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| Red-hot Jones helps Braves sweep Reds ATLANTA 14, CINCINNATI 7 |
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By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves continue to rack up wins at Turner Field. Jones continued his assault on the .400 mark, homering and matching a career high by driving in five runs to lead the Braves to a 14-7 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. Mark Kotsay homered and drove in three runs and Kelly Johnson finished 4-for-6 and drove in two runs for Atlanta, which swept last place Cincinnati for the first time at Turner Field since August 23-25, 1999. "We had a good day," Jones said. "We caught a team that was down. I know how that is." The Braves sent 11 runners to the plate in a seven-run second to chase Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo (1-4). Jones led the charge, smashing a towering blast into the right-field bleachers to give Atlanta a 6-0 lead and end the struggling Reds' starter afternoon. Jones, who leads the majors with a .425 batting average, also capped a four-run fourth by plating two with a single to extend the lead to 12-6. "Chipper Jones, Kotsay and Johnson got hot," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "Chipper hit a homer on one side of the plate and hit a single on the other side." The 36-year-old slugger has accomplished many things in his 15-year major league career, garnishing the 1999 National League MVP award, collecting a World Series ring and finishing second in the batting race last season. However, one thing that Jones has not done in 1,923 major league games is drive in six runs. "I've never driven in five," Braves manager Bobby Cox quipped. However, the switch-hitting star got tantalizingly close to setting that elusive goal in the sixth, but grounded out with a runner at third base. "I had a chance, but (Reds reliever Kent) Merker busted out new pitches that I've ever seen before," Jones said. "If it's not going to be today, I don't know if it's ever happening, because I could have had eight (RBI)." Jones had one last chance in the eighth but settled for a bloop double instead. "I was just tired," Jones said of the at-bat. "I was thinking like 2-for-6 after that last at-bat. I dinked the ball in." "He's gotten enough to drop for two or three guys on the team," Johnson said. His Braves also had no problem scoring runs, battering the Reds for a season-high 19 hits as all nine starters, including pitcher Tom Glavine, notched a base hit. But Glavine couldn't notch his first win of the season despite Atlanta giving him seven-run leads twice. The 42-year-old lefthander could not get out of the fifth inning, allowing a run and loading the bases before he was lifted for a reliever one out from qualifying for the victory. "I felt real good, too good," Glavine said. "I got caught between trying to become to strong and backing off. It seemed like each time I backed off, I didn't locate." "Too bad," Cox said. "We got Tommy some runs. He didn't have his best stuff today." Royce Ring (1-0) induced Adam Dunn to fly out to left field with the tying run on second base to notch the victory for Atlanta. Of course, all has been well at Turner Field this season, where the Braves (15-15) have won 11 of their first 15 games here. However, Atlanta has not found much success on the road, winning just four of 15 games. "We just have to find a way to play that way on the road," Jones said. "The same aggressiveness, the same step on them when we get them down (attitude). When we learn to do that the way we do it here, wins on the road will follow." The hapless Reds, who have lost five in a row for the second time this season, would take any kind of win they can get after another miserable performance. In this one, Cincinnati's pitching struggled mightily on a day where its offense, which batted .154 (19-for-123) over its last four games, awoke from a daze by smashing 11 hits. "It's obviously a rough spot we're going through," catcher Paul Bako said. "We're all trying to find out a way to fight through this." It all started with another poor performance from Arroyo, who somehow managed to upstage his rancid outing against Houston, where he allowed eight runs and 10 hits two starts ago. This time he did not even make it out of the second. Arroyo allowed seven runs, seven hits and walked one in 1 1/3 frames to notch the shortest start of his major league career. "(Sunday was) the best I felt in years before a day game," Arroyo said. "But they just beat me. I had a decent fastball. I felt like I had good stuff. There's not much you can say. They just hit the ball well." His manager disagreed. "He's kind of lost right now," Baker said. "His pitches are not as sharp." Bako homered and Dunn drove in two runs for the Reds, who have been on the losing end of 17 of their last 18 road trips. |
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