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Jurrjens reaches 12 wins, Atlanta rocks Colorado

Jul 7, 2011 - 2:54 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Chipper Jones and Dan Uggla both hit two-run homers and Jair Jurrjens became the first NL pitcher to reach 12 wins, as Atlanta rocked Colorado, 9-1, in the third installment of a four-game set from Turner Field.

Jordan Schafer added four hits and an RBI for the Braves, who have won the first three games in the series and eight of nine overall. Alex Gonzalez, Eric Hinske and Brian McCann also drove in a run each.

Jurrjens (12-3) allowed five hits and one run over six strong innings, joining the Yankees' CC Sabathia as the only pitchers in the majors with 12 wins.

"The first couple innings I was cruising along, then I lost a little bit of the strike zone in the middle part," said Jurrjens. "They made it difficult on me, taking pitches, fouling them off. I did end up making the pitches I needed to get out of trouble when I needed to."

Matt Pagnozzi drove in the lone run for the Rockies, who have dropped four in a row and nine of 12. Aaron Cook (0-4) was torched in defeat for 10 hits and seven runs over five-plus frames.

The Braves picked up three runs in the first inning as Schafer started with a triple and came home on a Gonzalez RBI single, McCann plated Gonzalez with a double and Hinske brought in McCann on a two-out base hit.

Jones, who took a foul ball off his ankle in the first inning, sent McCann home in the third with a two-run homer to make it 5-0.

Ian Stewart's one-out double in the fifth turned into Colorado's only run when Pagnozzi followed with a base hit, but Atlanta came right back with two more in the sixth on a Jason Heyward double-play grounder with the bases loaded and a Schafer RBI single.

In the eighth, after Wilkin Ramirez hit a pinch single, Uggla cranked a two- run blast into the seats in left-center to make it 9-1 and cap the scoring.

"Let's face it...right now we're undermanned," noted Rockies manager Jim Tracy. "The big key for us, moving forward will be how we handle this because I think we're getting closer to getting some pieces back. Even when we do, it's very important that we pitch better from a starting-pitcher standpoint."

Game Notes

Jurrjens became the first Atlanta starter to win 12 games within his first 16 starts of a season since John Smoltz in 1996 (14 wins)...Jurrjens also lowered his MLB-best ERA to 1.87...The Braves have beaten the Rockies in five of the last six meetings in Atlanta...Colorado has dropped six in a row away from home.