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  Tuesday, Jun. 6 7:40pm ET
Braves rally from 6-3 deficit to beat Jays
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Braves wanted to prove they could beat an AL team. They did it the AL way.

Chipper Jones
Chipper Jones hit his 13th homer of the season in the first inning.

Rafael Furcal drove in the winning run with a one-out double in the ninth inning as the Braves rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 Tuesday night in a game that dragged on for 3 hours, 44 minutes.

There were 18 walks on an unseasonably cool night -- 10 by the Blue Jays, including two with the bases loaded, and eight by the Braves.

Atlanta had lost four of its previous five, including three of four since the start of interleague play.

"We haven't started out the month very well. We haven't played interleague very well," said Braves starter Tom Glavine, who walked six in a game for the first time in nearly four years. "Psychologically, it was good for us to come back and win."

Brian Jordan led off the ninth with a single off John Frascatore (1-2) and moved to second on Javy Lopez's dribbler in front of the plate. Bobby Bonilla was walked intentionally before Furcal lined a slider to the gap in left-center.

"I said to Bonilla, 'You need to finish this game or I'm going to do it,' " Furcal said. "My first swing was kind of hard, so I choked up and looked for a good pitch to put in play."

Mike Remlinger (2-1) picked up the win with a scoreless ninth.

Chris Woodward homered for the second night in a row, hitting a two-run shot in the third, and the Blue Jays led 6-3 after Jose Cruz Jr.'s RBI single in the sixth.

But the Braves battled back with runs in each of the last four innings. Walt Weiss, who took Chipper Jones' spot in the batting order, tied it up with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

One day after sending closer John Rocker to the minors, the Braves received a scare in the sixth inning when Jones, last year's National League MVP, crumpled to the ground after stepping awkwardly on second base.

Jones, who was trying to stop at the bag on a grounder up the middle, remained on the ground for several minutes with an anguished look on his face. He finally managed to limp off the field with a sprained right ankle. X-rays were negative and he hopes to play Wednesday.

"I'm a quick healer," Jones said. "I hope I can get the swelling out, tape it up and go at 80 or 90 percent tomorrow. We'll see."

The Braves went ahead in the first on Jones' 13th homer of the season, a 428-foot drive into the right-field seats. Jones drove in another run with a bases-loaded walk against Paul Quantrill in the sixth before the injury.

Andruw Jones had two RBI for the Braves. Toronto's Shannon Stewart went 3-for-5, including a run-scoring single in the second.

Glavine had a miserable game, throwing 136 pitches in just six innings. He walked six in a game for the first time since Aug. 4, 1996, at Los Angeles, surrendered nine hits and was charged with all six Toronto runs.

Glavine had given up fewer than four runs in only one of his last six starts, raising his ERA to 3.73. He surrendered three runs or less in each of his first seven appearances.

"I wish I felt like my command was off or my stuff was off," he said. "But I've done a good job getting ahead of guys. I just haven't been able to put them away."

Blue Jays starter Frank Castillo had a career-high seven walks in 5 2/3 innings, including one to Andruw Jones with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

"You can't walk that many people and expect to win the game," Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi said.

Castillo struggled to control his fastball but still left with a 6-3 lead. The bullpen couldn't hold it.

"I felt comfortable," he said. "I thought we'd win the game. When they come from behind and take it away from you, it's frustrating."

Todd Greene made his first appearance as the Blue Jays catcher this season after Albert Castillo was thrown out of the game in the fifth for arguing a called third strike.

Toronto's other catcher, Darrin Fletcher, was supposed to be available only for pinch-hitting duty because of a shoulder strain. But even he was needed before the night was over, entering in the eighth.

Game notes
Toronto had won four straight over the Braves. ... Glavine had two sacrifice bunts, giving him 130 for his career. He eclipsed the Atlanta Braves record of 129 set by Phil Niekro. ... Jason Marquis, the 21-year-old pitcher who replaced Rocker on the Braves' roster, made his first major league appearance and threw a scoreless inning. ... Atlanta 2B Quilvio Veras left after the fifth inning with lower back pain. The injury wasn't serious.

 


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