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  Wednesday, Jul. 5 7:35pm ET
Millwood loses for fifth time in last 10 starts
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

ATLANTA (AP) -- Steve Kline wasn't in the least bit fazed by the presence of All-Star Andres Galarraga peering out at him.

Kline had just given up solo home runs to Quilvio Veras and Chipper Jones in the ninth inning, but calmly restored order by striking out the Atlanta Braves slugger to end the game and preserve a 6-5 Montreal Expos victory Wednesday night.

"Galarraga's a great hitter, and I know what he's trying to do, he's trying to tie up the game with a home run," Kline said after his 10th save in 11 chances.

"I'm thinking, 'What are the chances of them hitting three home runs in one inning,' " said the left-hander, who had given up only two homers in 47 innings before Wednesday night.

Kline got ahead of Galarraga 0-2 with a fastball and two sliders -- one fouled off -- then fooled the Atlanta first baseman with a breaking ball.

"I froze him on the last pitch with my slop. It looked like a slider, but it was a slow curve," he said. "The important thing is both were solo home runs and we got the win."

A win was something Atlanta starter Kevin Millwood was seeking, but he let another one get away. The right-hander has only one win in his last 10 starts since May 17.

Millwood gave up RBI singles to Rondell White and Vladimir Guerrero as the Expos snapped a 3-all seventh-inning tie.

"I thought I made some good pitches, but I didn't make that one pitch when I needed to, and they got the hits when they needed it," Millwood said.

Both Guerrero's and White's hits came on 0-2 pitches.

Last year, Millwood was 11-4 with a 3.20 ERA at the All-Star break and was the only Atlanta pitcher to make the squad. This season, he's 5-7 with a 4.96 ERA, going 1-5 in his last 10 starts. Teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were selected for this year's All-Star team.

Millwood allowed five runs and 10 hits in 6 2-3 innings.

Javier Vazquez (7-4), who won for the first time since beating Cincinnati on June 1, gave up three runs, six hits and four walks in six-plus innings.

He escaped a jam in the sixth when Brian Jordan singled and took third on a single by Javy Lopez. Vazquez then retired Bobby Bonilla and Walt Weiss on popups to shortstop and struck out Millwood.

"I could see disaster, but Javier turned it up a notch and threw some very good pitches," Montreal manager Felipe Alou said.

Anthony Telford relieved with one on in the seventh and gave up a single to Andruw Jones that put runners at the corners, then retired two straight Braves All-Stars: Chipper Jones on a shallow fly and Galarraga on an inning-ending double play.

"You look at the box score and you'll think I had a pretty good day," Chipper Jones said. "But when I'm trying to go to sleep, I'll be thinking about not hitting that ball deep enough to get the run in."

Vladimir Guerrero, picked for the All-Star game along with Vidro, went 3-for-4 for the Expos and gave the Expos a 6-3 lead with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.

Chipper Jones hit his 21st homer in the fourth, and the Braves tied it an inning later when Veras hit an RBI double and scored on Chipper Jones' single.

Game notes
Millwood struck out four of his first five batters and six of his first eight. ... Montreal reliever Ugueth Urbina is scheduled for surgery Thursday at Birmingham, Ala., to remove a bone chip in his right elbow. ... Expos starter Carl Pavano, on the DL since June 27 with tendinitis in his elbow, received a cortisone injection and will not throw for 10 days.
 


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