The Braves offense finally awoke from its four game slumber to put up a 10-spot in San Diego. The Padres stayed close most of the night, and made it look like a tighter game than it really was. John Thompson's ERA went above 3.00 for the first time since early April, but it was enough to get the win.
The Jones Boys supplied the offense, with Andruw hitting a two-run homerun in each of his first two at bats, and Chipper going 4 for 5 with three runs scored and two stolen bases to raise his average to .315. Everyone in the lineup had a hit except for the pitcher Thomson and Jeff Francoeur. Francoeur had a forgettable game, committing an error in the field which allowed a run to score and taking a golden sombrero at the plate with four strikeouts.
For Andruw, the two homeruns end a 71 at-bat homerless drought that dates back three weeks. This game hopefully signals a turnaround for the Joneses. During the 71 at-bat homerless drought Andruw had been batting just .225 (16-71). Breaking out like this in a park as hard to hit homeruns in as PETCO is another good sign, but will he take the confidence from this game into the series in Chicago?
Atlanta 10, San Diego 6 at PETCO Park
Atlanta Record: (24-23)
San Diego Record: (24-23)
Winning pitcher - John Thomson (2-3)
Losing pitcher - Chris Young (3-3)
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In some NL East news, the Mets acquired Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez from the Diamondbacks in exchange for reliever Jorge Julio. El Duque has not been that good this season, posting a 6.11 ERA and giving up more than a hit per inning pitched.
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