Associated Press
ATLANTA ó The Braves did it all. Pitched well. Went deep. Manufactured runs. Played some brilliant defense.
Tommy Hanson pitched four-hit ball over seven innings for his first win, Jason Heyward and Brian McCann homered, and Chipper Jones drove in two runs to lead Atlanta Braves past the Florida Marlins 5-0 Tuesday night.
Hanson (1-2) finally got a few runs to work with and the Braves turned in several nifty defensive plays, two of them diving stops by shortstop Alex Gonzalez.
ěWe did a little bit of everything,î Jones said. ěTonight was as perfect a nine-inning game as weíve played yet. Itís a good formula. Hopefully weíll see a lot more of it.î
The Braves has struggled offensively over their first 10 games, scoring three runs or fewer seven times ó including both of Hansonís starts. This time, that wasnít a problem. Heyward homered in the fourth, McCann in the fifth.
There just werenít many people there to see it. The announced crowd of 13,856 was the smallest in Turner Field history.
Nationals 7, Phillies 4
WASHINGTON ó Jayson Werth homered and doubled to lead the Washington Nationals to a 7-4 victory in his first appearance against Philadelphia since leaving the Phillies as a free agent.
Werth doubled leading off the fourth inning and scored, starting a three-run inning that gave the Nationals the lead for good. His solo home run in the fifth gave Washington a 5-1 lead.
Werth signed a $126 million, seven-year contract with the Nationals in offseason. Phillies fans made up a large percentage of the sparse crowd at Nationals Park, and they booed him each time he came to bat ó or fielded a fly ball in right field.
Livan Hernandez (1-1) allowed one run on seven hits, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter in 62/3 innings. Joe Blanton (0-1) worked six innings, giving up five runs on seven hits. In two starts this season, Blanton has allowed 12 runs in 10 1-3 innings for a 10.45 ERA.
Astros 11, Cubs 2
HOUSTON ó Brett Myers kept up his dominance against Chicago, and Angel Sanchez tied a career high with four hits to help Houston rout the Cubs.
Myers (1-0) limited Chicago to eight hits and one run in seven innings to improve to 11-3 against the Cubs.
Houston scored three runs off James Russell (1-1) in the first inning, two more in the second and built a 7-0 lead after Sanchez singled in two runs in the fourth.
Russell was making his first career start after 59 relief appearances as a replacement for the injured Andrew Cashner. Russell allowed seven hits and five runs in 12/3 innings.
Tyler Colvin homered for Chicago.
Pirates-Milwaukee ppd.
Brewers-Mets ppd.
Rain prevented the teams from getting their games in.
Hanson (1-2) finally got a few runs to work with and the Braves turned in several nifty defensive plays, two of them diving stops by shortstop Alex Gonzalez.
“We did a little bit of everything,” Jones said. “Tonight was as perfect a nine-inning game as we’ve played yet. It’s a good formula. Hopefully we’ll see a lot more of it.”
The Braves has struggled offensively over their first 10 games, scoring three runs or fewer seven times ó including both of Hanson’s starts. This time, that wasn’t a problem. Heyward homered in the fourth, McCann in the fifth.
There just weren’t many people there to see it. The announced crowd of 13,856 was the smallest in Turner Field history.