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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Greg Maddux was in complete control,
which is exactly why the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were so upset.
|  | | Chipper Jones is the center of attention after hitting a two-run homer Tuesday night. |
The four-time Cy Young Award winner scattered seven hits to win
his 12th game Tuesday night, but he also hit Jose Canseco with a
pitch in the ninth inning and riled the opposing dugout in the
closing moments of Atlanta's 8-2 victory.
Both benches emptied as Canseco shouted at the Braves pitcher
before home plate umpire Laz Diaz escorted him toward first base.
There was no fighting, however Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild
made contact with Diaz with his arm and was ejected during an
argument over whether Maddux hit Canseco on purpose.
"It doesn't take the brains of Einstein to figure it out,"
said Canseco, who agreed with Rothschild that Maddux has good
enough control that he normally doesn't hit batters by accident.
"I was completely startled to tell the truth," Canseco added.
"I just said: `Don't do it again.' Basically, he looked at me and
kind of apologized."
Maddux, who struck out six and walked one, insisted he didn't
throw at Canseco.
"I tried to jam him and it slipped," Maddux said. "I
surprised myself. I was just trying to come in and, you know, it
got away."
Chipper Jones hit his 24th homer and Maddux (12-3) retired 11 of
the last 12 batters he faced en route to his fourth complete game
of the season and 97th career. It was his third straight win since
dropping consecutive decisions on June 24 and July 1.
Jones homered in the first inning to drive in two of the eight
runs the Braves scored off Bryan Rekar (3-5), who also allowed
two-run singles by Andruw Jones, Andres Galarraga and Reggie
Sanders.
The Devil Rays, who beat Atlanta for the first time in eight
tries Monday night, scored on Fred McGriff's sacrifice fly and
Steve Cox's solo homer. Canseco returned to the lineup after
spending eight weeks on the disabled list with a strained left heel
and went 1-for-2 with a walk.
Maddux hit Canseco leading off the ninth. When the field began
clearing of players, Rothschild confronted Diaz to ask why the
Braves pitcher wasn't ejected. Five batters were hit during the
game -- two by Maddux and three by Devil Rays pitchers -- but only
the last one sparked emotions.
"The umpire told me he was just throwing inside, but I have a
hard time believing that," Rothschild said, adding that he also
thought Maddux hit Felix Martinez on purpose in the fifth.
Chipper Jones said he didn't feel any of the five players hit by
pitches were thrown at intentionally.
"(Maddux) had been pitching Canseco inside the whole game. That
one was just a little too far inside," Jones said. "It was a lot
more innocent than what it looked out there. By no means did both
teams want to go at each other. It was pretty civil."
The Braves finished interleague play with an 11-7 record. The
Devil Rays went 9-9, matching the win total for their first two
seasons combined.
Andruw Jones singled to drive in two runs after Rekar hit Walt
Weiss and Fernando Lunar with pitches and Rafael Furcal beat out an
infield single to load the bases with two outs in the second.
Galarraga's two-run single made it 6-1 in the fifth. Two batters
later, Sanders singled to drive in two more off Rekar, who yielded
10 hits in five innings.
Maddux shut out the Devil Rays on five hits in his only other
appearance against Tampa Bay in 1998. This time, he allowed runs on
McGriff's sacrifice fly in the first and Cox's fifth homer in the
sixth, but the Devil Rays were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring
position and hit into two double plays.
Game
notes
Maddux has pitched seven or more innings in 17 of his 21
starts ... Braves manager Bobby Cox served the final game of a
five-game suspension for bumping an umpire ... With Canseco back in
the lineup after an eight-week stay on the disabled list, the Devil
Rays started their Big Four of Canseco, McGriff, Greg Vaughn and
Vinny Castilla for just the 32nd time in 91 games ... Tampa Bay is
7-2 in Rekar's last nine starts, but the right-hander has only been
the winning pitcher in two of those games ... The crowd of 31,354
was just the eighth of 30,000-plus at Tropicana Field this season.
The three-game series drew a season-high 100,958.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
After 46-game absence, Canseco returns to lineup
RECAPS
Colorado 18
Oakland 3
Anaheim 3
San Diego 2
Boston 3
Montreal 1
Cleveland 8
Houston 2
Cincinnati 5
Detroit 4
NY Yankees 3
Philadelphia 1
NY Mets 11
Toronto 7
Atlanta 8
Tampa Bay 2
Florida 7
Baltimore 0
Chi. White Sox 7
Milwaukee 5
Kansas City 12
Chicago Cubs 4
Minnesota 3
St. Louis 2
Seattle 5
Arizona 2
San Francisco 5
Texas 3
Pittsburgh 8
Los Angeles 6
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