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| Sunday, Jun. 3 1:35pm ET Braves bang out season-high 18 hits | |||||||||||||
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- After a slow start to the season, the Atlanta Braves are finally streaking. John Smoltz gave up two runs in seven innings as the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 Sunday to sweep a doubleheader and post their first three-game winning streak of the season. Javy Lopez and Quilvio Veras each drove in a pair of runs in a seven-run third inning that carried Atlanta to an 11-7 win in the opener. "You put up 30 hits and 18 runs with Smoltz and Tom Glavine pitching ... I like our chances," Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. The chances were even better against the woeful Pirates. Their performance was so bad that first-year manager Lloyd McClendon ordered them to report for a workout Monday before flying to Florida. "It's to get better," McClendon said. "We're going to go over everything from A to Z." The Braves had been one of three teams -- with Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay -- that hadn't won three straight games this season until sweeping the Pirates. After winning nine straight division titles, Atlanta is six games behind Philadelphia in the NL East. "Really after the first couple of weeks we've been swinging the bats pretty good," manager Bobby Cox said. "We have a good ballclub." Pittsburgh has a five-game losing streak and has dropped 10 of 12. The Pirates were behind 8-1 in the third inning of the first game and trailed the second game 7-0 in the fourth. "It's embarrassing," Pittsburgh's Jason Kendall said. "The bottom line is nothing is going right for us right now -- nothing. Maybe someday we'll be able to look back on this and laugh but it's not very funny right now." Smoltz (2-2) gave up single runs in the fourth and fifth, including Aramis Ramirez's 12th homer to win his second straight start. Smoltz allowed four hits in his fourth start of the year after missing the entire 2000 season because of reconstructive elbow surgery. "I improved in a lot of areas and that's all I can really ask for at this point," Smoltz said. "My pitch quality still has to get better. The command is there." Lopez gave the Braves the lead in the second game with an RBI single in the second. Atlanta scored three runs in the third and three more in the fourth off Jimmy Anderson (3-5). Pirates reliever Jose Silva broke a bone in his left leg in the seventh inning when he was hit by a line drive from Andruw Jones. He will be out 12 weeks. "When I reached down for it, it hit me before I could get my glove on it," Silva said. "The pain was very intense. It hurt so bad I was shaking." Brian Jordan hit a two-run double in the third. Bernard Gilkey hit his second homer of the season in the fourth and Veras, who drove in three runs in the opener, had an RBI single. Gilkey singled in a run in the seventh. In the first game, the Braves had a season-high 18 hits and every player in the starting lineup hit safely. Lopez matched his career high with four RBI. "It seems like it's contagious right now," Lopez said. "One guy starts hitting and then everyone does. That's good. That's the way a team is supposed to be." Glavine (6-3) had an RBI double in the big third inning but struggled despite having a 10-1 lead and couldn't finish the sixth inning. Glavine allowed four runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He said after the game that he bruised his left thumb trying to field a groundball and had difficulty gripping the ball over his last two innings. As far as whether he'll be able to make his next start, Glavine said he would have a better indication of that Monday. Pirates starter Omar Olivares (2-6) gave up six runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings. Andruw Jones homered for the Braves in the first game, his 15th. McClendon said he's unsure if Olivares will stay in the rotation. Game notesThe Braves took the season series from Pittsburgh 5-1. ... Veras has hit safely in 14 of 15 games. ... The two Pirates starters gave up 13 runs in 7 2/3 innings. ... The Pirates had been 3-0 in Sunday home games. ... Kendall played left field in both games and extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... Anderson has lost four of his last five decisions.  Send this story to a friend
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RECAPS Cleveland 4 NY Yankees 3
Atlanta 11
Atlanta 8
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