The powerful outfield combination of Dante Bichette, Carl Everett, and Manny Ramirez talk while Derek Lowe warms up in Sunday's game.

Despite their struggles in the past against the Braves, the Red Sox continued their surge by taking two of three from Atlanta. It was the first time since 1998 that the Red Sox took a series from the Braves, and they did so in a series in which neither team hit a home run. The three games were highlighted by an epic come from behind victory on Friday night and secured with a one run victory on Sunday afternoon. The only blemish was Saturday night's fiasco, an 8-0 loss, which is their worst to date so far in 2001.

Despite the absence of Pedro Martinez, the weekend series was dominated by strong pitching performances. On Friday it was Atlanta's Greg Maddux rebounding from a shaky three run first inning to pitch shutout ball for his final six innings. But the win went to Boston as Rod Beck came through in the clutch with two scoreless innings as the Red Sox rallied to beat the Braves 9-5 in ten innings. Saturday featured Atlanta's John Burkett, who continued his surprising 2001 start with an eight inning, two hit shutout. In the series finale, it was Frank Castillo shutting the Braves down, leaving with a 4-0 lead in the sixth in game that was saved by Derek Lowe, who squelched an Atlanta rally with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

The jewel of the series was Friday night, as the Red Sox rallied from a 5-3 eight inning deficit in a game halted 49 minutes by rain and marked by a swarm of moths when play resumed. After blowing a 3-2 lead by allowing the Braves to score three runs immediately following the rain delay, the Red Sox rallied for a run in the eighth on a Dante Bichette's pinch-hit single and tied the game in the ninth when Jose Offerman led off the inning with a triple against John Rocker and scored on a sac fly by Trot Nixon. Boston put the game away with a four run tenth, handing the Braves their first defeat in the 34 games in which they had lead in the ninth inning.

First it was the rain, then it was the moths that created a nuisance in Friday's dramatic Red Sox victory.

The improbable victory wouldn't have been possible if not for an amazing diving catch by Nixon in the bottom of the ninth. Offerman and Chris Stynes each had four hits apeice, as the Red Sox' big guns, Carl Everett and Manny Ramirez, each went hitless. The game didn't end until 25 minutes past midnight and the victory made up for Pedro not pitching.

Saturday night's game started out as a pitching duel between Burkett and Hideo Nomo, but Nomo struggled to regain his composure after the Boston defense fell apart with two outs in the bottom of the fourth when Stynes let a ground ball hit by Javier Lopez go between his legs. The error gave the Braves the first run of the game and Boston's continued offense to sputter, managing only singles by Offerman and Mike Lansing in the 8-0 whitewash.

The Red Sox rebounded from that game with a solid pitching performance by Castillo to take Sunday afternoon's series finale 4-3. Lowe got the final out in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings to spell the shaky relief of Rich Garces and Rolando Arrojo, who threw two-thirds of an inning in relief less than 48 hours after starting Friday night's game. Ramirez and Everett got their first hits of the series in a two run first off Atlanta starter Odalis Perez. The game ended on a double play as Darren Lewis caught a flair off the bat of Bernard Gilkey in right field and threw a two-hopper to first to double up Mark DeRosa at first.

While the Braves are happy to see the Red Sox leave town they will miss the fans that the team brings with them. The three game set featured three of the four largest crowds at Turner Field to date in 2001, including sellouts on Friday and Saturday. Going into Friday's game the Braves had sold out only one game and were averaging just 32,412 fans in 50,000-seat Turner Field. But all of that changed when the Red Sox came into town. Buoyed be the thousands of Red Sox fans in attendance, 48,469 people showed up on Friday night, which was surpassed by the 50,524 that showed up for Saturday's night game. That crowd was the second largest in Turner Field history. The series finished with 45,362 fans on Father's Day on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday night's crowd of 50,524 was the second largest in the five year history of Turner Field.

Even TBS announcer Skip Caray noted the large gathering of Red Sox fans Sunday afternoon when Ramirez doubled to put the Sox up 1-0 in the first. As Red Sox fans roared, Caray noted that there were "a lot of Red Sox fans in the crowd." Although there were no chants of "Yankees Suck", I did see a few of those T-shirts. Faint chants of "Let's Go Red Sox" didn't seem to irk Braves fans too much, who responded with an equally faint chant of "Let's Go Braves." The biggest cheers for a player appeared to be reserved for El Guapo when he entered the game in the sixth inning on Sunday. Ramirez also received ovations and there was loud booing each of the three times Ramirez was intentionally walked in the series.

The weather for the three game series varied greatly each day. Friday's game was handicapped by a strong thunderstorm that swept through the area in the seventh inning, while Saturday's game featured strong wind gusts. The Sunday afternoon game was a perfect day for baseball and sunscreen, with clear skies and temperatures in the low-to-mid 80's.

My seats for the three games were as varied as the weather. I got my tickets, two for each game, about six weeks in advance, expecting the large crowds. I went with my dad, who inspired me to Red Sox fandom, on Friday and my best friend, one of the few Braves fans from before the team became good, on Saturday and Sunday.

I was seated in the upper deck on Friday and Saturday night. For Friday's game I was directly behind home plate, in section 401, 15 rows up. The ticket was easily worth the $12, which wasn't the case when compared to Saturday's game, when I sat on the first base side in section 411. The problem was we were stuck in the last row, 27, in the upper deck and with the strong wind it felt like being on top of a mountain. Sunday's game was the opposite, as we moved down to field level with $18 center field bleacher seats. I was surprised to find out that row 13 was the front row, and the seats were excellent, as we sat behind Carl Everett and Andruw Jones in center.

New Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli and Rod Beck, former teammates with the Giants, chat during batting practice on Saturday.

As for the ballpark concession fare, the big hot dogs went for $4.50 and Sunday's lunch of 3 soft chicken tacos were $6.75, along with a $4.25 Coke. The "Taste of the Major Leagues" concession stand located in center field had a weekend "Boston Special" of Sam Adams beer for $5.50 and Boston clams with tarter sauce for $6.75, although I passed on both.

I was able to afford food and drink by not having to pay for parking. Unlike in Boston, where fans take the "T" to the game, Atlanta's subway doesn't go to Turner Field. You either drive to the stadium or take a MARTA bus to it, which from past experience I wouldn't recommend, since it is time consuming and, if you're going with another person, not cheaper than parking, which can range from $5-$10.

For all three games we parked next to the State Capitol building, located about one mile from Turner Field. A secret to most fans, the parking there is free on weekends and after 6 PM during the week. From the Capitol it's about a 15-minute walk to the stadium, where there are plenty of street vendors on the way hawking $1 bottled water, $2 sodas, and $2 peanuts. Since you are allowed to carry in those items it is far better to buy them outside then pay more once inside.

Turner Field is a great place to watch a ballgame and the weekend series was a great success for the Red Sox on the field, as well as for the many Red Sox fans in the stands. We may have not been able to see Pedro or Nomar, but we did see two thrilling games, and in this series both were Boston victories.