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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- John Rocker got his first post-suspension road appearance out of the way, thanks to Andruw Jones' three-run homer
in the top of the 12th.
|  | | Starter John Burkett didn't give the Braves much, allowing four runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. |
With the remnants of the crowd of 49,428 booing his every move,
Rocker came on and got his fifth save as the Atlanta Braves won
their 12th straight game, 7-4 over the San Diego Padres on Saturday
night.
A fan threw something at Rocker and missed, and was
ejected. It was Rocker's first road appearance since his two-week
suspension for comments about gays, minorities and immigrants.
After getting former teammate Ryan Klesko to ground out to end
the game, Rocker tossed the ball to fan near the Braves' dugout.
Afterward, he continued his policy of refusing to speak with reporters. When asked if he would talk, he said: "Nope. I've got stuff to do."
Jones spoke, though. He was proud of his homer, a towering shot
to left on a 3-1 pitch from Vicente Palacios (0-1). Jones slowly
walked toward first while watching his sixth homer settle into the
seats.
"I hit it pretty good," Jones said. "It felt good off the
bat. Everybody tired, mistake over the plate. I had a good swing
and the ball went out."
The Braves' 12-game winning streak is one short of the club
record, set in 1982 and matched in 1992.
"If we don't score early in the game, we're going to do it
sometime," he said.
Rafael Furcal singled leading off the 12th and former Padres
infielder Quilvio Veras drew a one out walk, bringing up Jones.
Bruce Chen (3-0) pitched three innings for the win. He struck out
six, walked four and allowed one hit.
Jones' homer came four innings after the Padres' bullpen blew a
4-1 lead for Rodrigo Lopez, who shut down baseball's hottest team
for seven innings in a spectacular big league debut.
Lopez received two ovations and had a 4-1 lead when manager
Bruce Bochy went to the bullpen to start the eighth. Will Cunnane
gave up a double to Veras and walked Chipper Jones with one out,
and Carlos Almanzar came on and allowed Andres Galarraga's 10th
homer, a three-run shot that tied the game.
Almanzar was booed coming off the field after the eighth.
Lopez allowed one run on four hits, struck out five and walked
two. Despite his outstanding performance, the 24-year-old is
scheduled to be returned to the Triple-A Las Vegas Stars on Sunday
when infielder Dave Magadan is due to come off the disabled list.
Lopez was called up to start in place of Brian Boehringer, who is
on the DL but should be ready to go when the fifth spot in the
rotation comes up again.
"That was a good experience for me," Lopez said. "I expected
to pitched very well before the game."
Bochy said Lopez "did a terrific job. He showed great
composure. That's what makes it even worse, that we didn't get him
the win."
Lopez received a standing ovation after fanning pinch-hitter Bobby Bonilla to strike out the side in the seventh, and another one when Cunnane came out to start the eighth. Lopez acknowledged the crowd from the dugout.
Lopez had three no-decisions in three starts for Las Vegas, all
losses by the Stars. He could have held the Braves scoreless if not
for a gift run in the second inning, when center fielder Eric Owens
lost Reggie Sanders' two-out fly ball in the twilight sky, allowing Brian Jordan to score from second to tie the game at 1. The double
ended Sanders' 0-for-34 slump.
The Padres took a 4-1 lead in the fifth when Carlos Hernandez
drove in two runs with a bases-loaded ground-rule double and rookie Kory DeHaan hit a sacrifice fly.
San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the first when Owens singled in
Damian Jackson.
Braves starter John Burkett allowed four runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, struck out five and walked four.
Game notes
Rocker was booed again when he walked from the Braves'
dugout to the bullpen after the top of the second. Before the game,
Rocker took the normal way to the visitors' bullpen before the game
rather than the undercover way he took before Friday's game when he
emerged from the Padres' bullpen and walked along the warning track
with a security guard. ... Padres RF Tony Gwynn was scratched from the lineup because of a sore left knee. ... The Padres purchased Lopez's rights from Aguila of the Mexican Summer League in 1995 and
he has split time pitching in the Mexican League and in the Padres'
farm system since. ... Sanders left the game with a sprained left
ankle suffered while running out a grounder in the fourth. Sanders'
slump was the longest by a Braves player since Gerald Perry went
0-for-35 in 1989. ... While sitting in the dugout, Braves manager
Bobby Cox was ejected in the seventh inning, apparently for
something he said after Hernandez walked.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
San Diego Clubhouse
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