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GAME LOG
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Thirty-four years after the franchise left
town, the Braves ran off the field at County Stadium with one last
victory.
|  | | Mulholland limited the Brewers to four hits over seven innings, and had two RBI of his own. |
Terry Mulholland allowed four hits over seven innings and also
drove in two runs as Atlanta beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-3
Thursday for their 10th victory in 12 games.
The Braves won in their final appearance at County Stadium,
which was built for the franchise in 1953 when they moved from
Boston. The Milwaukee Braves played here from 1953 through 1965, winning the
1957 World Series and the 1958 NL pennant before leaving for
Atlanta.
Now, as the dilapidated park creaks toward demolition this
winter and the 2001 opening of Miller Park, the Braves enjoyed
their last trip to the stadium that franchise greats Hank Aaron,
Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews and Lew Burdette called home.
"You would like to win in the last trip here," Braves manager
Bobby Cox said. "Milwaukee is a beautiful place. It's going to be
outstanding when they get their new (ballpark)."
Mulholland (4-4) won at Milwaukee for the second time this
season, retiring 16 of the first 18 hitters he faced, most on
ground balls.
The left-hander drove home Reggie Sanders with a double during
the Braves' three-run sixth inning, which began on Andres
Galarraga's 445-foot homer to deepest center.
Mulholland got his big hit on a curveball from Jeff D'Amico. It
was the same pitch D'Amico used to strike out Mulholland in the
second inning.
"Once he got ahead in the count on me, I started looking for
it," Mulholland said. "Oddly enough, I was able to hit it. (That)
surprised the hell out of me."
Mulholland also had an RBI single in the seventh as the Braves
added three more runs. Javy Lopez had a two-run single in the
inning as the Braves pulled away.
Only Mark Loretta, who had a fourth-inning single and a two-run
homer in the sixth, could solve Mulholland until the seventh, when
Jose Hernandez hit a solo homer.
Mulholland will be sorry to see County Stadium go. He allowed
one run over eight innings on April 16 in his first victory over
the Brewers this season.
"This infield is pretty conducive to ground balls, and that's
what I do," Mulholland said. "I got them to hit ground balls at
people."
The Brewers made a series of fielding blunders, including a
season-high three errors, to allow two unearned runs and waste
another strong start by D'Amico (2-2), who allowed six hits over
six innings.
Since returning from more than two years of shoulder problems,
D'Amico hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in a start. Except
for Galarraga's homer, defensive blunders figured in all of the
runs he allowed Thursday.
"I'm definitely a little frustrated," D'Amico said. "I
thought I threw the ball pretty decent. I threw some quality
pitches that normally get popups to the infield or ground balls,
and they were just fighting it off. Eventually, I had to throw a
pitch they could handle."
Atlanta scored in the third when Ron Belliard bobbled a ground
ball, and Hernandez misplayed another grounder to keep the sixth
inning alive. Later in the sixth, Belliard and Loretta got tangled
up at second base while attempting to turn a double play, allowing
Brian Jordan to score from third.
"We didn't catch the ball, we didn't run the bases very well,"
Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said. "It cost us runs early in the
ballgame. We made too many mistakes."
Even the 25-mph winds blowing out of County Stadium were of no
use against Mulholland and D'Amico. The Brewers got three balls out
of the infield in the first four innings, while the Braves' offense
didn't mount a real rally until Juan Acevedo relieved D'Amico in
the seventh.
Chipper Jones was out of the Braves' lineup for the second game
with a sprained right big toe. The team expects him back during
Atlanta's weekend series at Houston.
Despite losing two of three to the Braves, Milwaukee finished
its nine-game homestand with six victories. Since joining the NL in
1998, the Brewers have yet to win a series with the Braves.
Hernandez homered for the fifth time in seven games, but he also
made two errors at third base. Hernandez, who was 6-for-8 with two
grand slams and 15 RBIs with the bases loaded this season, came up
in the eighth with the bases full but flied out to left.
Game
notes
Galarraga, who went 4-for-5 with six RBI on Wednesday
night, is hitting .470 (31-for-66) with two homers and 18 RBI in
his last 15 games. ... The Brewers head out on a six-game Western
road trip, when Geoff Jenkins is expected to return to the lineup
after missing three weeks with a broken finger. ... With Milwaukee
catcher Henry Blanco resting, the Braves stole three bases. The
Brewers' opponents attempted just three steals in the previous 17
games with the rifle-armed Blanco behind the plate. He has thrown
out 7-of-16 base-stealers this season. ... John Rocker pitched the
ninth and was booed.
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