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Hudson helps Braves end slide with win over Astros

Jul 5, 2008 - 5:06 AM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Braves are glad that the Philadelphia Phillies left town.

Tim Hudson hurled seven solid frames and rookie Jason Perry tripled and drove in a run in his major league debut to lead the Braves to a 6-2 triumph over the Houston Astros on Friday.

Kelly Johnson blasted a two-run homer and Chipper Jones had two hits and drove in a run for Atlanta, which snapped a five-game losing streak.

"It was a good game," Hudson said. "We've had some tough times lately. That's no secret. We just have to go through it and try to get through it the best way we can."

It has been a rough week for the Braves, who were in the midst of one of the most trying times in recent history. The Braves, who failed to hold a lead in any frame over their last five games, had just seven hits in 57 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

The Braves' struggles intensified when the Phillies came to town, as the club hit just .088 (3-for-34) with a runner on second or third en route to getting swept by their primary National League East Division foe in two series at home for the first time in Atlanta history.

Atlanta gave its fans something other than a post-game Fourth of July fireworks display to cheer about on Friday.

The Braves plated two in the second to take their first lead in 47 frames. Mark Kotsay plated Mark Teixeira to give the Braves their first lead in a week with a sacrifice fly off Houston starter Brian Moehler (4-4).

"I know," Cox acknowledged asked by a reporter about Atlanta's long stretch without a lead. "It's really good. It feels good. It can spiral into something (good). That's what we're looking for."

"To finally get ahead there was nice," Johnson said. "Hopefully it's the start of something. That's just the way it goes sometimes. It was nice to take advantage there."

Perry followed and made the most of his major league debut by smacking a run-scoring triple, plating Brian McCann, on the eighth pitch of his first major league at-bat.

The 27-year-old former Georgia Tech star, who played alongside Teixeira in college, became the first player in Atlanta history to record a triple in his first big league at-bat.

"They're not going to happen very often," Perry said of his triple. "The only thing that would have been better is a home run. I didn't know (that I was the first to do that). I snuck into the record books somehow."

Perry, who replaced fellow Atlanta-area native Jeff Francoeur in the lineup after the struggling right fielder was optioned to Class AA Mississippi earlier Friday, saw as many pitches in his first at-bat as Francoeur saw on Thursday. Francoeur, who was 0-for-4 in Thursday's loss was mired in an 8-for-66 slump prior to his demotion.

Meanwhile Hudson (9-6) rebounded from a poor outing in Toronto where he allowed six runs over five frames last Saturday. The righthander yielded just one run and four hits, walked three and struck out six over seven frames in his 300th major league start en route to recording just his second victory since May 22.

"It was nice," Hudson said "We got a couple of runs early and were able to put the game away late. It's nice to go out there with a little leeway."

Hudson improved to 2-0 with a 1.16 ERA in four lifetime starts against the Astros.

"You have to give him credit," Houston manager Cecil Cooper said. "He's a quality pitcher. He was hitting his spots. He's tough, especially when you give him a cushion."

Brian McCann extended the Atlanta lead to 3-0 in the third before Johnson put the game out of reach three frames later. The 26-year old Johnson blasted the 1-0 offering from Moehler 403-feet into the Braves bullpen in right-center field for his eighth homer of the season to give Atlanta a 5-1 lead.

Chipper Jones capped the Atlanta scoring with a run scoring single in the seventh. The 36-year-old slugger finished 2-for-4 to raise his major league-leading average to .390.

Moehler allowed five runs and six hits while walking three and striking out one for Houston.

Darin Erstad scored twice and Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada drove in a run each for the Astros, who have dropped four straight games.

"We play really good for a while and then we struggle for a while," Erstad said. "We play hard all the time. Things are just not falling for us."