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Tigers shut down Braves' anemic offense again in series sweep

Jun 25, 2007 - 4:49 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Andrew Miller continued the Detroit Tigers' dominance of the Atlanta Braves and the National League.

Miller hurled six-plus innings and Detroit sent 10 men to the plate in a four-run sixth inning to power the Tigers to an 5-0 win over the woeful Atlanta Braves and sweep the three-game set.

Detroit, winners of seven straight, tied the Los Angeles Angels for the best record in interleague play at 14-4. Following the dominant performances of Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander, who combined to allow just one run and seven hits in the first two games of the series, Miller (3-1) pitched a gem of his own.

"Our pitchers are doing a great job right now," Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez said. "You combine good pitching and good hitting, you're going to win a lot of games."

The 22-year-old rookie, the Tigers' top pick in the 2006 draft, put the exclamation point on a successful nine-game swing through Philadelphia, Washington and Atlanta, going 8-1. The 6-6 lefthander gave way after throwing 88 pitches and issuing a free pass to Andruw Jones to lead off the seventh.

"I felt a little more comfortable out there tonight," said Miller, who one year ago Sunday was pitching for the University of North Carolina in the College World Series. "Things are still moving a little fast but I felt more comfortable tonight."

Chad Durbin, who was making his first relief appearance of the season after 14 starts, yielded two hits and a walk to record the rare three-inning save, the first of his eight-year major league career.

"I was just trying to throw like I was in the fifth or sixth inning of a start," Durbin said. "I'm just doing whatever they call on me to do. When they tell me to get up, I'm going to get up."

Miller and Atlanta starter Chuck James (6-7) were locked in a scoreless pitchers' duel through five innings before the Tigers offense exploded for four runs in the sixth. Omar Infante led off the frame with a perfect drag bunt single down the third base line and advanced to second when James hit Placido Polanco with a pitch.

Former Brave Gary Sheffield followed with a single, plating Infante ahead of Magglio Ordonez, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single to load the bases. Polanco scored after Carlos Guillen ended James' night by walking on five pitches to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Rodriguez capped the scoring by smashing Atlanta reliever Peter Moylan's first pitch to left for a single, scoring Sheffield and Ordonez. Durbin capped the scoring by plating Brandon Inge with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

James allowed four runs and five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in five-plus frames to fall to 1-3 with a 5.82 ERA in his last four games.

"It's (just) the way it's going," James said. "They can hit a ball that finds a hole and, for us, it's the opposite. We aren't getting good luck and things aren't going our way."

The Braves will be glad that interleague play is over. Atlanta, which dropped its season-high fifth straight contest to fall to .500 for the first time this season, finished interleague play a National League-worst 4-11.

The anemic Atlanta offense, which entered this game batting just .140 (17-for-121) with just three extra-base hits over its last four games, sunk to even further lows. The Braves mustered just six hits - all harmless singles en route to being shut out for the fourth time in five games.

"We do, to a point, have to tip our caps (to the opposing pitchers)," Atlanta outfielder Matt Diaz said. "But, after a while, you get tired of tipping your cap and have to start looking in the mirror. I'll be doing that tonight and I am sure a lot of guys will, too."

Atlanta has scored just one run - a home run by Chipper Jones on Saturday - over their last five games - 46 innings in all - the worst streak of futility for a major league club since May 8-14, 1985, when the Braves of that season suffered the same fate. However, that Atlanta club actually won one of those games.

"We scored one run in five games," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "I'd say we're having a hard time getting it going. You'd like to say it's all the pitching we're facing, but you'd think with the percentages, you'd score more than one run in five games."

Andruw Jones snapped out of an 0-for-24 slide with a single in the fourth for the Braves, who have been outscored 27-1 over their last five games.