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Braves down Marlins; Bonifacio hit streak over

Jul 30, 2011 - 3:11 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Dan Uggla hit a three-run home run to extend his hitting streak to 20 games and Brandon Beachy pitched into the eighth inning as the Atlanta Braves took a 5-0 win over the Florida Marlins in the opener of a three-game series.

Beachy (4-2) gave up just two hits and three walks while striking out six for the Braves, who have won three of their last four.

Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a 2-for-4 game that saw him score a run and drive one in while Martin Prado went 3-for-4 with a run scored in the win.

Clay Hensley (1-3) lasted seven innings and was tagged for three runs on five hits with three strikeouts for the Marlins, who had a five-game winning streak stopped.

"One of the goals going into the start was to limit the walks and not have many, just concentrate on throwing strikes," said Hensley. "That would give me a chance to go deeper in games cause that killed me in my last start. So I was happy about that, but not happy with the loss."

Florida third baseman Emilio Bonifacio had his MLB-high and career-high hitting streak stopped at 26 games as he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the loss.

The first four innings saw the two clubs combine for just three baserunners while Florida left two men on base in the fifth after Hensley stuck out with runners at the corners.

Atlanta finally got runs on the board in the seventh as Martin Prado led off with a single, Freeman followed with a base hit and Uggla put the team up 3-0 with a homer to center.

"I wasn't really doing anything weird down there," said Uggla. "It felt good to come up with a big hit like that. Everyone battled out there tonight."

Beachy got John Buck to ground out for the first out of the eighth before leaving the game. Eric O'Flaherty then took the mound and got the next two outs.

Jose Constanza singled home Brooks Conrad and Freeman added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for a 5-0 lead.

Scott Linebrink worked around a one-out double to Gaby Sanchez in the ninth to close out the win.

Game Notes

Prior to Friday's game, the Braves placed outfielder Nate McLouth on the 15- day disabled list with a lower abdominal strain. Also, the team recalled outfielder Constanza from Triple-A Gwinnett amd designated infielder Diory Hernandez for assignment...Uggla is batting 26-for-76 during his streak...Coming into the game, Bonifacio was 39-for-100 during his run...Braves third baseman Chipper Jones sat out with a strained right quadricep and is listed as day-to-day. He had pinch-hit the previous three games, but has not started...The Braves and the Phillies are the only two teams to have not suffered a sweep in a series of three or more games...Florida right fielder Mike Stanton played in his 200th game.