Cox feels Braves' love

The Braves beat the Philadelphia 8-7 on the last day of the regular season, then watched on television as the Giants beat the Padres 3-0 to give them a National League wild card.

The game was long since over when Bobby Cox, drenched with celebratory drink, was hoisted onto the shoulders of his players. The Atlanta Braves gave their manager a final trip to the play-offs on Sunday, but they had to wait for San Francisco's win over San Diego for it to be official.

The Braves beat Philadelphia 8-7 on the last day of the regular season, then watched on clubhouse television as the Giants beat the Padres 3-0 to give Atlanta the National League wild card.

Then the party moved onto field. Hundreds of fans were still waiting in the stadium, and they cheered and chanted "Bobby! Bobby!" as the players carried Cox around in front of the dugout. "This is what it's all about," said Billy Wagner, the closer, who struck out the side in the ninth inning to preserve the victory. "You play all year long and it comes down to the last game and you get the champagne shower."

The Braves won a record-setting 14 consecutive division titles with Cox but had missed the playoffs since 2005. Cox, who said before the season that this would be his final year, finishes with 2,504 regular season victories. He trails only Connie Mack (3,776), John McGraw (2,840) and Tony La Russa (2,638). "We try hard," he said. "This team is the hardest-working, hardest-trying team we've ever had here."

Cox also holds the record for being ejected from games for arguing with umpires, with 158. He joked he was trying for No 159 when watching on TV as the Giants beat the Padres in San Francisco. "I was arguing with the umpire on every pitch," Cox said. "It could have been a 3,000-mile ejection." Atlanta will start the play-offs on Thursday at San Francisco. "We fought and we fought and we fought," Tim Hudson, the pitcher, said of the Braves' 91-win season that included a nine-game losing streak in April and season-ending injuries to Chipper Jones, Martin Prado and Kris Medlen. "I know there's not a team in this league that's got more heart than us."

Hudson (17-9) allowed four runs and two hits in seven innings against the NL East champions, giving up two-run homers by John Mayberry in the third and Jayson Werth in the seventh. Wagner, who like Cox is retiring after the season, struggled in the eighth, when the Phillies scored three runs. But he struck out Shane Victorino, Brian Schneider and Greg Dobbs in the ninth - each on called third strikes - for his 37th save in 44 chances.

"The shadows helped, no doubt," Wagner said. "They could see fastballs but they couldn't see the spin of breaking balls. "It's a relief because you get a tomorrow.

* Associated Press