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Andruw Jones, Francoeur hit back-to-back homers to spark Braves

May 12, 2007 - 4:01 AM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Braves made up for a homerless drought in quick fashion.

Andruw Jones and Jeff Francoeur homered on consecutive pitches during a sixth-inning rally as the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1, in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

Kyle Davies won for the first time in seven tries this season with seven strong innings for Atlanta, which entered the contest without a homer in its previous eight games.

"I threw strikes; that's the big thing," Davies said. "If I attack the strike zone and throw strikes and let my outfielders and infielders work, then we're going to be alright."

Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke entered the sixth inning with a 1-0 lead and retired the first two batters before Chipper Jones doubled to right-center field on a ball that bounced out of center fielder Xavier Nady's glove after he ran into the wall.

"The unfortunate thing is if X would've had a half a step, he catches the ball and the inning's down," Pittsburgh manager Jim Tracy said. "X was there to catch the ball and he didn't miss the ball, the wall knocked the ball out of his glove. He had a hell of a collision with the wall. But then within four pitches after that, they had three runs."

Andruw Jones then belted a 1-0 offering over the center field fence for the Braves' first home run in 72 2/3 innings the team's longest drought since 1983. On the next pitch from Duke, Francoeur lined a shot over the left field wall for a 3-1 advantage.

"I was just looking for something to stay on nice and drive, and luckily he left it out over the plate and I got a good one to hit," Francoeur said.

Brian McCann then reached on an infield single before Matt Diaz singled up the middle, ending the night for Duke.

"Up until that inning, I felt like I was throwing the ball really well," Duke said. "They drove what I thought were pretty decent pitches. It's a tough one."

Pinch hitter Scott Thorman recorded the Braves' sixth straight hit with two outs, ripping a run-scoring double off the right field wall for a 4-1 lead.

Chipper Jones and Francoeur had three hits apiece for the Braves, who lead the major leagues with 92 runs scored with two outs. They have scored 172 runs overall.

"It's funny because it seems like every night we start it with two outs," Francoeur said. "I don't know why and it's hard to explain but it seems like every time we get guys in scoring position with two outs, it seems like everyone seems to get locked in. I think you just ride it as long as you can like this."

"I try to explain this every night because it's the only thing I can come up with," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. "We have good hitters and when you have good hitters, it doesn't matter how many outs there are."

With the win, Cox tied Sparky Anderson for fourth place on the all-time managerial wins list with 2,194.

Duke (1-4) allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. He received little offensive help again from his teammates, who have scored a total of 15 runs for the lefthander while he was in the game over his eight starts.

Davies (1-1) yielded a run and seven hits with two walks and a strikeout to record his first win since September 18 against the Washington Nationals. He entered the contest having allowed 11 hits, 11 walks and nine earned runs in eight innings over his first two road starts.

"It's been a long time since I've won a ballgame," Davies said. "It's good to get a win (personally) but more importantly, it's good for the team to get a win.

"Every start, every pitch the confidence is starting to get a lot better and the pitching's getting a lot better. I think the two go hand-in-hand."

The righthander loaded the bases with none out in the fourth but yielded just a sacrifice fly by former Brave Adam LaRoche before getting Ronny Paulino to ground into a double play. The Pirates had runners on second and third in the sixth after a double by Ryan Doumit, but Davies retired Nady and LaRoche to escape unscathed.

Tyler Yates logged the eighth and former Pirate Mike Gonzalez worked the ninth for his second save this season. The lefthander has converted 29 consecutive opportunities.

Atlanta turned four double plays in its fourth consecutive win.

Jason Bay and Doumit had two hits apiece for the listless Pirates, who rank 15th in batting (.236) and hitting with runners in scoring position (.208). They have lost nine of their last 13 games.

Atlanta shortstop Edgar Renteria extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a single in the ninth inning.