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GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Andy Ashby made himself right at home with the pitching-rich Atlanta Braves.
|  | | Andy Ashby has won his last three starts, the most recent two against the Orioles. |
Ashby pitched a seven-hitter in his debut with Atlanta and Andres Galarraga had three hits, including a homer, as the Braves beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 Friday night.
Chipper Jones also homered for the Braves, who improved to 4-7 against the Orioles since the inception of interleague play.
Atlanta is 4-1 in Baltimore and 0-6 at Turner Field.
Ashby, obtained Wednesday in a trade with Philadelphia, walked
four and struck out six in his second complete game of the season.
"That's a great way to break in with a new ballclub," said
Braves manager Bobby Cox, who watched the game from the clubhouse
as he began a five-game suspension for bumping umpire Derryl
Cousins during a July 4 game against Montreal.
Cox was replaced by dugout coach Pat Corrales.
Ashby (5-7) has won three straight starts, the last two against
the Orioles, and has yielded only four earned runs in his last 24
innings.
Baltimore got three hits in the first inning and only four more
the rest of the way.
"The first couple of innings I think I was jumpy and kind of
fast," Ashby said. "We got in a groove and we made the pitches we
had to make to minimize big innings. It's a good win for us."
After wondering for weeks whether he would be dealt by the
Phillies, Ashby was delighted to have some normalcy restored to his
life.
"It feels good to have everything over with, the rumors and
everything. It's an honor being here," he said. "Knowing I'm
going to be here the rest of the year is a big load off my
shoulders."
It was the NL-high seventh complete game for the Braves, who
also own the second-best ERA in the league.
"Ashby looked like he had very location with his fastball, had
a good sinker going for him and got some big strikeouts," Orioles
manager Mike Hargrove said. "He had the same good velocity we've
seen in the past, with better location."
Sidney Ponson (5-5) gave up three runs and six hits in seven
innings. He allowed both Atlanta home runs and has yielded 19 in 19
starts this season.
"Sidney threw the ball well enough to win. We just didn't score
enough runs for him," Hargrove said.
Albert Belle had two hits and his 70th RBI for the Orioles and
Harold Baines hit two singles, giving him 1,600 hits as a
designated hitter.
Atlanta second baseman Quilvio Veras hurt his knee during a
first-inning rundown and left in the bottom of the fourth. He is
scheduled to have an MRI on Saturday.
The Orioles got three hits and a walk in the first inning but
scored only one run. Delino DeShields was thrown out at third on an
RBI single by Belle and the inning ended with Belle tagged out
trying to score on a single by B.J. Surhoff.
"That was good, aggressive baserunning. The Braves just made
the plays," Hargrove said. "We put the ball in play with runners
in scoring position, something we didn't do the rest of the game."
Ponson held the Braves hitless until Jones hit his 23rd homer, a
two-out drive in the fourth inning that made it 1-1. Galarraga hit
No. 21 leading off the fifth, a 397-foot shot to center.
"As soon as I hit it I knew I crushed the ball, but I know the
wind is blowing in and I see (Brady) Anderson running hard to the
wall," Galarraga said. "As soon as the ball is gone I'm really
happy because I put the game 2-1."
Galarraga was credited with a double in the seventh when Belle
broke slowly on his sinking blooper to right. Wally Joyner then
singled and Javy Lopez hit a sacrifice fly.
Galarraga led off the ninth with a single off Alan Mills and was
replaced by pinch-runner Trenidad Hubbard, who scored on a single
by Reggie Sanders.
Atlanta is 18-2 in games in which Galarraga homers. ...
Braves CF Andruw Jones robbed Mike Bordick of a third-inning hit
with a sensational diving catch. ... Ponson's loss means the
Orioles do not have a starter with a winning record. ... It was
only the fifth game that Baltimore did not get an extra-base hit.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Baltimore Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Mets 6
Boston 4
Cleveland 9
Pittsburgh 3
Houston 9
Detroit 4
NY Yankees 6
Florida 2
Toronto 3
Philadelphia 2
Tampa Bay 8
Montreal 5
Atlanta 4
Baltimore 1
St. Louis 9
Chi. White Sox 4
Milwaukee 4
Kansas City 0
Chicago Cubs 6
Minnesota 2
Arizona 6
Texas 1
Seattle 7
San Diego 5
Anaheim 5
Los Angeles 3
San Francisco 4
Oakland 2
Cincinnati 9
Colorado 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Andy Ashby was glad to get that first game over with.
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