Game StoryATLANTA (Ticker) -- Greg Maddux flirted with a no-hitter and Robert Fick flirted with history. Maddux pitched 5 2/3 hitless innings and Fick belted a grand slam and bases-loaded sacrifice fly as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3, to continue their dominance in interleague play. Maddux (6-6) notched his 279th career win, second on the active list behind Roger Clemens. The four-time Cy Young Award winner, who never has thrown a no-hitter in his illustrious career, did not allow a hit until Brian Roberts doubled sharply down the right field line with two outs in the sixth. "I wasn't thinking about it," Maddux said. "I was just trying to make pitches." It marked the second time in as many nights that a Braves starter flirted with a no-hitter. On Thursday, Mike Hampton took one into the eighth inning vs. Philadelphia. "I thought yesterday we had a chance at a no-hitter," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We were thinking about that on the bench - back to back. It was early for a no-hitter. He was throwing good tonight." For the fifth time in his last six starts, Maddux worked at least seven innings. The crafty righthander gave up three runs - two earned - and four hits in seven-pluus innings, walking one and striking out three. "I'm really trying to get us in the dugout," Maddux said. "I'm trying to win the game. I was just trying to be real with myself. You can't throw a no-hitter without good pitches. I was just trying to make good pitches." "He threw the ball very well," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. "He kept it down. He changed speeds very well. I was surprised he wasn't throwing the ball harder than he was. He has command of his pitches. He knows how to get men out." The Braves needed three relievers to get through the eighth, when the Orioles scored twice and brought the tying run to the plate. John Smoltz pitched a perfect ninth for his 27th save, bouncing back nicely from his second blown save of the season and tying Los Angeles' Eric Gagne for the major league lead. Fick hit his third career grand slam off Sidney Ponson in the fourth, breaking a scoreless tie. In the next frame, he again batted with the bases loaded, but his long fly ball died deep in the outfield for a sacrifice fly. Fick drove in five runs in a game for the fourth time in his career. He also had a single and a fine play on a bad-hop grounder at first base. The Braves improved to 68-45 all-time in interleague play, the best mark of any National League team. The Orioles have lost three in a row and 11 of 15. They also lost utilityman Melvin Mora, who was hit by a pitch on the right wrist in the first inning and left an inning later. "You don't expect Greg Maddux to hit people," Hargrove said. "It wasn't swollen up when he came out of the game. He said he couldn't swing the bat." "We'll have to wait overnight and see what happens," said Mora, who is batting .361 this season. "At the beginning, I wasn't able to move it. Right now, I can move it." Atlanta roughed up Ponson (9-4), who had won his last five decisions and eight of nine. He was ineffective, allowing five runs, five hits and five walks without a strikeout in five innings. "He didn't have command of his pitches," Hargrove said. "He usually has been able to throw the slider when he has to, but not tonight." To open the fourth, Ponson walked Gary Sheffield and Andruw Jones around a single by Chipper Jones. Fick lined the first pitch into the first row of the right field seats for his second grand slam this season. He also connected against Colorado on May 8. "It was a splitter, changeup, whatever he's got," Fick said. "It was the pitch he got me out on (in my first at-bat). It was more down the middle. It was lucky. I was just trying to get the runs in. I was just running. I wasn't even looking at it. It was more of a line drive than a fly ball." "It was right down the middle and it got hit hard," Ponson said. "One bad pitch and I was down, 4-0. It was one of those games, you walk a couple of guys, you're down, 4-0. It's kind of hard to come back from that." Maddux singled later in the inning, giving him more hits than the Orioles to that point. In the fifth, Sheffield walked, Chipper Jones walked and Andruw Jones reached on an error by shortstop Deivi Cruz to again load the bases for Fick, who field out to deep center to make it 5-0. "I just didn't want to hit in a double play," said Fick, who came up about 25 feet short of tying the major league record for grand slams in a game. "I didn't want to ruin my day." Baltimore finally scored in the seventh on Tony Batista's double-play grounder. But Atlanta got it back in the bottom half as Fick singled and scored on Vinny Castilla's double. "I thought tonight I was pretty lucky," Maddux said. "I got some outs tonight (where the pitch was) totally on the other side of the plate from where I wanted to throw it. It looks good. I don't want to be lucky. I want to be good." Maddux left in the eighth after allowing a double by Brook Fordyce and a single by pinch hitter David Segui. Ray King came on and got Roberts to line out before walking Luis Matos to load the bases. Former Brave B.J. Surhoff singled home two runs to chase King. But Kevin Gryboski got Jeff Conine on a groundout to first and Jung Bong retired Jay Gibbons on a comebacker.
