• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Kotchman, Prado lead Braves past Diamondbacks

Aug 9, 2008 - 6:11 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Casey Kotchman had his first multi-hit game as a member of the Atlanta Braves and Martin Prado drove in three runs to spark an 11-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.

National League batting leader Chipper Jones returned from the 15-day disabled list and went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to boost his average to .371 for the Braves, who scored in double digits for the 10th time this season.

Kotchman, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on July 30 as part of the deal that sent Mark Teixeira to the American League West leaders, entered the contest hitting .152 (5-for-33) in nine games for the Braves. But he broke out against the Diamondbacks, clubbing three hits, driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice.

Prado got the offense started against lefthander Doug Davis in the second with a two-run, ground-rule double to deep right-center field that plated Omar Infante and Kotchman.

Atlanta piled on in the third, when Infante added a two-run double, and broke the game wide open with a four-run outburst in the fifth.

"We were able to find some holes out there and put together some runs and support the pitching staff tonight," Kotchman said. "We were fortunate to string some hits together and put up a couple of runs in that one inning."

Brian McCann started the rally with a RBI double and came in to score on Kotchman's two-run single off righthander Billy Buckner. Prado capped the rally with another RBI double to score Kotchman.

"Kotchman and Prado had the big nights but Chipper's homer kind of iced it for us," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Prado is some kind of hitter. He has hit .300 wherever he has been and it makes a lot of difference having a superstar like Chipper back in the lineup."

Davis (4-7) was charged with seven runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings and walked four. The veteran lefthander has allowed 12 earned runs in six innings over his last two starts.

"I felt fine out there. I just struggled with my command and fell behind. Then having to throw to put it right over the middle, that is how I felt, to get a strike. The strike zone might have been a little erratic in my mind," Davis said. "I am having a tough time right now but I will battle through it. I am not going to stress about it because that will make it worse."

Jorge Campillo (7-4) picked up the win for the Braves despite allowing more than three runs for the first time since July 2.

The righthander surrendered five runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 frames.

"My team helped me out a lot today," Campillo said. "I felt pretty good but I made a couple of mistakes in the sixth and seventh inning but I don't care because we won the game."

Arizona cut the deficit to 8-5 entering the ninth, but Jones' blast and a RBI ground-rule double by pitcher Jeff Bennett put the game out of reach.

"I felt really awkward the first couple of at-bats, really from both sides, but it came back quick," Jones said. "I was feeling very rusty early on. That is to be expected, going 15 days without seeing a pitch and no rehab. I didn't expect to be right on but it came back pretty quick.

Arizona (59-57) dropped its third consecutive game and is a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers (58-57) in the National League West.

"That was not typical, offensively," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "Usually if we get a good start and if we score four or five runs we usually win but that hasn't happened in the last couple of nights."