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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- There seems to be some disagreement as to just
how sharp Tom Glavine was Saturday during his seven-inning stint
against the Baltimore Orioles.
Home plate umpire Paul Emmel thought Atlanta's left-hander
missed the strike zone on only 30 of 99 pitches in a 7-3 victory
that gave the Braves a three-game sweep.
The Orioles saw things differently.
|  | | Tom Glavine, aided by a wide strike zone, walked none in winning for the 10th time. |
"The umpire was consistently giving him four to six inches off
the plate," Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove contended. "It's very
tough as a hitter to do anything with pitches that far outside."
Emmel ejected Orioles designated hitter Brady Anderson in the
fifth inning after he questioned a called third strike.
"The last two pitches were both outside, and he just made it
worse by throwing me out of the game," Anderson said. "If the
umpires are going to give him eight inches outside, then (Glavine)
should throw it there."
Glavine (10-5) allowed one earned run, seven hits and did not
walk a batter. He attributed his success to the knowledge he gained
during the first two games of the series, rather than a generous
strike zone.
"Sitting and watching the last two nights was very beneficial
to me. It's pretty uncomfortable going into a series not knowing your
opponent," he said. "I felt good out there and avoided the big
inning."
The Orioles' Scott Erickson (4-7) is rumored to be dealt before the July 31 trade
deadline, but his 7.45 ERA has decidedly lessened his value.
On a day when the Braves learned that second baseman Quilvio
Veras would be lost for the season with a knee injury, Atlanta
combined solid pitching, good hitting and great defense to once
again beat the Orioles.
Backup second baseman Rafael Furcal drove in two runs in a
four-run fourth inning and Andruw Jones robbed Delino DeShields of
a homer with a sensational grab in center.
"We pitched good, we hit good and played defense the last three
games, all consistently, which is something I don't think happened
all year," Glavine said.
Atlanta outscored Baltimore 17-7 in the series despite trailing
in every game.
The interleague game drew 49,013 fans, the largest
regular-season crowd in the nine-year history of Camden Yards. They
saw the Orioles yield 11 hits, commit two errors and fall 13 games
under .500 (38-51), tying a season high.
Mike Bordick homered and drove in two runs for the Orioles, who
were 23-13 at home before the Braves came to town.
Atlanta stranded five runners in the first three innings and
trailed 1-0 before finally breaking through against Erickson in the fourth. Walt Weiss hit an RBI single, Furcal followed
with a two-run single and Brian Jordan singled in a run.
Javy Lopez hit his 13th homer in the fifth to make it 5-1.
The Orioles got an unearned run in the sixth but Atlanta went up
7-2 in the seventh, opening the inning with four straight hits to
chase Erickson. One run scored on an error and Weiss hit a
sacrifice fly.
Bordick hit his 15th homer off Mike Remlinger leading off the
eighth.
Game notes
Veras has a torn ligament in his knee. The injury occurred
during a rundown Friday. He will be replaced on the roster Sunday
by INF Steve Sisco. ... The Orioles placed 3B Ryan Minor (strained
ribcage muscle) on the 15-day disabled list and called up INF
Ivanon Coffie from Double-A Bowie. ... Conine snapped an 0-for-20
skid with a second-inning single. ... The Orioles are 27-28 when
scoring first. ... Atlanta manager Bobby Cox served the second game
of a five-game suspension for bumping an umpire.
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