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Jones' homer lifts Braves over Phillies

May 1, 2007 - 4:12 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Braves must really enjoy sticking it to their division rival late.

Andruw Jones hit a walk-off three-run homer and Tim Hudson pitched eight strong innings as the Braves downed the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2, in the opener of a three-game series on Monday.

Jones, who was just 1-for-11 all-time against Antonio Alfonseca (1-1) in his career, crushed an offering from the Phillies reliever to send Atlanta to their fourth straight win over Philadelphia, which lost to the Braves in the final at-bat for the third time this season.

"It's unbelievable (Atlanta's late inning heroics over the Phillies)," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. "The games could have gone either way. Luckily, luck has leaned our way."

"I feel like we've got to stay after them," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. "We've got to hit, we've got to field, we've got to pitch. They hustled and they played all nine innings hard."

Jones, who had struck out six times and recorded just one hit in 11 at-bats against Alfonseca prior to the homer, hit his sixth career walk-off home run and the first by an Atlanta hitter this season.

"He (had) my number," Jones said. "Right there, I was looking for a breaking pitch. He threw it and I didn't miss it."

Hudson, who pitched despite the deaths of his grandmother and former Auburn teammate and friend Josh Hancock on Sunday, allowed two runs and four singles with a walk and a strikeout over eight innings. It was his second strong no-decision against the Phillies this season, after he yielded just one run and two hits over seven innings at Citizens Bank Park on April 4.

"There was a lot of motivation for me to pitch well," Hudson said. "Anytime you go out there with a heavy heart and you give (runs) up, it's easy to use that as an excuse. That's something I didn't want to happen."

In memory of Hancock and his grandmother, Vera Mickle, Hudson wore the initials "J.H." on his jersey and inscribed "V.M." into the dirt behind the mound.

Of the 24 outs the two-time All-Star hurler recorded in this contest, 19 were groundouts. Hudson, who has tossed 40 consecutive innings without allowing a homer, missed out on the opportunity to start 4-0 for the first time in his career.

"I would compare (Hudson's start) to when Doggie (Greg Maddux) was going really well," Chipper Jones said. "The numbers would certainly look like what Doggie did in the '90s."

"He's been throwing really (well)," Andruw Jones said. "That's the Tim Hudson I faced when he was with Oakland."

Chipper Jones hit a solo shot for the Braves, who improved to 52-6 in games where both Andruw and Chipper Jones homered in the same game.

"Many teams will tell you when the middle of the lineup guys go deep in a game, it's good for them," Chipper Jones said. "We got our eyes on (home run duo leaders) Hank (Aaron) and Eddie (Mathews). We'll see if we can keep Andruw (next year)."

Mike Gonzalez (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.