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Wednesday, Jul. 26 7:40pm ET
Millwood, Rocker rediscover groove | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) -- Kevin Millwood hasn't forgotten how to win. John Rocker still knows how to close out a game. For one night, at least, the Atlanta Braves could feel a lot better about their pitching. Millwood won for the first time in five weeks, Rocker picked up his first save in more than a month and the Braves used a makeshift lineup to beat the Florida Marlins 6-3 Wednesday. Javy Lopez homered for the second night in a row and Wally Joyner, filling in at first base for the injury plagued Braves, hit the 199th homer of his career. But this night clearly belonged to a pair of pitchers who helped Atlanta win the NL championship a year ago, only to struggle this season. Rocker, haunted by wildness after saving 38 games a year ago, pitched the final two innings for his 13th save -- but first since June 23 against Milwaukee. After giving up leadoff homers in his last two appearances, Rocker had not pitched since Thursday. Rocker showed an overpowering fastball, clocked as high as 98 mph while striking out four. More important, he didn't walk anyone in his longest stint of the season. "Whether or not people in this city or around this country like John, he's a big part of this team," Millwood said. "For us to do well, we need John to do well. Everybody in this clubhouse is pulling for John." Rocker had not pitched in a ninth-inning save situation since July 13. He allowed singles to Derrek Lee and Ramon Castro in the ninth before striking out pinch-hitter Mark Smith and getting Luis Castillo to ground out on a 3-2 pitch. "You don't mind him giving up hits," Atlanta's Chipper Jones said. "Tonight, he didn't walk anyone. He went right at them." So did Millwood (6-8), third in the NL Cy Young balloting a year ago but stuck with a 5.10 ERA this season. He had last won on June 20, going six innings for a victory over the Chicago Cubs. In his next six starts, he was 0-2 with four no-decisions. "I've been throwing the ball pretty well," he insisted. "You can't get frustrated about it." Millwood surrendered only one hit through the first four innings while his teammates gave him a 6-0 lead. Joyner hit a two-run homer in the first, Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones had RBI in the second, and Lopez drove in a pair of runs with a third-inning homer and a sacrifice fly the next inning. Lopez, who has 17 homers this season, hit a tiebreaking, three-run shot the previous night in Atlanta's 6-5 victory over Florida. Millwood ran into trouble in the fifth, when the Marlins scored all three of their runs on four hits. Castro had an RBI single and Mark Kotsay, who sat out the previous night with back spasms, drove in two runs with a double. Millwood threw 118 pitches before leaving in the seventh after giving up two more hits. Mike Remlinger for the third out, retiring Kotsay on a grounder. "It's coming together now," Millwood said. "I'm getting my confidence and the guys are putting some runs on the board for me." Florida starter A.J. Burnett (1-1), who missed the first half of the season after injuring his thumb in spring training, was plagued by wildness. He walked six during his four-inning stint and also surrendered six hits. "I didn't anticipate his command difficulty," manager John Boles said. "But it was only his second outing." The Braves won for the 10th time in 13 games since the All-Star break even though four regulars were hampered by injuries. All-Star first baseman Andres Galarraga missed his third straight game with a sprained thumb, while outfielder Brian Jordan started on the bench after spraining his right ankle and twisting his right knee the previous night. Jordan, however, was forced to hobble on the field when Trenidad Hubbard left with a strained hamstring after the fifth inning. Outfielder Reggie Sanders (strained hamstring) and shortstop Walt Weiss (strained knee ligament) have both been out nearly a week. Five other players have gone down with season-ending injuries. "They're really a good team," Boles said. "They have a really good bench. The guys they brought in to replace Jordan, Galarraga and Sanders, they're really good." Game notesEvery Braves starter, including Millwood, had at least one hit. ... Manny Aybar, acquired from Cincinnati earlier in the day, went right to work for the Marlins, pitching two scoreless innings. ... Besides being one home run away from 200, Joyner is closing in on another career milestone: He needs just eight hits to reach the 2,000 mark. ... Florida, which tied a team record with five errors Tuesday, had only one miscue Wednesday. ... Sanders said he intends to play Thursday, and Weiss also hopes to be in the lineup. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Florida Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse RECAPS Toronto 8 Cleveland 1
Atlanta 6
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