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  Sunday, Apr. 30 8:05pm ET
Braves go for record 14th straight in LA
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Even after tying the franchise record with their 13th straight victory, it's business as usual for the Atlanta Braves. Sort of.

While some of the position players claim they don't even know how many in a row the Braves have won, their pitchers certainly do. On Sunday night, Tom Glavine improved to 5-0 by holding the San Diego Padres to three hits in eight innings in a 7-4 victory.

Javy Lopez
Javy Lopez hit a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth as Atlanta won its 13th straight.
"Obviously we try to do what we can every day to keep this thing going. As a pitcher, you take the mound and obviously don't want to be the guy who's out there when this thing ends," Glavine said.

The Braves matched the team record for consecutive wins set in 1982 and matched in 1992. They'll try to break the record Monday night in Los Angeles. Kevin Millwood, who beat the Dodgers in Atlanta on Wednesday in the ninth win in the streak, is scheduled to pitch.

Glavine was part of the streak back in '92.

If the Braves win Monday night, "it would be nice to be a part of that. It's always nice to be a part of a franchise-best something," Glavine said. "There's no question I'd love to be part of the team that has the all-time longest winning streak. Absolutely."

Glavine shook off a homer by Eric Owens leading off the fourth. The only other hits he allowed were singles to Carlos Hernandez and rookie Kory DeHaan. Glavine struck out eight and walked two. The left-hander was coming off a three-hit, 1-0 victory over Kevin Brown and the Dodgers on Tuesday night.

Glavine is 8-0 in nine starts since Sept. 27. The only no-decision in that string came in his first start of the season April 4.

Javy Lopez hit a go-ahead, two-run single to chase winless Padres ace Sterling Hitchcock and Trenidad Hubbard hit a three-run homer to cap the five-run eighth inning.

With the score tied at 1, Andruw Jones opened the eighth by reaching on third baseman Phil Nevin's throwing error, which drew first baseman Ryan Klesko off the bag. Chipper Jones walked and Brian Jordan was intentionally walked with one out to load the bases and bring up Lopez. Lopez hit a 1-2 pitch between short and third to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.

Hitchcock (0-3) clenched his teeth and jumped up and down in frustration.

"A bad pitch," said Hitchcock, who had been on with his split-fingered fastball. "Probably not as bad as I think it was. But nowhere close to the dirt. That's frustrating. I have to make my pitch there."

The Padres had lost each of Hitchcock's previous five starts by one run. The left-hander allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits in 7 1/3 innings, struck out 10 and walked five.

Carlos Almanzar came on and allowed Hubbard's first homer, to left. It was the third straight game in which he gave up a three-run homer. Jordan connected Friday night and Andres Galarraga on Saturday night.

Manager Bruce Bochy said he stuck with Hitchcock a little bit longer because the bullpen is struggling, having given up 11 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings against the Braves.

"We have to have somebody step up," Bochy said. "Obviously, you have to have somebody help there to get us to Trevor (Hoffman)."

Jordan was impressed with Hitchcock, but said the Braves were patient in the eighth.

"We were chasing balls all day long and we finally made him throw some pitches in there and we took advantage of them," Jordan said.

Jordan added an RBI single in the ninth. San Diego scored three runs in the bottom of the inning on Klesko's two-run double and Bret Boone's sacrifice fly.

Owens' homer ended Glavine's string of 18 consecutive scoreless innings. Owens drove a full-count pitch an estimated 426 feet deep into the seats in left-center field, his first of the year.

The Braves tied it in the fifth thanks to speedy 19-year-old rookie Rafael Furcal. He singled, stole second and took third on catcher Hernandez's throwing error, and scored on Quilvio Veras' single.

Game notes
When Braves left-handed reliever Bruce Chen jogged in from the bullpen Saturday night, many in the crowd starting to boo, mistaking him for John Rocker, who's also a lefty. "I was more focused on the hitter, just going right after these guys," Chen said. "I didn't even listen to the boos." Chen pitched three innings and got the decision, and Rocker, who was booed the entire time he was on the mound, got his fifth save. ... The Padres completed the toughest April schedule in the big leagues, playing 16 of their 25 games against the four 1999 playoff teams. The Padres went 9-7 against the New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros and the Braves.

 


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