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Friday, Sep. 8 7:40pm ET
Jordan's go-ahead single snaps skid | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) -- Andy Ashby feels like he's one of the guys again. Ashby, who hadn't won in a month, pitched seven strong innings and the Atlanta Braves, despite stranding 14 runners, beat the Montreal Expos 3-2 for their fourth straight victory. "The main thing I wanted to do was go out there and give us a chance to win. I hadn't been doing that," Ashby said. The right-hander finally got a win when Brian Jordan snapped a 1-for-15 skid with a go-ahead single in the fifth inning. "I came through tonight," Jordan said. "It was nice for Ashby, too. He had fallen into tough times like myself, but he didn't give up. He kept us in the game and it was a big win for us." The Braves, coming off a three-game sweep of Arizona, extended their NL East lead to 3½ games over the New York Mets. Ashby (9-12), who was 0-4 with a 6.84 ERA in his last five starts, gave up two runs and eight hits in seven innings. His last previous came on Aug. 8 in a 5-4 victory over Cincinnati. "I needed to go out and give us a good game, especially the way our guys have been pitching," said Ashby referring to fellow starters Tom Glavine, Kevin Millwood and Greg Maddux. The trio had limited Arizona to three runs as the Braves took three games from the Diamondbacks earlier in the week. "It feels good to be a part of that," Ashby said. "We got enough runs, although we left some out there," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. "But I thought the story tonight was Andy. He threw well and to get a winning streak going, you need good pitching." John Rocker came on in the ninth to record his 20th save in 22 opportunities. "That was the best I've seen Ashby throw in a while," Expos manager Felipe Alou said. "He had a hard sinker." Trey Moore (1-5) failed to retire a batter in the fifth inning as the Braves broke a 2-2 tie on Jordan's line-drive single to left. Chipper Jones, who went 2-for-2 with three walks, scored twice and knocked in Atlanta's first run, led off the fifth with a single. He took second when Javy Lopez reached on third baseman Andy Tracy's throwing error. Jordan, who entered the game with a NL-leading .443 average against left-handers, followed with his RBI hit, knocking out Moore. Moore went four-plus innings and allowed seven hits, three runs -- two earned -- walked five and struck out two. "When I was ahead of them, I did OK," Moore said. "I worked out of some jams. The numbers could have been a lot worse." The Braves scored an unearned run in the first when Expos right fielder Vladimir Guerrero failed to catch leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal's foul pop. Furcal then reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on a single by Jones. Atlanta's other run came in the fourth on an RBI single by Reggie Sanders. The Expos, who have lost five of six and eight of 10, scored in the opening inning on an RBI infield single by Guerrero, who went 3-for-3. Montreal added another run in the second on an RBI double by Brian Schneider. Game notesAshby's intentional walk to Guerrero in the fifth ended a streak of 38 innings in which Atlanta pitchers had not issued a base on balls. ... Ashby was 1-6 with a 5.60 ERA against the Expos prior to Friday night. ... Montreal LHP Graeme Lloyd pitched off the mound for five minutes prior to the game for the first time since May 5 arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder. ... Moore, recalled from the minors on Aug. 1, won his first start that night and hasn't won since in his seven other starts. ... Moore threw 102 pitches in his four-plus innings. On Thursday night, Maddux threw 90 pitches in a nine-inning 4-0 win over Arizona. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Montreal Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 4 Boston 0
Pittsburgh 3
Atlanta 3
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