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Braves beat Marlins, lose Jones and Hudson

Jul 24, 2008 - 3:22 AM By Christopher Stock PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Tim Hudson pitched six scoreless innings and rookie Gregor Blanco and Yunel Escobar each drove in three runs to help lead the Atlanta Braves to a 9-4 victory over the Florida Marlins on Wednesday.

Blanco had four hits and scored three runs while Escobar drove in a run on three separate at-bats for the Braves, who bounced back a night after registering just one hit.

Hudson (11-7) struck out six while allowing three hits and one walk. He left the game with tightness in his right elbow and will be re-evaluated on Thursday.

At one point, Hudson retired 11 in a row after allowing a leadoff single by Hanley Ramirez in the first inning.

"The elbow is fine," Hudson said. "It's one of those things where I threw a lot more splitters than I had been lately, and over the course of the game, it started tightening up a little bit. I don't foresee it being that big of a deal."

Braves All-Star third baseman Chipper Jones left the game in the fourth inning with a left hamstring strain after grounding out to third base. He will be re-evaluated on Friday.

The Braves are 2-10 when Jones, who leads the major leagues with a .369 average, is not in the lineup.

"Hamstrings are a little more delicate than quads or groins," Jones said. "It really affects you when you do any sort of running. We have a day off on Thursday and I'll see how I feel on Friday. Hopefully, it feels a lot better and I'll be able to get in there in a couple of days. As of right now, it doesn't look good."

"I think he'll be fine," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He's got a day off, so we'll see how he feels come Friday."

Hudson, Blanco and Escobar singled off Marlins ace Ricky Nolasco (10-6) to start the third. Escobar's base hit drove in Hudson for a 1-0 lead, and Jones grounded out to first to plate Blanco for a two-run advantage.

"It is (Blanco's) first crack at the big leagues, and he is a nice little player," Cox said.

In the pivotal fourth, Jeff Francoeur and Kelly Johnson hit back-to-back doubles to open the inning, giving the Braves a 3-0 advantage. Three batters later, Blanco drove home Johnson with a single and Escobar followed with a double off the left-center field scoreboard, opening a 5-0 lead.

Brian McCann singled home a run in the seventh, Blanco delivered a two-run triple in the eighth and Escobar followed with an RBI groundout to cap the scoring for Atlanta.

"We had to play good on this trip and we won a series," Cox said. "We need to win series the rest of the way."

Nolasco continued to struggle against the Braves, allowing five runs in five innings. He surrendered eight hits and three walks while striking out three.

The 25-year-old righthander is 0-3 with a 10.57 ERA in three starts against the Braves this season.

"I'm not going to sit here and pout about it," Nolasco said. "I'm sure I'm going to face them at least one more time, so I have to make sure I'm ready to prevent my mistakes."

Luis Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in the ninth, sparking a four-run rally that enabled the Marlins to avoid a shutout.

"The bats came alive there in the ninth inning, and hopefully we can carry it over to Chicago," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said.