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McCann, Hudson shine as Braves rout Pirates

Jul 14, 2007 - 3:55 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Brian McCann homered twice and Tim Hudson hurled seven scoreless innings as the Atlanta Braves coasted to a 9-1 triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

Hudson (9-5) scattered five hits with a walk and four strikeouts en route to winning his third straight decision. The 31-year-old righthander needed 89 pitches - 55 strikes - to dispatch of a light-hitting Pirates lineup, which had no player batting over .300.

"I felt pretty good," said Hudson, who recorded his first win over Pittsburgh since June 11, 2004. "I got away with some pitches. When you get a nice lead like that, you can be allowed to be not so perfect."

"You know (Hudson) has great stuff, but you don't expect him to shut you down," former Brave Adam LaRoche said. "He had his stuff, but it wasn't like the first time he's had it."

McCann, who smashed a three-run homer in the first, followed with his 11th blast off Pirates starter Ian Snell (7-6) in the sixth, giving the Braves a 5-0 edge. It was the second career multi-homer game for All-Star catcher, who has three shots in his last two contests.

"I wish I could have had this (production) in April, May and June," McCann said. "Hopefully, I can stay consistent."

Hudson also helped his own cause with an RBI single during the six-run sixth.

Friday's game provided a boost of confidence for McCann and teammate Andruw Jones, who both struggled mightily in the first half of the season.

A perennial Gold Glove winner, Jones flirted with the Mendoza line for much of July before finally finding his stroke during a three-game series at San Diego prior to the All-Star break. McCann was selected to the National League All-Star team despite batting just .235 (40-for-170) since returning from a finger injury on May 4.

"Andruw is going to carry us the second half," McCann said. "Numbers don't lie. If you've hit .270 with 40 homers and 100 RBI for 12 years in a row, there's no reason he's not going to do that again this year."

Jones continued his torrid hitting by smashing a homer to left-center field in the sixth. The 30-year-old has recorded seven hits in his last 13 at-bats to raise his average to .213.

LaRoche's miscue in the first inning helped Atlanta build a 3-0 advantage.

With two outs, Chipper Jones hit a grounder to first, but the ball took a high hop that LaRoche failed to handle. Thinking he fielded the ball, the often aloof LaRoche started running toward first base.

"I thought it was in my pocket (of my glove)," LaRoche said. "I thought it hit the web. I thought I had it, but it popped out."

Second baseman Freddy Sanchez fielded the ball, but hit LaRoche, who was in the way of the throw. After Snell walked Andruw Jones, McCann smashed his 10th homer over the right field wall.

Atlanta hopes to soon be knocking on the door of the first-place New York Mets in the Natinal League East Division, playing 14 games against teams with sub-.500 records to open the second half.

"It's nice to get off on the right foot," Hudson said. "Guys came out and played pretty hard. It's how we wanted to start off the second half."

Snell allowed a season-high seven runs and eight hits through five-plus innings. The righthander fanned four and walked two en route to losing his four straight start away from home.

"I didn't like my performance at all," Snell said. "My legs were not under me. I was flat. I hit a spot where I was getting tired. (My pitches) were up and I was getting tired."

Edgar Renteria drove in two runs for the Braves, who sent 11 batters to the plate in the sixth.

Jack Wilson had two hits for the Pirates, who lost for just the second time in seven games.