Giants advance past Braves, Cox

The celebrated managerial career of Bobby Cox came to an end, driven in part by a Braves defense that was a constant weakness in the Division Series and also by the deference of the Braves skipper to one of his players.

Cox and the Braves were eliminated from the postseason by the Giants, who claimed a 3-2 victory in Game 4 to clinch the best-of-five Division Series between the two clubs. Atlanta led, 2-1, entering the top of the seventh inning, on a night when starter Derek Lowe -- pitching on three days' rest -- was largely overpowering.

Through 6 1/3 innings, Lowe had allowed just one hit (a Cody Ross solo homer in the sixth) while striking out eight. But with one out in the seventh, he allowed a walk and an infield single, prompting Cox to head to the mound for what looked like a pitching change. But Lowe was adamant about his desire to stay in the game, and Cox left him on the hill. Lowe promptly issued a five-pitch walk to load the bases.

That led Cox to summon reliever Pete Moylan into the game. The side-arming righty got a grounder to short by Juan Uribe, but Alex Gonzalez' throw pulled the second baseman off the bag, with one run scoring on the error. That, in turn, gave the Giants an extra out, and with the game tied, 2-2, they took advantage of the opportunity, with Ross grounding a single to left that gave San Francisco the decisive run.

That spoiled what had been a brilliant outing by Lowe, who had been given a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning by Braves catcher Brian McCann's solo home run. To that point in the game, it appeared that two runs would be enough for the right-hander to force a Game 5.

But Lowe's faltering command in the seventh, and the seventh error of the four-game series by the Braves, allowed the Giants to claim yet another one-run game, aided in no small part by another night of dominant pitching. Rookie starter Madison Bumgarner allowed two runs in six innings, and Giants relievers Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez and Brian Wilson then shut the door over three shutout innings from the bullpen. Each of the four games of the series were decided by just one run, with the Giants claiming victories by counts of 1-0 in Game 1, 3-2 in Game 3 and 3-2 in Game 4.

Thus ended the 29-year managerial career of Cox, a four-time Manager of the Year who had a career record of 2,504-2,001 with five National League Pennants and one World Series ring. His wins total ranks fourth all-time.

While Cox and the Braves go home, the Giants move on. San Francisco will face the Phillies in the National League Championship Series, with Game 1 scheduled for Saturday in Philadelphia.