• Recap
• Bleachers

Olivo helps Marlins rally in ninth past Braves

Apr 26, 2007 - 5:03 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Manager Bobby Cox kept Tim Hudson on the mound one inning too long.

Hudson carried a shutout into the ninth inning before loading the bases and Bob Wickman could not put out the fire as the Atlanta Braves dropped a 4-3 decision to the Florida Marlins.

Miguel Olivo doubled and scored the game-winning run on a passed ball by closer Wickman as the Marlins rallied in the finale of a three-game series.

Hudson was in control the entire contest, taking a 3-0 lead into the decisive frame before Florida's offense finally figured out the two-time All-Star righthander.

Miguel Cabrera, Cody Ross and Aaron Boone all singled off Hudson to load the bases, forcing Cox to call for Wickman (1-1) from the Braves' bullpen.

"You can't throw any better than that," Cox said. "(Hudson) dominated the whole ballgame and he got three ground balls in the ninth, but not one was close to anybody. It was the most amazing thing."

However, Olivo delivered a two-run double to right center, scoring Cabrera and Ross to cut the deficit to one run. After intentionally loading the bases and striking out Josh Willingham, Wickman yielded a base hit to Alfredo Amezaga to shallow left, tying the game at 3-3.

"I just wanted to put it in play," Amezaga said. "When I hit it, I'm thinking it might not be deep enough to get over (their heads), and then when it dropped in I thought we have a chance to win this thing, but it wasn't quite enough to get both runs in."

Wickman continued his downward spiral with a pitch that got past catcher Brian McCann, scoring Olivo from third to complete the come-from-behind win.

"It was a sinker and he left it in a nice spot," Olivo said. "I saw where the ball was headed and just took off."

"All I had to do was get three outs," Wickman said. "I still had a comfortable lead. Three outs, that's it. At worst, make it a tie game, but not a win."

Henry Owens (1-0) struck out two in a scoreless ninth to pick up his first career victory.

The 31-year-old Hudson was solid prior to his meltdown in the ninth, striking out a career-high 12. He threw 112 pitches.

"I felt great. That last inning I tried to bury a couple of sliders and just left them up a little bit and they managed to get some base hits through the holes," Hudson said. "They were ground balls. A little better location and they were probably double plays. That's baseball."

Hudson received early support from his teammates as Kelly Johnson hit his fifth homer and Chipper Jones delivered his seventh one batter later off Marlins starter Scott Olsen in the first.

A native of Jacksonville, Jones bounce back from his dismal 1-for-6, two-strikeout effort in Tuesday's 11-6 triumph in the middle game of the series. He had two hits Wednesday.

In the second inning, left fielder Matt Diaz finally broke out of his 1-for-16 slump with a solo blast to right field as the Braves grabbed a 3-0 lead. He finished 2-for-4.

Despite stumbling through the first two frames, the lefthanded Olsen allowed three runs and eight hits with 10 strikeouts but did not figure into the decision.

"I just settled down and stayed within myself," Olsen said. "I knew that if I could hold it to those early home runs, I could give us a shot to win and that's all I wanted to do - give us a shot."