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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) -- The Atlanta Braves gave themselves a little
momentum to take into Shea Stadium.
Terry Mulholland kept up his mastery of the Montreal Expos and
Brian Jordan hit a pair of RBI singles to lead Atlanta to a 7-4
victory Wednesday night.
|  | | Chipper Jones scores on a single by Braves' teammate Brian Jordan as Expos catcher Chris Widger drops the ball in the third inning Wednesday. |
The NL East-leading Braves, just 12-14 in June, split their
two-game series with Montreal and headed to New York for their
highly anticipated four-game series with the Mets.
"We've won the last two series and split one, so we're doing
fine," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said.
The visit to Shea Stadium will mark reliever John Rocker's first
trip to New York since making disparaging remarks about the city's
diverse population.
"I'm not even thinking about it," Cox said. "I was thinking
about this series. I'll start thinking about them on the
airplane."
Rocker warmed up in the ninth inning to boos that began in the
stands near the Braves' bullpen down the left-field line and
quickly spread throughout the 12,653 on hand at Olympic Stadium.
Mulholland (8-6) improved to 17-4 lifetime against the Expos. He
pitched 8 1-3 innings and allowed 11 hits, leaving after Fernando
Seguignol's RBI single made it 7-4.
"It's just one of those unexplained things," Mulholland said.
"I go out there on this mound and I feel comfortable, I executed
my pitches, and the guys played great defense behind me."
Kerry Ligtenberg got two outs for his fifth save.
"We didn't play well," Expos manager Felipe Alou said. "We
looked like the Braves last night. We gave them a few runs. We
stayed after them but we didn't catch up to them."
Vladimir Guerrero hit his 22nd home run in the Expos eighth. He
also doubled and singled.
Jordan hit a run-scoring single off Dustin Hermanson (6-5) to
cap the Braves' three-run third and hit another RBI single in the
fifth to give Atlanta a 5-1 lead.
Chipper Jones went 3-for-4, including two doubles, with a walk.
Andruw Jones doubled and hit his 21st homer off reliever Felipe
Lira to lead off the seventh.
Quilvio Veras drew a one-out walk in the third, stole second and
advanced to third on Hermanson's wild pickoff throw.
Veras scored as Andruw Jones' grounder went right through third
baseman Michael Barrett's legs into left field for his 12th error
of the season, and first of two in the game.
"They had some tough plays that they didn't make," Chipper
Jones said. "They made some errors in a couple of innings that
really hurt them. I think it probably cost them two or three runs
that would have made the game a lot closer, but we took advantage
of it."
Jones stole second and Chipper Jones followed with a single to
put runners at first and third. Andres Galarraga and Jordan had RBI
singles for a 3-0 lead.
Jose Vidro, who went 2-for-5, extended his hitting streak to 12
games with an RBI double in the bottom half to draw the Expos
within 3-1.
The Braves made it 5-1 in the fifth on Chipper Jones' RBI double
and Jordan's single.
Hermanson allowed five runs -- four earned -- in six innings. He
struck out three and walked three.
Game notes
Reliever Mike Remlinger and rookie shortstop Rafael Furcal
will rejoin the Braves Thursday in New York. An MRI performed on
Remlinger's left elbow Tuesday revealed no damage after he fell
heavily on the elbow while trying to make a play at first last
Thursday against Chicago. Eligible to come off the 15-day disabled
list Wednesday, Furcal was scheduled to make one final rehab start
with Double-A Greenville before joining the team in New York. ...
Injured Expos closer Ugueth Urbina's right elbow locked up on him
overnight after throwing 40 pitches Tuesday during live batting
practice. ... RHP Scott Strickland pitched two scoreless innings in
a rehab appearance with Triple-A Ottawa Tuesday night.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Montreal Clubhouse
Rocker's return overshadows first-place showdown
RECAPS
Baltimore 8
Boston 7
Detroit 13
NY Yankees 6
Toronto 5
Tampa Bay 2
Chi. White Sox 7
Minnesota 3
Kansas City 8
Cleveland 1
Texas 5
Oakland 3
Anaheim 3
Seattle 2
Cincinnati 7
St. Louis 3
Atlanta 7
Montreal 4
Chicago Cubs 5
Pittsburgh 4
NY Mets 6
Florida 5
Philadelphia 9
Milwaukee 7
Colorado 17
San Francisco 13
Arizona 6
Houston 2
Los Angeles 5
San Diego 4
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