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Friday, May 5 7:40pm ET
Andruw Jones hits walk-off home run | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) -- This time, John Rocker heard boos at Turner Field. The cheers went to Andruw Jones. Rocker squandered a three-run lead in the top of the ninth inning, but Jones hit a two-run homer in the bottom half to give the Atlanta Braves a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
"I'm too tired to be excited," Chipper Jones said after the wild ninth. Rocker, who was mooned by a fan in Los Angeles, received a standing ovation when he relieved with a 4-1 lead. But he couldn't get through the inning, giving up five hits and leaving to boos -- the first time that's happened at home since he served a two-week suspension for insensitive comments. Rudy Seanez (1-0) had to get the final out, then picked up the win when Andruw Jones homered to center field against Wayne Gomes (1-2). Wally Joyner led off the winning rally with a pinch-hit single and moved to second on Quilvio Veras' sacrifice bunt. On an 0-1 pitch, Jones sent a towering, 423-foot drive over the wall for his seventh homer of the season. "I was just trying to make good contact and get a hit," Jones said. "He left a pitch out over the plate and I hit it out." Gomes, who was 4-for-4 in saves, said, "It's disappointing, man. We came back against a tough closer. This is tough to swallow." The Phillies rallied against Rocker, who had converted his first seven save chances since the suspension despite 11 walks in 9 1/3 innings. Scott Rolen led off with a homer to right and the crowd began to grow restless when Mike Lieberthal and Rico Brogna followed with back-to-back singles. Kevin Jordan made the first out on a fly ball, but Desi Relaford worked the count to 2-0 before tripling to the right-center gap. Former Brave Brian Hunter struck out on a checked swing, but Doug Glaville singled to bring home the go-ahead run, setting off a torrent of boos from the crowd of 40,174. Rocker stood on the mound, hands on hips, until manager Bobby Cox arrived to make the pitching change. Rocker gave up as many runs in the ninth as he had in 70 career games -- a span of 65 innings -- at Turner Field, costing Tom Glavine his sixth win of the year. The two-time Cy Young winner allowed only four hits and a run in seven innings, reducing his ERA to 1.73. "It's just one of those things," Glavine said. "I'm sure it won't be the last blown save for John. But I'm sure he'll pick us up a lot more than he lets us down. We just have to deal with it when it happens." Rocker, who has refused to talk with the media all season, declined comment while angrily removing his uniform. His ERA soared from 0.96 to 4.50. "Everybody has a bad day at the office once in a while," pitching coach Leo Mazzone said. "He just left a few too many breaking balls around the plate." Philadelphia starter Randy Wolf pitched seven strong innings, surrendering just five hits and two earned runs. But the last-place Phillies dropped to 0-4 against the Braves this season -- all at Turner Field -- and fell 12 games back in the NL East. "This is just a frustration box," Relaford said. "It's like some curse is on that field. We've had our troubles here." Chipper Jones gave the Braves a 2-0 lead in the fifth with his sixth homer -- and first of the year from the right side. The following inning, Philadelphia cut the deficit in half. Ron Gant tripled to the gap in left-center -- the only Phillies player to get past second base against Glavine -- and scored on a groundout by Bobby Abreu. The Braves restored their two-run lead in the bottom half with an unearned run. Javy Lopez reached on a grounder that went through the legs of Rolen at third base and moved up when Trenidad Hubbard walked. But the Phillies botched a potential inning-ending double play. Speedster Rafael Furcal slipped leaving the box on a grounder to short, but Hubbard slid hard into Jordan, whose relay throw sailed wide of first. Lopez sprinted home from third on Philadelphia's second error of the inning. The Braves made it 4-1 in the eighth when Brian Jordan scored from third on Jeff Brantley's wild pitch.
Game notes | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Philadelphia Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse Braves catcher Perez lost for season with torn rotator cuff
RECAPS Boston 5 Tampa Bay 3
Atlanta 6
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