ATLANTA (AP) -- Chipper Jones drove in four runs to back a strong
start from John Smoltz, helping the Atlanta Braves beat Washington
13-to-noting tonight and sweep a three-game series from the
Nationals.
Atlanta had a season-high 22 hits and scored in six of the first
seven innings, snapping out of a dreadful five-game losing streak
in which they scored just one run against Detroit and Boston. It
was the Braves' best offensive day since May 27th, when they beat
Philadelphia 13-to-6.
Yunel Escobar and Edgar Renteria each had R-B-I singles and
Jones had an R-B-I fielder's choice off Billy Traber in the fifth
inning, turning a 7-zip lead into a 10-to-nothing rout.
Brian McCann followed with a two-run homer in the sixth, his
seventh of the year, and Jeff Francoeur had an R-B-I single in the
seventh.
Escobar had four hits and scored four runs, Francoeur finished
3-for-3 with three R-B-I's, and Renteria had three hits and drove
in two runs.
Smoltz (9-4) struck out seven and walked one, leaving for a
pinch-runner in the fifth after throwing only 89 pitches.