ATLANTA (8) VS CINCINNATI (9) - FINAL ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg R Furcal ss 5 1 2 2 0 0 1 .339 M Giles 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .336 M Derosa 2b 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 .176 G Sheffield rf 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 .355 C Jones lf 5 1 1 0 0 1 1 .293 A Jones cf 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 .286 R Fick 1b 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 .296 V Castilla 3b 4 2 2 4 0 0 0 .283 H Blanco c 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .233 G Maddux p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .095 a-D Bragg ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .140 T Hodges p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-M Franco ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 J Bong p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 R Hernandez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-J Franco ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288 Totals 38 8 10 8 2 4 12 a-singled to center for G Maddux in the 5th; b-flied out to left center for T Hodges in the 7th; c-grounded to second for R Hernandez in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - H Blanco (3, D Graves); R Furcal (9, D Graves). HR - A Jones (11, 4th inning off D Graves 0 on, 1 Out), V Castilla 2 (8, 7th inning off D Graves 0 on, 0 Out, 8th inning off S Sullivan 2 on, 2 Out), R Furcal (6, 9th inning off S Williamson 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - R Furcal 2 (17), A Jones (41), V Castilla 4 (24), R Fick (19). 2-out RBI - R Furcal, V Castilla 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - G Sheffield 2, A Jones 1. Team LOB - 6. FIELDING: DP: 1 (V Castilla-M Derosa-R Fick). CINCINNATI ab r h rbi bb so lob avg F Lopez ss 4 2 2 1 0 1 0 .237 S Casey 1b 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 .310 K Griffey Jr cf 4 1 1 2 0 2 6 .243 A Kearns rf 4 0 2 4 0 1 1 .306 A Boone 3b 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 .273 A Dunn lf 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .231 J LaRue c 4 2 2 2 0 2 0 .255 J Castro 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .253 D Graves p 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 .136 K Mercker p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 S Sullivan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-R Taylor ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 S Williamson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 33 9 10 9 3 12 13 a-grounded to first for S Sullivan in the 8th. BATTING: 2B - F Lopez (7, G Maddux); J LaRue (9, G Maddux). HR - K Griffey Jr (2, 4th inning off G Maddux 1 on, 2 Out), J Larue (5, 8th inning off R Hernandez 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - A Kearns 4 (41), F Lopez (11), K Griffey Jr 2 (4), J LaRue 2 (14). 2-out RBI - A Kearns 2, K Griffey Jr 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Dunn 1, A Boone 1. GIDP - A Kearns. Team LOB - 3. BASERUNNING: SB - A Kearns (1, 2nd base off G Maddux/H Blanco). FIELDING: E - F Lopez (14, ground ball). ----------------------------------------------------- ATLANTA - 001 100 141 -- 8 CINCINNATI - 230 200 02x -- 9 ----------------------------------------------------- ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr era G Maddux 4 9 7 7 1 7 1 5.54 T Hodges 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 2.53 J Bong 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.45 R Hernandez (L, 3-1) 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 3.86 CINCINNATI ip h r er bb so hr era D Graves 7 1/3 7 6 6 1 1 2 4.91 K Mercker (H, 6) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.72 S Sullivan (W, 5-0; B, 1) 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 1 5.11 S Williamson (S, 11) 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 3.72 WP - G Maddux. HBP - M Derosa (by D Graves). Pitches-strikes: G Maddux 79-50; T Hodges 27-20; J Bong 13-8; R Hernandez 22-13; D Graves 104-67; K Mercker 3-3; S Sullivan 6-5; S Williamson 25-16. Ground balls-fly balls: G Maddux 4-1; T Hodges 1-1; J Bong 2-1; R Hernandez 1-1; D Graves 6-15; K Mercker 1-0; S Sullivan 0-0; S Williamson 1-0. Batters faced: G Maddux 22; T Hodges 6; J Bong 3; R Hernandez 5; D Graves 32; K Mercker 1; S Sullivan 2; S Williamson 6. UMPIRES: HP--Bill Welke. 1B--Kerwin Danley. 2B--John Hirschbeck. 3B--Matt Hollowell. EJECTIONS: ATLANTA's Cox by Welke (3rd). T--2:47. Att--24,076. Weather: 66 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, out to center.
How They ScoredCINCINNATI 1ST: M Derosa at second base. F Lopez doubled to left. S Casey walked. F Lopez to third, S Casey to second on wild pitch by G Maddux. K Griffey Jr struck out swinging. A Kearns singled to left, F Lopez and S Casey scored. A Kearns stole second. A Boone struck out swinging. A Dunn grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, CINCINNATI 2. CINCINNATI 2ND: J LaRue doubled to right center. J Castro struck out looking. D Graves singled to center, J LaRue to third. F Lopez singled to center, J LaRue scored, D Graves to second. S Casey singled to center, D Graves to third, F Lopez to second. K Griffey Jr struck out swinging. A Kearns singled to right, D Graves and F Lopez scored, S Casey to second. A Boone flied out to center. (3 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, CINCINNATI 5. ATLANTA 3RD: V Castilla flied out to deep center. H Blanco doubled to right. G Maddux grounded out to third. R Furcal doubled to right center, H Blanco scored. M Derosa hit by pitch. G Sheffield flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 1, CINCINNATI 5. ATLANTA 4TH: C Jones grounded out to first. A Jones homered to left. R Fick grounded out to shortstop. V Castilla flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 2, CINCINNATI 5. CINCINNATI 4TH: D Graves grounded out to shortstop. F Lopez grounded out to shortstop. S Casey singled to right. K Griffey Jr homered to right, S Casey scored. A Kearns struck out looking. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 2, CINCINNATI 7. ATLANTA 7TH: V Castilla homered to left. H Blanco flied out to left. M Franco hit for T Hodges. M Franco flied out to left center. R Furcal flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, CINCINNATI 7. ATLANTA 8TH: M Derosa singled to center. G Sheffield singled to left, M Derosa to second. C Jones grounded into fielder's choice to second, G Sheffield out at second, M Derosa to third. A Jones walked, C Jones to second. K Mercker relieved D Graves. R Fick grounded into fielder's choice to first, M Derosa scored, A Jones out at second, C Jones to third. S Sullivan relieved K Mercker. V Castilla homered to left, C Jones and R Fick scored. H Blanco struck out swinging. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 7, CINCINNATI 7. CINCINNATI 8TH: R Hernandez relieved J Bong. A Boone walked. A Dunn struck out swinging. J LaRue homered to right center, A Boone scored. J Castro flied out to center. R Taylor hit for S Sullivan. R Taylor grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 7, CINCINNATI 9. ATLANTA 9TH: S Williamson relieved S Sullivan. J Franco hit for R Hernandez. J Franco grounded out to second. R Furcal homered to right. M Derosa walked. G Sheffield struck out swinging. C Jones singled to right, M Derosa to third. A Jones struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 8, CINCINNATI 9.
Game StoryCINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Jason LaRue made Austin Kearns' birthday a little more enjoyable. Kearns had four RBI on his 23rd birthday and LaRue belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Reds held on for a 9-8 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Kearns extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with a two-run single in the first inning and drove in two runs with another base hit in the second as Cincinnati jumped out to a 5-0 lead. "It was a great birthday. I wish I had a birthday every night, I'll take four RBI," said Kearns, who did not mind sharing the spotlight with LaRue. "I don't care as long as we win. It's weird. It's a different guy every night. None of us are surprised by it." The Reds took a 7-2 cushion into the eighth, but the Braves rallied for five runs, highlighted by Vinny Castilla's three-run homer. It was the second homer of the game for Castilla, who has four in his last three contests. Atlanta reliever Roberto Hernandez (3-1) walked Aaron Boone to open the bottom half and struck out Adam Dunn before LaRue drove the next pitch the opposite way over the wall in right-center field for his fifth homer. "I was looking for something out over the plate," LaRue said. "When I hit it, I knew I hit it really well, but I kept saying, 'Come on ball stay up.'" "Jason has tremendous power," Reds manager Bob Boone added. "He goes through streaks where he doesn't make enough contact. If he gets into a good hitting position, he has a short, quick stroke that's pretty powerful." Hernandez absorbed his first loss since August 15, 2002, when he was with the Kansas City Royals. "It was a flat slider," he said. "Right pitch, wrong results. I didn't get on top of it. It's a letdown. We battled the whole game." Reds closer Scott Williamson gave up a solo homer to Rafael Furcal with one out in the ninth. Williamson walked Mark DeRosa and struck out Gary Sheffield before Chipper Jones singled to put runners at the corners. But he struck out Andruw Jones for his 11th save. Scott Sullivan (5-0) won, despite allowing Castilla's game-tying homer. He fanned Henry Blanco to end the inning - the only out he recorded. Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the first time since April 2 as Cincinnati won for the 10th time in 14 games. Atlanta starter Greg Maddux surrendered seven runs and nine hits in four innings but avoided his third loss in as many starts. The Braves had a four-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the sixth time in 33 games. Maddux gave up a leadoff double to Felipe Lopez in the first inning and walked Sean Casey. The runners advanced on a wild pitch by the four-time Cy Young Award winner and scored on Kearns' first hit. Maddux escaped further damage but struggled again in the second. LaRue hit a leadoff double and, after pitcher Danny Graves singled with one out, scored on a base hit by Lopez. Casey singled to load the bases and Kearns lined a single to right field to plate Graves and Lopez. "I thought I threw OK," said Maddux, whose ERA climbed to 5.54. "The first two innings, you just tip your hat to them. They were hitting good pitches. Even the one to the pitcher was good." The Braves pulled within 5-2 before Griffey followed Casey's single by driving a 1-2 pitch from Maddux into the right field stands for his second homer of the season. Maddux struck out Kearns to end the inning but did not return. Graves allowed just three runs and five hits until the eighth, when he gave up consecutive singles to DeRosa and Sheffield to open the inning. "I didn't run out of gas," Graves said. "The pitch to DeRosa was a ball. I'm surprised he swung. Sheffield hit the ball pretty good, but he broke his bat. They are good hitters. They just fought them off." After Chipper Jones hit into a fielder's choice, Graves walked Andruw Jones to load the bases. Kent Mercker entered against his former team and Robert Fick plated DeRosa with a groundout. Sullivan came in to face the righthanded-hitting Castilla, who sent an 0-1 pitch into the seats in left field to forge a 7-7 tie. It was Castilla's 28th career multi-homer game.
