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  Tuesday, Apr. 4 7:40pm ET
Rockies, Cirillo feast on Braves' Burkett
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

ATLANTA (AP) -- A broken-bat double by Jeff Cirillo broke down the Atlanta Braves.

Cirillo hit three doubles, but it was the softest one -- a three-run drive in the seventh inning off John Burkett -- that rallied the Colorado Rockies to a 5-3 victory over the Braves on Tuesday night.

"I figured he'd start me off with a breaking ball," said Cirillo, traded over from Milwaukee last December.

"It was down and in and fortunately for me it broke my bat. That kept it fair," he said of the ball that dropped only about five feet inside the left-field line. "I'll take it."

Jordan yearns to return
Braves right fielder Brian Jordan is hoping the chest pain and sore right side he experienced Monday won't keep him out of the lineup for more than one game.

Jordan was scratched from Tuesday night's lineup when he complained of heartburn and pain in his rib area. He will undergo tests Wednesday morning to determine the cause.

"I can't pinpoint what's wrong," Jordan told the Augusta (Ga.) Journal. "I've had trouble sleeping the last couple of weeks because my side hurts."

Jordan will undergo an ultrasound at Piedmont Hospital on Wednesday and hopes to return to the lineup for the series finale against the Rockies.

Cirillo also made several nice plays at third base. Manager Buddy Bell got his first victory with the Rockies.

"Not only was he good offensively, but I was just as impressed with his plays defensively. Other than getting that big double, I thought that was just as important," Bell said.

The crowd of 26,132 was the smallest ever at Turner Field, which opened for the 1997 season. The previous low was 26,990 last April 27 against Pittsburgh.

Burkett, in relief of Tom Glavine and making his first appearance with the Braves, managed to get only one out before being hammered by the Rockies in the seventh.

Burkett (0-1) gave up one-out singles to pinch-hitter Aaron Ledesma and Tom Goodwin and a walk to Mike Lansing, loading the bases. Cirillo then got the go-ahead hit.

"I got too much plate. I was just trying to throw a slider away," Burkett said. "But it got over the plate."

Bobby Bonilla, subbing for an ailing Brian Jordan, hit a two-run homer off Colorado starter Rolando Arrojo in the fourth.

Andres Galarraga, who homered Monday in his triumphant return from cancer, put the Braves ahead 3-2 in the fifth when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Julian Tavarez (1-0) came on to get Quilvio Veras for the third out and earned the win. Jose Jimenez pitched three scoreless innings of one-hit ball for a save.

In the fifth, Arrojo had an RBI double for his first hit in the majors. Goodwin followed with a triple off Bonilla's glove in left field to tie it at 2.

Glavine pitched six innings. The left-hander gave up five hits and two runs.

Arrojo, making his NL debut after being acquired from Tampa Bay, was taken out after 5 2/3 innings. He left after giving up a two-out single to Rafael Furcal -- the first major league hit for the 19-year-old rookie -- who stole second, and an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Wally Joyner.

Game notes
Furcal, who made the jump from Class A to the majors after stealing 96 bases last season, made his debut at shortstop. In his first at-bat in the second inning, he fouled off eight straight pitches before striking out on the 12th pitch. ... The start was No. 400 for Glavine, who has a 187-116 career record. ... Atlanta reliever John Rocker, suspended for the first 14 days of the season, will make his first extended spring camp appearance in Orlando, Fla., on Friday. He's eligible to pitch with the Braves on April 18. ... Colorado's Larry Walker, the two-time defending NL batting champion, was scratched from Tuesday night's game with a mild right calf strain. He was available to pinch hit. Walker, who missed the last five games of the spring with the injury, started in Monday's season opener and went 2-for-4.

 


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