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  Sunday, Jul. 30 1:10pm ET
Glavine becomes second-winningest Brave
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

ATLANTA (AP) -- There was nothing unusual about the weather Sunday. It was hot and muggy at Turner Field.

For Tom Glavine, though, it felt like October.

"I always get nervous before I pitch," Glavine said after becoming the third active pitcher to win 200 games as the Atlanta Braves beat Houston 6-3. "It was more excitement than nervousness, though. It felt like a playoff game."

Tom Glavine
Tom Glavine's 200 career wins, all with the Braves, trail Phil Niekro by 26 for the club's all-time lead.

Glavine (13-5) allowed three runs and seven hits in eight-plus innings to join teammate Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens with 200 victories. He is the 96th pitcher overall to reach the plateau.

Only Hall of Famer Phil Niekro (226) has more victories with Atlanta. Glavine, who won his sixth straight start, was given a standing ovation as he came out to start the ninth.

"I wanted to pitch it. I felt good," Glavine said. "But we missed a chance to turn a double play, and that was it for me. Fortunately, (Mike) Remlinger came in and shut the door."

Glavine was replaced after allowing an RBI single to Moises Alou that made it 6-2. With runners on first and second, manager Bobby Cox brought in Remlinger, who struck out Lance Berkman and gave up a run-scoring single to Tony Eusebio.

Remlinger finished for his ninth save in 11 opportunities.

Glavine improved to 7-0 against the Astros since the beginning of the 1996 season. During the last 11 seasons, he has more victories than any other left-hander. He is 200-121 in his career.

"Not many players have done that," Cox said. "I saw Niekro win his 200th. I saw Maddux and now Tommy. Hopefully, we'll see John Smoltz get there, too."

The Braves put the game away with three runs in the fifth. Rafael Furcal singled, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Mitch Meluskey's throwing error.

Chipper Jones' RBI single scored Furcal to make it 4-0. Following a double by Wally Joyner, Javy Lopez hit a two-run double that put Atlanta up 6-0. Lopez improved to .405 (30-for-74) with 22 RBI in July.

An RBI single by Jeff Bagwell cut the lead to 6-1 in the sixth and was all Houston would get until the ninth inning.

"We had a few hard-hit balls, but Glavine is a tough pitcher to hit long balls off of because he doesn't throw the ball over the middle of the plate," Houston manager Larry Dierker said. "Everybody knows that. That's why he's a former Cy Young winner, an All-Star and maybe on his way to the Hall of Fame."

The Braves scored twice in the second inning off Chris Holt (4-12). Joyner, who reached on an error by Bagwell at first, moved to second on Lopez's single. After both runners advanced on a passed ball, Joyner scored on Keith Lockhart's groundout. George Lombard's RBI single made it 2-0.

Lockhart hit an RBI double in the fourth to make it 3-0. Lockhart was thrown out on the play in an attempt to get a triple.

"It seems like some of us who haven't played a whole lot this year are getting some hits now that we're getting some at-bats," said Joyner, who went 3-for-4 to move one hit shy of 2,000. "It's nice to see."

Holt gave up six runs -- four earned -- and nine hits in five innings.

Game notes
Glavine, a seven-time All-Star, has gone 24-9 with a 3.51 ERA in his last 42 starts, dating back to June 9, 1999. ... Meluskey sprained his right shoulder trying to throw out Furcal and was replaced by Eusebio. Meluskey is listed as day-to-day. ... The Astros eighth ended with CF Andruw Jones making a spectacular diving catch. With Julio Lugo on first, Jones ran hard to his right to rob Bagwell of an RBI and keep the score at 6-1.
 


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AUDIO/VIDEO
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 Tom Glavine is excited to get his 200th win in front of his family.
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