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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) -- Chipper Jones figured he owed Greg Maddux a win.
Jones hit his first home run in 77 at-bats, a two-run shot, and
Maddux pitched 6 1/3 strong innings Saturday as the Atlanta Braves
beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1.
|  | | Chipper Jones pointed the Braves in the right direction with a first-inning homer off the Dodgers' Ismael Valdes. |
In his last start, Maddux pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings at
Cincinnati and left with a 2-0 lead, but the Reds rallied in the
ninth when Jones' error with two outs and none on gave Cincinnati a
break, and the Reds went on to tie it with two runs in the inning
and win it in the 10th.
"Hopefully, it'll help make up to Greg that win I cost him in
Cincinnati," Jones said. "I was kidding with him the other day
and told him I hope he doesn't end his career with 299 wins. He'll
be thinking about that one and remember that was the game I gave
away."
Maddux, who has 234 career victories, had no such thoughts.
"Heck no. We'd probably be a .500 team without him. That
happens. Everybody is going to throw one away now and then," he
said.
Jones hit his 25th homer just barely over the right-field fence
in the first inning, after Rafael Furcal reached on an error. The
reigning NL MVP broke out of 1-for-27 slump -- the worst of his
career -- with a go-ahead RBI double in a five-run eighth inning in
Friday night's 7-2 victory over Los Angeles.
"I'm swinging a lot better. It's starting to come. It's not
there yet," he said. "Last week was very tough mentally because
I'm so used to helping this team win and produce and to actually
hurt this club in a couple of games, whether it be defensively,
blowing a game the other night, or offensively, not coming through
with runners in scoring position."
Jones's first homer since July 18 came off Los Angeles starter
Ismael Valdes (2-6) and gave Atlanta a 2-0 lead.
Maddux (13-6) hadn't won since that July 18 game, an 8-2 victory
over Tampa Bay. He had three losses and a no-decision in his four
previous starts, despite giving up only nine earned runs in 28
innings. The Braves were shut out twice over that span.
"I had been throwing the ball well lately, so it was no big
deal. It just makes for better sleep," said Maddux.
Maddux gave up seven hits, one run, walked one and struck out
five.
"It's tough to score runs against him. He's the last guy you
want to run into when you're struggling offensively," said Los
Angeles catcher Todd Hundley after the Dodgers lost for the sixth
time in seven games.
"The guy can make the ball move. When I struck out my first
time up, it looked like it was outside. On TV it looked like it was
on the corner," he said. "It's an unhittable pitch. He's the only
one who has total command of that pitch."
Kerry Ligtenberg pitched two hitless innings for his 11th save
in 12 chances.
The Braves padded their lead to 3-1 in the second inning on
singles by B.J. Surhoff, Maddux and Furcal off Valdes.
The Dodgers' right-hander went seven innings, gave up five hits,
three runs -- two earned -- walked one and struck out five.
"Our pitchers are doing their jobs. We're just not
manufacturing any runs," said Gary Sheffield, who doubled off
Maddux in the first inning following a single by Mark Grudzielanek.
Both were stranded when Maddux struck out Shawn Green and got Eric
Karros on a fly out.
Atlanta added a run in the seventh off reliever Matt Herges on a
leadoff triple by Keith Lockhart and a sacrifice fly by
pinch-hitter Wally Joyner.
The Dodgers' run off Maddux came in the sixth on two-out doubles
by Green and Karros.
Game notes
The Braves have won seven of eight from the Dodgers this
season and are 20-6 against Los Angeles since the start of the 1998
season. ... LA's Gary Sheffield struck out four times Friday night
in one game for the first time in 1,419 career games. ...
Saturday's game was televised nationally by Fox, was the game of
the week in Japan on PPV Japan, Fox Sports Australia and Televisa
in Mexico. ... Dodgers third baseman Adrian Beltre was struck in
the helmet on a throw by catcher Paul Bako while stealing second in
the second inning, and remained on the ground for about a minute
holding his head, but stayed in the game. ... Valdes, traded back
to the Dodgers on July 26 from the Chicago Cubs for two minor
leaguers, was 2-4 with a 5.37 ERA with Chicago and was 0-1 with a
15.19 ERA in two previous games with LA. ... The crowd of 47,806
was Atlanta's 17th sellout of the season.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Chipper Jones is glad to be back, making positive contributions.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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