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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) _ Kevin Millwood pitched seven strong innings, Rudy
Seanez escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth as the Atlanta
Braves stretched their winning streak to five by beating the San
Francisco Giants 5-4 Wednesday night. Atlanta built a 5-0 lead before San Francisco rallied with a run
in the seventh and three more in the eighth. Seanez thwarted the
comeback attempt by getting three outs on two pitches after
replacing Millwood with the bases loaded and the Braves clinging to
a 5-3 lead. Felipe Crespo hit into a double play, a run scoring on the play,
and Armando Rios ended the threat with a grounder to second. With
John Rocker struggling, Seanez pitched the ninth as well for his
first save, send the Giants to their fifth straight loss. The Braves withstood a San Francisco comeback on Tuesday night,
as well, nearly squandering leads of 6-2 and 9-5 before escaping
with a 9-7 victory. Atlanta got seven hits from the first 11 batters to face Kirk
Rueter (2-2), scoring two runs in the first inning and two more in
the second. The San Francisco left-hander settled down and allowed
only one more run before he was replaced after the sixth. Millwood (4-2) was dominating against the Giants, giving up just
two hits through the first six innings. He lost his shutout-bid
when Jeff Kent led off the seventh with his 11th homer into the
left-field seats. Millwood left after giving up three singles in the eighth,
including Kent's run-scoring hit. The Atlanta right-hander pitched
high in the strike zone all night, getting only two of his outs on
grounders, and bounced back from his shortest start in more than a
year, a four-inning stint at Florida. The Braves had nine hits against Rueter and three more against
reliever John Johnstone, giving Atlanta 43 hits in three games. Quilvio Veras led of the first with a double into the left-field
corner and scored on Andres Galarraga's opposite-field double off
the right-field wall, his fourth RBI in two games. Jordan, who had
two homers and three RBIs on Tuesday night, followed with a
line-drive single up the middle to bring home Galarraga. Bobby Bonilla led off the second with his third homer of the
season. Rafael Furcal doubled to deep center, moved to third on
Millwood's sacrifice and trotted home when Veras singled. Furcal used his speed to force the Giants into another throwing
error, leading to an unearned run in the fourth. The 19-year-old
shortstop dropped a bunt to third and wound up at second when Bill
Mueller's throw sailed past first baseman J.T. Snow. Furcal moved to third on Millwood's second straight sacrifice
and sprinted home when Snow made an ill-advised catch with his back
to the plate on a foul pop-up near the stands, resulting in a rare
sacrifice fly to first. Andruw Jones saved a run for the Braves in the fourth with
another spectacular defensive play. The two-time Gold Glover made a
diving grab on a liner by Felipe Crespo with Kent at second after a
two-out double. Notes: Bill Mueller went 2-for-3, extending his hitting streak to
13 games. The longest streak of his career is 17 games. ... Shawn
Estes was bumped up to pitch Thursday's game for San Francisco
against Greg Maddux after Joe Nathan went on the disabled list with
tendinitis in his right shoulder. ... Pat Corrales coached first
for the Braves after Glenn Hubbard underwent surgery to remove
kidney stones. Hubbard is expected to return by this weekend.
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