nunez (3–0) Reitsma (1–1) Chacon (6) 30,176 11–11 23 May 1 (2) @ Rockies 11–7 Nitkowski (1–0) Nunez (3–1) — 24,272 12–11 24 May 2 @ Rockies 4–13 Estes (4–1) Ramirez (0–3) — 35,234 12–12 25 May 4 Padres 4–2 Ortiz (3–3) Eaton (1–2) Smoltz (4) 22,046 13–12 26 May 5 Padres 0–2 Wells (2–2) Wright (2–2) Hoffman (8) 21,444 13–13 27 May 6 Padres 3–7 Lawrence (4–2) Hampton (0–3) — 26,137 13–14 28 May 7 Astros 3–5 Redding (1–3) Thomson (2–2) Dotel (5) 27,902 13–15 29 May 8 Astros 5–4 (10) Alfonseca (3–0) Stone (1–1) — 35,220 14–15 30 May 9 Astros 1–2 Pettitte (3–1) Ortiz (3–4) Dotel (6) 26,825 14–16 31 May 11 @ Cardinals 1–5 Williams (1–3) Wright (2–3) — 35,000 14–17 32 May 12 @ Cardinals 2–5 Morris (4–3) Hampton (0–4) Isringhausen (6) 28,921 14–18 33 May 13 @ Cardinals 6–5 Alfonseca (4–0) Suppan (3–4) Smoltz (5) 40,472 15–18 34 May 14 @ Brewers 2–0 Ramirez (1–3) Vizcaino (0–2) Smoltz (6) 33,061 16–18 35 May 15 @ Brewers 11–6 Alfonseca (5–0) Kinney (1–3) — 26,862 17–18 36 May 16 @ Brewers 1–4 Sheets (4–2) Wright (2–4) — 20,654 17–19 37 May 18 Diamondbacks 0–2 Johnson (4–4) Hampton (0–5) — 23,381 17–20 38 May 19 Diamondbacks 4–6 (11) Bruney (2–0) Almanza (0–1) — 19,971 17–21 39 May 20 Diamondbacks 5–1 Ramirez (2–3) Fossum (0–1) — 21,044 18–21 40 May 21 Dodgers 2–0 Ortiz (4–4) Perez (2–3) Smoltz (7) 27,194 19–21 41 May 22 Dodgers 4–7 Weaver (3–5) Wright (2–5) — 31,850 19–22 42 May 23 Dodgers 5–1 Hampton (1–5) Alvarez (2–1) — 29,738 20–22 43 May 24 @ Expos 5–0 Thomson (3–2) Day (3–5) — 4,675 21–22 44 May 25 @ Expos 1–3 Ohka (2–5) Ramirez (2–4) Biddle (10) 4,235 21–23 45 May 26 @ Expos 6–1 Ortiz (5–4) Hernandez (3–4) — 4,544 22–23 46 May 27 @ Phillies 6–1 Wright (3–5) Millwood (4–3) — 38,802 23–23 47 May 28 @ Phillies 2–3 (10) Worrell (1–1) Alfonseca (5–1) — 40,187 23–24 48 May 29 @ Phillies 9–3 Thomson (4–2) Padilla (4–5) — 44,057 24–24 49 May 30 @ Phillies 1–4 Milton (6–1) Smith (0–1) Worrell (7) 44,304 24–25 50 May 31 Expos 8–2 Ortiz (6–4) Hernandez (3–5) — 24,945 25–25
June: 12–15 (Home: 7–8; Away: 5–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 51 June 1 Expos 7–6 Almanza (1–1) Biddle (0–3) — 20,271 26–25 52 June 2 Expos 4–8 Vargas (4–3) Hampton (1–6) — 21,055 26–26 53 June 3 Phillies 8–4 Thomson (5–2) Hancock (0–1) — 23,405 27–26 54 June 4 Phillies 1–9 Milton (7–1) Smith (0–2) — 27,699 27–27 55 June 5 Phillies 3–5 Myers (4–3) Ortiz (6–5) Worrell (8) 29,252 27–28 56 June 6 Phillies 6–4 Wright (4–5) Millwood (4–4) Smoltz (8) 27,775 28–28 57 June 8 @ Tigers 4–3 (10) Reitsma (2–1) Patterson (0–3) Smoltz (9) 19,062 29–28 58 June 9 @ Tigers 2–4 Dingman (1–0) Thomson (5–3) Urbina (8) 20,577 29–29 59 June 10 @ Tigers 4–7 Maroth (5–3) Alfonseca (5–2) Urbina (9) 21,166 29–30 60 June 11 @ White Sox 6–4 Wright (5–5) Schoeneweis (5–4) — 23,217 30–30 61 June 12 @ White Sox 8–10 Loaiza (7–3) Thomson (5–4) Takatsu (1) 34,719 30–31 62 June 13 @ White Sox 3–10 Buehrle (7–1) Smith (0–3) — 32,589 30–32 63 June 15 Royals 3–2 Reitsma (3–1) Grimsley (3–3) Smoltz (10) 23,350 31–32 64 June 16 Royals 4–10 Cerda (1–1) Reitsma (3–2) — 27,048 31–33 65 June 17 Royals 4–10 May (4–8) Thomson (5–5) — 28,578 31–34 66 June 18 Indians 2–4 Lee (6–1) Hampton (1–7) Jimenez (6) 28,000 31–35 67 June 19 Indians 4–0 Byrd (1–0) Westbrook (6–3) Smoltz (11) 41,987 32–35 68 June 20 Indians 2–5 Davis (2–5) Ortiz (6–6) Jimenez (7) 31,000 32–36 69 June 22 @ Marlins 3–4 Pavano (8–2) Gryboski (1–1) Benítez (25) 14,716 32–37 70 June 23 @ Marlins 0–6 Penny (7–5) Thomson (5–6) — 15,294 32–38 71 June 24 @ Marlins 9–4 Hampton (2–7) Willis (6–5) — 23,856 33–38 72 June 25 @ Orioles 0–5 Cabrera (4–3) Byrd (1–1) — 33,579 33–39 73 June 26 @ Orioles 5–0 Ortiz (7–6) Lopez (5–4) Smoltz (12) 47,438 34–39 74 June 27 @ Orioles 8–7 Cruz (1–0) Grimsley (3–4) Smoltz (13) 39,095 35–39 75 June 28 Marlins 6–1 Thomson (6–6) Penny (7–6) — 31,969 36–39 76 June 29 Marlins 4–5 Manzanillo (1–1) Hampton (2–8) Benítez (26) 25,105 36–40 77 June 30 Marlins 9–6 McConnell (1–0) Oliver (2–3) Smoltz (14) 23,040 37–40
July: 20–6 (Home: 10–4; Away: 10–2) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 78 July 1 Marlins 9–1 Ortiz (8–6) Tejera (0–1) — 20,600 38–40 79 July 2 Red Sox 6–3 (12) Cruz (2–0) Martinez (2–1) — 42,231 39–40 80 July 3 Red Sox 1–6 Schilling (11–4) Thomson (6–7) — 51,831 39–41 81 July 4 Red Sox 10–4 Hampton (3–8) Lowe (6–8) — 41,414 40–41 82 July 5 @ Expos* 11–4 Byrd (2–1) Day (5–9) — 13,122 41–41 83 July 6 @ Expos* 1–0 Ortiz (9–6) Downs (0–3) Smoltz (15) 7,697 42–41 84 July 7 @ Expos* 14–2 Wright (6–5) Hernandez (6–8) — 8,534 43–41 85 July 9 @ Phillies 6–7 (10) Wagner (3–0) Alfonseca (5–3) — 44,180 43–42 86 July 10 @ Phillies 4–0 Hampton (4–8) Abbott (2–8) — 44,307 44–42 87 July 11 @ Phillies 6–4 Ortiz (10–6) Wolf (3–5) Smoltz (16) 44,519 45–42 75th All-Star Game in Houston, Texas 88 July 15 Expos 8–0 Wright (7–5) Hernandez (6–9) — 33,883 46–42 89 July 16 Expos 1–5 Horgan (2–0) Byrd (2–2) — 26,424 46–43 90 July 17 Expos 6–2 Ortiz (11–6) Bentz (0–3) Smoltz (17) 34,296 47–43 91 July 18 Expos 16–5 Thomson (7–7) Downs (1–4) — 23,952 48–43 92 July 19 Phillies 4–2 Hampton (5–8) Abbott (2–9) Smoltz (18) 25,790 49–43 93 July 20 Phillies 3–4 (10) Worrell (3–3) Alfonseca (5–4) Wagner (15) 36,006 49–44 94 July 21 Pirates 3–4 Benson (8–7) Byrd (2–3) Mesa (27) 30,131 49–45 95 July 22 Pirates 2–1 (10) Reitsma (4–2) Torres (6–4) — 32,963 50–45 – July 23 @ Mets Postponed (rain); rescheduled for September 13 96 July 24 @ Mets 5–2 Thomson (8–7) Stanton (0–4) Smoltz (19) 33,166 51–45 97 July 25 @ Mets 4–3 Hampton (6–8) Trachsel (9–7) Smoltz (20) 32,542 52–45 98 July 26 @ Pirates 4–2 Wright (8–5) Benson (8–8) Smoltz (21) 19,164 53–45 99 July 27 @ Pirates 4–8 Gonzalez (3–0) Gryboski (1–2) — 15,946 53–46 100 July 28 @ Pirates 1–0 Ortiz (12–6) Perez (6–5) Smoltz (22) 22,977 54–46 101 July 29 @ Pirates 3–2 Cruz (3–0) Mesa (2–1) Smoltz (23) 25,988 55–46 102 July 30 Mets 3–1 Hampton (7–8) Trachsel (9–8) Smoltz (24) 40,913 56–46 103 July 31 Mets 8–0 Wright (9–5) Benson (8–9) — 51,125 57–46 *Games the Montreal Expos played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the 2004 season counted as Expos home games.
August: 20–8 (Home: 10–4; Away: 10–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 104 August 1 Mets 6–5 Byrd (3–3) Glavine (8–9) Smoltz (25) 34,203 58–46 105 August 3 @ Astros 2–3 Miceli (4–5) Reitsma (4–3) Lidge (12) 40,709 58–47 106 August 4 @ Astros 5–4 Thomson (9–7) Munro (2–3) Smoltz (26) 37,712 59–47 107 August 5 @ Astros 6–5 Cruz (4–0) Miceli (4–6) Smoltz (27) 37,015 60–47 108 August 6 @ Diamondbacks 4–2 Jar. Wright (10–5) BWebb (4–13) Reitsma (1) 29,368 61–47 109 August 7 @ Diamondbacks 6–2 Byrd (4–3) Gonzalez (0–5) — 33,249 62–47 110 August 8 @ Diamondbacks 11–4 Ortiz (13–6) Fossum (2–11) — 29,601 63–47 111 August 10 Brewers 2–3 (10) Adams (2–1) Martin (0–2) Kolb (32) 21,681 63–48 112 August 11 Brewers 10–3 Hampton (8–8) Santos (9–8) — 21,673 64–48 113 August 12 Brewers 4–2 Jar. Wright (11–5) Sheets (9–9) Smoltz (28) 21,013 65–48 114 August 13 Cardinals 1–4 Williams (9–6) Byrd (4–4) Isringhausen (32) 38,843 65–49 115 August 14 Cardinals 9–7 Alfonseca (6–4) King (4–2) Smoltz (29) 44,413 66–49 116 August 15 Cardinals 4–10 Haren (1–2) Thomson (9–8) — 28,983 66–50 117 August 16 @ Padres 5–4 Hampton (9–8) Hitchcock (0–2) Smoltz (30) 34,426 67–50 118 August 17 @ Padres 6–11 Peavy (9–3) Jar. Wright (11–6) — 36,184 67–51 119 August 18 @ Padres 6–5 Reitsma (5–3) Hoffman (2–3) Smoltz (31) 36,827 68–51 120 August 19 @ Dodgers 6–5 Reitsma (6–3) Gagne (4–3) Smoltz (32) 42,287 69–51 121 August 20 @ Dodgers 2–3 (11) Carrara (3–0) Cruz (4–1) — 54,993 69–52 122 August 21 @ Dodgers 4–7 Weaver (11–10) Hampton (9–9) Carrara (1) 52,398 69–53 123 August 22 @ Dodgers 10–1 Jar. Wright (12–6) Alvarez (7–4) — 49,513 70–53 124 August 24 Rockies 6–5 Gryboski (2–2) Harikkala (5–3) Smoltz (33) 27,914 71–53 125 August 25 Rockies 8–1 Thomson (10–8) Francis (0–1) — 25,534 72–53 126 August 26 Rockies 6–4 Hampton (10–9) Jam. Wright (1–2) Smoltz (34) 28,360 73–53 127 August 27 Giants 5–3 Jar. Wright (13–6) Rueter (7–10) Smoltz (35) 37,178 74–53 128 August 28 Giants 9–3 Byrd (5–4) Schmidt (15–5) — 42,549 75–53 129 August 29 Giants 5–9 Christiansen (4–2) Ortiz (13–7) Hermanson (7) 24,631 75–54 130 August 30 Giants 7–6 Colon (1–0) Hermanson (5–6) — 22,776 76–54 131 August 31 @ Phillies 5–3 Hampton (11–9) Milton (13–3) — 36,028 77–54
September: 17–11 (Home: 10–6; Away: 7–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 132 September 1 @ Phillies 7–2 Wright (14–6) Padilla (5–7) — 35,031 78–54 133 September 3 @ Expos 7–1 Byrd (6–4) Downs (2–5) — 8,617 79–54 134 September 4 @ Expos 9–0 Ortiz (14–7) Patterson (3–4) — 9,772 80–54 135 September 5 @ Expos 3–4 (12) Tucker (4–2) Cruz (4–2) — 10,015 80–55 136 September 6 Phillies 3–1 Smith (1–3) Milton (13–4) Smoltz (36) 31,949 81–55 – September 7 Phillies Postponed (rain); rescheduled for September 8 137 September 8 (1) Phillies 3–5 Madson (8–2) Reitsma (6–4) Wagner (17) N/A 81–56 138 September 8 (2) Phillies 1–4 Jones (9–5) Byrd (6–5) Worrell (18) 20,320 81–57 139 September 9 Phillies 4–9 Madson (9–2) Colon (1–1) — 20,285 81–58 140 September 10 Expos 4–3 Thomson (11–8) Patterson (3–5) Smoltz (37) 22,086 82–58 141 September 11 Expos 8–1 Cruz (5–2) Hernandez (10–13) — 28,860 83–58 142 September 12 Expos 9–8 (12) Cruz (6–2) Ayala (5–10) — 25,865 84–58 143 September 13 (1) @ Mets 7–9 Heilman (1–1) Wright (14–7) — N/A 84–59 144 September 13 (2) @ Mets 7–1 Byrd (7–5) Seo (4–10) — 21,476 85–59 145 September 14 @ Mets 0–7 Benson (12–11) Ortiz (14–8) — 21,545 85–60 146 September 15 @ Mets 2–0 Thomson (12–8) Leiter (9–7) Smoltz (38) 29,704 86–60 147 September 16 @ Mets 4–9 Trachsel (11–13) Capellan (0–1) — 19,885 86–61 148 September 17 @ Marlins 8–1 Byrd (8–5) Kensing (0–2) — 26,084 87–61 149 September 18 @ Marlins 4–2 Wright (15–7) Beckett (7–9) Smoltz (39) 34,714 88–61 150 September 19 @ Marlins 0–3 Valdez (13–8) Ortiz (14–9) Benítez (43) 41,525 88–62 151 September 21 Reds 5–4 Thomson (13–8) Claussen (2–6) Smoltz (40) 20,359 89–62 152 September 22 Reds 8–11 Norton (2–5) Smoltz (0–1) Valentine (2) 19,573 89–63 153 September 23 Reds 2–3 Hudson (4–2) Wright (15–8) White (1) 21,519 89–64 154 September 24 Marlins 8–7 Smith (2–3) Mota (9–7) Smoltz (41) 28,632 90–64 155 September 25 Marlins 1–0 Hampton (12–9) Pavano (17–8) Reitsma (2) 42,772 91–64 156 September 26 Marlins 6–3 Thomson (14–8) Willis (10–11) — 31,351 92–64 – September 27 Mets Postponed (rain); rescheduled for September 28 157 September 28 (1) Mets 1–2 Trachsel (12–13) Byrd (8–6) Looper (29) N/A 92–65 158 September 28 (2) Mets 5–2 Colon (2–1) Glavine (10–14) Smoltz (42) 35,729 93–65 159 September 29 Mets 6–3 Ortiz (15–9) Heilman (1–3) Smoltz (43) 22,000 94–65
October: 2–1 (Home: 0–0; Away: 2–1) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 160 October 1 @ Cubs 5–4 Hampton (13–9) Wood (8–9) Gryboski (2) 38,795 95–65 161 October 2 @ Cubs 8–6 Gryboski (3–2) Farnsworth (4–5) Smoltz (44) 38,695 96–65 162 October 3 @ Cubs 8–10 Maddux (16–11) Byrd (8–7) Hawkins (25) 38,420 96–66
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Braves team member

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Johnny Estrada	134	462	145	.314	9	76
1B	Adam LaRoche	110	324	90	.278	13	45
2B	Marcus Giles	102	379	118	.311	8	48
SS	Rafael Furcal	143	563	157	.279	14	59
3B	Chipper Jones	137	472	117	.248	30	96
LF	Charles Thomas	83	236	68	.288	7	31
CF	Andruw Jones	154	570	149	.261	29	91
RF	J.D. Drew	145	518	158	.305	31	93

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Julio Franco	125	320	99	.309	6	57
Mark DeRosa	118	309	74	.239	3	31
Nick Green	95	264	72	.273	3	26
Eli Marrero	90	250	80	.320	10	40
Eddie Pérez	74	170	39	.229	3	13
DeWayne Wise	77	162	37	.228	6	17
Jesse Garcia	50	115	29	.252	1	10
Mike Hessman	29	69	9	.130	2	5
Wilson Betemit	22	47	8	.170	0	3
Damon Hollins	7	22	8	.364	0	5

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Russ Ortiz	34	204.2	15	9	4.13	143
John Thomson	33	198.1	14	8	3.72	133
Jaret Wright	32	186.1	15	8	3.28	159
Mike Hampton	29	172.1	13	9	4.28	87
Paul Byrd	19	114.1	8	7	3.94	79
Horacio Ramírez	10	60.1	2	4	2.39	31

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Travis Smith	16	40.2	2	3	6.20	26
José Capellán	3	8.0	0	1	11.25	4

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
John Smoltz	73	0	1	44	2.76	85
Chris Reitsma	84	6	4	2	4.07	60
Antonio Alfonseca	79	6	4	0	2.57	45
Kevin Gryboski	69	3	2	2	2.84	24
Juan Cruz	50	6	2	0	2.75	70
Tom Martin	29	0	1	0	3.71	12
C.J. Nitkowski	22	1	0	0	4.50	16
Román Colón	18	2	1	0	3.32	15
Armando Almanza	13	1	1	0	6.17	13
Tim Drew	11	0	0	0	4.50	7
Sam McConnell	10	1	0	0	3.86	4
Will Cunnane	9	1	1	0	7.30	11
Dan Meyer	2	0	0	0	0.00	1

Postseason

Game log

2004 Postseason Game Log

National League Division Series: 2–3 # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 October 6 Astros 3–9 Clemens (1–0) Wright (0–1) — 41,464 0–1 2 October 7 Astros 4–2 (11) Alfonseca (1–0) Miceli (0–1) — 40,075 1–1 3 October 9 @ Astros 5–8 Backe (1–0) Byrd (0–1) Lidge (1) 43,547 1–2 4 October 10 @ Astros 6–5 Smoltz (1–0) Springer (0–1) — 43,336 2–2 5 October 11 Astros 3–12 Oswalt (1–0) Wright (0–2) — 54,068 2–3

Award winners

2004 Major League Baseball season

• Bobby Cox was voted National League Manager of the Year for the second of three times with the Atlanta Braves.^[12]
• Andruw Jones (outfield) was once again chosen to receive a Gold Glove award.
• Johnny Estrada (catcher) was chosen to receive a Silver Slugger award.

2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Johnny Estrada represented the Atlanta Braves as a catcher for the National League All-Star team.

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Richmond Braves	International League	Pat Kelly
AA	Greenville Braves	Southern League	Brian Snitker
A	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Carolina League	Randy Ingle
A	Rome Braves	South Atlantic League	Rocket Wheeler
Rookie	Danville Braves	Appalachian League	Jim Saul
Rookie	GCL Braves	Gulf Coast League	Ralph Henriquez

^[13][14]