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Francoeur, Reyes help Braves beat up on Astros

Sep 29, 2007 - 5:05 AM By Andrew Ferraro PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Don't tell the Atlanta Braves these games don't mean anything.

While the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets are the only two National League East Division teams playing for a shot in the postseason, the Atlanta Braves picked on the hapless Houston Astros on Friday night, posting a 7-2 victory at Minute Maid Park.

Jeff Francoeur hit his 19th homer of the season and drove in three runs as the Braves, who officially were eliminated Thursday, snapped a two-game losing streak.

Atlanta won for the ninth time in 12 games behind Francoeur's bat and rookie starter Jo-Jo Reyes' left arm.

Reyes pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just two runs and six hits while striking out three and walking two in 6 2/3 frames.

"That's what I try to do out there every game - have fun," Reyes said. "It can be a business, too, at the same time. I just wanted to go out and have fun. It was my last start. Of course, I wanted to go out with a bang. You've just got to go pitch by pitch."

Reyes (2-2) won for the second time in three starts after going winless in his first eight. Carlos Lee was the only Astro to give him any trouble, as he had two hits and scored both Houston runs.

"We keep saying he's close, he's really close," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He's every bit of that. He had his breaking ball going really good. He threw his change and had a really good sinker tonight. He had some balls down the line, but nothing really screamed."

Yunel Escobar hit two doubles and scored two runs and Mark Teixeira added an RBI two-base hit in a three-run sixth that broke open the game.

In the fifth, Francoeur snapped a 2-2 tie with an opposite-field homer to right and the Braves chased reliever Stephen Randolph with three more runs in the sixth.

After Teixeira doubled to score Escobar, Randolph walked Francoeur. Brandon Jones doubled in two runs with a line drive down the left field line, his first major league hit.

"I tell you what, it feels good to get it out of the way," Jones said. "I can stop thinking about it, stop pressing and just go out there and start playing again."

Filling in for the injured Roy Oswalt, Matt Albers (4-11) has been a major disappointment for the Astros down the stretch. In five September starts, Albers is 0-5 and has not won since August 30 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

"In the first and third innings, I think, I was able to bail myself out with a few good strikeouts," Albers said. "But the pitch count just kept going up and I kept getting myself into trouble. I left the ball over the plate a few times, and that did not turn out so good."

Albers allowed four runs and six hits in five innings with a career-high eight strikeouts but also walked four.

"It was a bummer, and this is definitely not the way I pictured it (would) go," said Astros manager Cecil Cooper, who received a two-year contract on Friday after serving as the interim manager since August 27.