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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Braves were in desperate need of a
win, so they called on Greg Maddux.
No problem.
Maddux pitched a four-hitter for his second consecutive shutout
as the Braves blanked the Florida Marlins 4-0 Wednesday night.
|  | | Braves pitcher Greg Maddux extended his scoreless streak to 22 2/3 innings against the Marlins. |
The Braves, who snapped a three-game losing skid, maintained a
two-game lead over New York in the NL East. The Mets beat Milwaukee
4-1 in 10 innings.
"It was the Greg Maddux Show again tonight," admiring Braves
manager Bobby Cox said.
"That was vintage Maddux," Marlins manager John Boles said.
"That's illegal, that kind of stuff."
Maddux (17-8) pitched his third shutout of the season in running
his scoreless streak to 22 2/3 innings for his third straight win.
It was his fifth complete game and 99th of his career.
"It's just one of those things where everything is going
right," Maddux said. "It's always nice to go out and finish a
game you start. That's what you try to do most of the time, but you
need a lot of help and the guys played pretty good defense behind
me."
The four-time NL Cy Young winner faced only 29 batters, giving
up singles to Henry Rodriguez in the fifth, Luis Castillo in the
sixth and pinch-hitter Mark Kotsay in the ninth, and a double by
Mike Lowell in the eighth. He also hit Mike Redmond with a pitch in
the third. Rodriguez and Kotsay were erased on double plays and
Castillo was caught stealing.
The double play Derrek Lee hit into in the fifth might have been
the key to the game, Maddux said.
Rodriguez got the one-out hit and Lee drilled a grounder up the
middle, but shortstop Rafael Furcal dove, knocked it down, then
shoveled it to second baseman Keith Lockhart, who turned the double
play on a bang-bang play at first.
"That was a great play," Maddux said. "Usually that ball is
in the outfield and they've got first and third and will probably
score a run and easily be set up for a big inning."
Maddux threw 89 pitches, 60 for strikes, got 12 groundball outs,
struck out four and walked none.
The Braves scored a run in the second when Chipper Jones broke an 0-for-13 slump with a single, took second on a walk to Andres
Galarraga, third on a fly to right by Brian Jordan, and scored on
Keith Lockhart's sacrifice fly off Ryan Dempster (12-10).
Dempster allowed four runs, eight hits and six walks, striking
out six in 6 2/3 innings.
"I felt good, but the way he (Maddux) threw, it didn't
matter," Dempster said.
Atlanta made it 2-0 in the sixth on a two-out RBI double by
Furcal, following singles by Lockhart and Maddux.
The Braves broke it open in the seventh on a two-out, two-run,
bloop double to center by Jordan. Reggie Sanders led off the inning
with a double and Andruw Jones walked. Dempster, however, retired
Chipper Jones on a foul pop and struck out Galarraga for the third
time, before Jordan delivered.
Game notes
Only three umpires worked the game when Steve Rippley
became ill shortly before game time and was unavailable. ...
Atlanta stole a season-high six bases, its most since stealing
seven against Cincinnati on Aug. 23, 1999. ... The Sept. 20 game at
Turner Field between the Mets and Braves has been moved up one-half
hour to a 7:10 p.m. EDT start and will be televised by ESPN. ...
Reliever Stan Belinda asked for and was granted his release from
the Braves on Tuesday. The right-hander, signed as a free agent on
July 29, was 1-3 with a 7.71 ERA in 10 games with Atlanta. ...
Castillo's sixth-inning single was his 144th of the season,
breaking the Marlins' record of 143 set by Edgar Renteria in 1997.
Castillo has 163 hits.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Florida Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 7
Oakland 6
Cleveland 10
Boston 3
NY Yankees 3
Toronto 2
Chi. White Sox 1
Detroit 0
Baltimore 9
Texas 4
Anaheim 8
Tampa Bay 4
Seattle 2
Kansas City 1
NY Mets 4
Milwaukee 1
Cincinnati 13
Chicago Cubs 3
Philadelphia 15
Montreal 5
St. Louis 9
Pittsburgh 5
Atlanta 4
Florida 0
San Francisco 3
Houston 2
Arizona 3
Los Angeles 2
Colorado 11
San Diego 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Greg Maddux appreciates the great defensive job his team gave him.
wav: 119 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Keith Lockhart returns the compliment to Maddux, praising his pitching performance.
wav: 111 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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