Braves Feeling Chipper, Blank Marlins 8-0
Two of the Atlanta Braves' old standbys, Chipper Jones and John Smoltz, discovered the fountain of youth; ironically or not, the fountain of youth was located in Miami. Jones went yard twice while Smoltz went 5 scoreless innings, leading Atlanta to the shutout win over the Florida Marlins Thursday at Dolphin Stadium. Jones led the Braves' attack as he went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, 2 home runs, 3 runs scored and 3 RBIs while a trio of Braves had 2 hits apiece - Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur and Mark Kotsay; McCann, Mark Teixeira and Kelly Johnson added a HR apiece. Smoltz (3-0) got the win as he pitched 5 innings, allowing only 3 hits, walking 2 while striking out 10. Florida was led by a trio with a hit apiece - Hanley Ramirez, Josh Willingham and Mike Jacobs; Ricky Nolasco (1-1) got the loss; Nolasco pitched only 4 2/3 innings, allowing 9 hits, 6 earned runs, striking out 4 while giving up 4 HRs. Atlanta (6-9) plays on Friday as they return home to host the Los Angeles Dodgers (7-8); rookie Jeff Bennett (0-0) gets the start for Atlanta while Derek Lowe (1-0) starts for Los Angeles. Florida (9-6) also plays on Friday as they host the Washington Nationals (4-12); Andrew Miller (0-2) will toe the rubber for Florida while Tim Redding (2-1) gets the nod for Washington.
Labels: Chipper Jones, John Smoltz
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