Harris' six hits buoy Braves past Cards <h3>ATLANTA 14, ST. LOUIS 6</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Journeyman Willie Harris had a night toremember. Harris had tied an Atlanta franchise record with six hits anddrove in a career-high six runs to power the Atlanta Braves to a14-6 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The 29-year-old Harris already had a productive night throughthe first two frames. In the first inning, Harris had a single, stolen base and camearound to score on Brian McCann's single. Harris then smashedan RBI single and scored on Chipper Jones' double in the second. Harris, who did not have an extra-base hit since June 9, laced atwo-run triple off St. Louis starter Braden Looper (6-4) intothe right-centerfield gap to give Atlanta a 6-1 edge. Harris did himself one better in his third at-bat by clearingthe bases with a bases-loaded triple off reliever Troy Percivalin the fourth. In doing so, he became the first Brave sinceAndruw Jones to collect six RBIs in one game. Jonesaccomplished the feat on July 18, 2006. Harris matched another personal milestone, collecting his fifthhit with a single in the sixth before capping his 6-for-6 nightwith a single in the eighth. The six hits tied a franchise record, set seven times, last byFelix Millan against San Francisco on July 6, 1970. Harris' previous best was five hits, which he set against KansasCity on August 10, 2004 when he was with the Chicago White Sox. Harris, a Georgia native, had played eight seasons in theOrioles, White Sox and Red Sox organizations before signing aminor-league deal with his hometown Braves in the offseason. Hehad never drove in more than two runs a game. Harris, who factored in 10 of Atlanta's 14 runs, gave fellowjourneyman Buddy Carlyle (5-2) more than enough run support. Making his first start against the Cardinals, the righthandedCarlyle surrendered three runs and seven hits in six innings toimproved to 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in over his last five starts.Carlyle has played for 18 different professional clubs in themajors and minors since 1996. Carlyle also helped out at the plate with two hits, three runsscored and three RBI. Chipper Jones capped Atlanta's scoring with his 16th homer ofthe season in Atlanta's seven-run fourth. Looper (7-8) allowed seven runs and 10 hits, walked one andstruck out three in 2 2/3 frames - the shortest outing for therighthander since he was converted to a starter at the beginningof the season. Looper's outing continued a brutal stretch for Cardinals'pitchers, who have surrendered a whopping 72 runs to the Bravesover their last seven contests. St. Louis has allowed 14 ormore runs in four of those games. Eric Duncan homered and drove in three runs for the Cardinals.
Harris' six hits buoy Braves past Cards <h3>ATLANTA 14, ST. LOUIS 6</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Journeyman Willie Harris had a night toremember. Harris had tied an Atlanta franchise record with six hits anddrove in a career-high six runs to power the Atlanta Braves to a14-6 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The 29-year-old Harris already had a productive night throughthe first two frames. In the first inning, Harris had a single, stolen base and camearound to score on Brian McCann's single. Harris then smashedan RBI single and scored on Chipper Jones' double in the second. Harris, who did not have an extra-base hit since June 9, laced atwo-run triple off St. Louis starter Braden Looper (6-4) intothe right-centerfield gap to give Atlanta a 6-1 edge. Harris did himself one better in his third at-bat by clearingthe bases with a bases-loaded triple off reliever Troy Percivalin the fourth. In doing so, he became the first Brave sinceAndruw Jones to collect six RBIs in one game. Jonesaccomplished the feat on July 18, 2006. Harris matched another personal milestone, collecting his fifthhit with a single in the sixth before capping his 6-for-6 nightwith a single in the eighth. "You have bad games, everybody's going to have bad games," saidHarris, who had just three hits in his last 21 at-bats cominginto this one. "You go home and you think about it and you tryto fix it. I had no idea I could fix it like that today." "Going 6-for-6 is extra hard to do," Braves manager Bobby Coxsaid. "I bet there hadn't been 10 recently in the last 50 or 60years." The six hits tied a franchise record, set seven times, last byFelix Millan against San Francisco on July 6, 1970. "I wasn't even born yet," Harris said. "It was so much fun tobe a part of it. I really don't know how to describe it." It was also the first time a player has recorded six hits atTurner Field since Cal Ripken was 6-for-6 on June 13, 1999. "It was pretty awesome," Chipper Jones said. "The only time Isaw someone go 6-for-6 was when Cal Ripken did it a couple ofyears back. (Harris has) been struggling. Tonight, he got itstarted in the leadoff role and spurred our offense." Harris played with Ripken in his first season in the majors in2001. "I had an opportunity to play with Cal Ripken when he was havinghis celebrations (in his final season)," Harris said. "He toldme, 'Good luck, hopefully you can play 25 years.' Cal Ripkenwas a great, great person. He taught me a lot." Harris' previous best was five hits, which he set against KansasCity on August 10, 2004 when he was with the Chicago White Sox. Harris, a Georgia native, had played eight seasons in theOrioles, White Sox and Red Sox organizations before signing aminor-league deal with his hometown Braves in the offseason. Hehad never drove in more than two runs a game. "I like to say I was just lucky today," Harris said. "I'm justthankful for the day and am going to enjoy it. Days like thisdon't come around often."Harris, who factored in 10 of Atlanta's 14 runs, gave fellowjourneyman Buddy Carlyle (5-2) more than enough run support. Making his first start against the Cardinals, the righthandedCarlyle surrendered three runs and seven hits in six innings toimproved to 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in over his last five starts. "I was OK," Carlyle said. "Sometimes it's hard to pitch whenyou're getting a long break between innings and scoring runs.It's difficult to get into a rhythm." Carlyle has played for 18 different professional clubs in themajors and minors since 1996. Carlyle also helped out at the plate with two hits, three runsscored and three RBI. Chipper Jones capped Atlanta's scoring with his 16th homer ofthe season in Atlanta's seven-run fourth. Looper (7-8) allowed seven runs and 10 hits, walked one andstruck out three in 2 2/3 frames - the shortest outing for therighthander since he was converted to a starter at the beginningof the season. "Basically, I pretty much stunk," Looper said. "I wasn't ableto get the ball down and every time, they took advantage of it." Looper's outing continued a brutal stretch for Cardinals'pitchers, who have surrendered a whopping 72 runs to the Bravesover their last seven contests. St. Louis has allowed 14 ormore runs in four of those games. "If we had those pitches to hit (tonight), we would have scoredin double figures," St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said. "Theball was in the middle of the plate. Looper just had a toughtime making pitches." Eric Duncan homered and drove in three runs for the Cardinals.
Harris' six hits buoy Braves past Cards <h3>ATLANTA 14, ST. LOUIS 6</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Journeyman Willie Harris had a night toremember. Harris had tied a franchise record with six hits and drove in acareer-high six runs to power the Atlanta Braves to a 14-6 routof the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The 29-year-old Harris already had a productive night throughthe first two frames. In the first inning, Harris had a single, stolen base and camearound to score on Brian McCann's single. Harris then smashedan RBI single and scored on Chipper Jones' double in the second. Harris, who did not have an extra-base hit since June 9, laced atwo-run triple off St. Louis starter Braden Looper into theright-centerfield gap to give Atlanta a 6-1 edge. Harris did himself one better in his fourth at-bat by clearingthe bases with a bases-loaded triple off reliever Troy Percivalin the fourth. In doing so, he became the first Brave sinceAndruw Jones to collect six RBIs in one game.Jones accomplishedthe feat on July 18, 2006. Harris matched another personal milestone, collecting his fifthhit with a single in the sixth before capping his 6-for-6 nightwith a single in the eighth. "You have bad games, everybody's going to have bad games," saidHarris, who had just three hits in his last 21 at-bats cominginto this one. "You go home and you think about it and you tryto fix it. I had no idea I could fix it like that today." "Going 6-for-6 is extra hard to do," Braves manager Bobby Coxsaid. "I bet there hadn't been 10 recently in the last 50 or 60years." The six hits tied a franchise record, set seven times, last byFelix Millan against San Francisco on July 6, 1970. "I wasn't even born yet," Harris said. "It was so much fun tobe a part of it. I really don't know how to describe it." It was also the first time a player has recorded six hits atTurner Field since Cal Ripken was 6-for-6 on June 13, 1999. "It was pretty awesome," Chipper Jones said. "The only time Isaw someone go 6-for-6 was when Cal Ripken did it a couple ofyears back. (Harris has) been struggling. Tonight, he got itstarted in the leadoff role and spurred our offense." Harris played with Ripken in his first season in the majors in2001. "I had an opportunity to play with Cal Ripken when he was havinghis celebrations (in his final season)," Harris said. "He toldme, 'Good luck, hopefully you can play 25 years.' Cal Ripkenwas a great, great person. He taught me a lot." Harris' previous best was five hits, which he set against KansasCity on August 10, 2004 when he was with the Chicago White Sox. Harris, a Georgia native, had played eight seasons in theOrioles, White Sox and Red Sox organizations before signing aminor-league deal with his hometown Braves in the offseason. Hehad never drove in more than two runs a game. "I like to say I was just lucky today," Harris said. "I'm justthankful for the day and am going to enjoy it. Days like thisdon't come around often." Harris, who factored in 10 ofAtlanta's 14 runs, gave fellow journeyman Buddy Carlyle (5-2)more than enough run support. Making his first start against the Cardinals, the righthandedCarlyle surrendered three runs and seven hits in six innings toimproved to 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in over his last five starts. "I was OK," Carlyle said. "Sometimes it's hard to pitch whenyou're getting a long break between innings and scoring runs.It's difficult to get into a rhythm." Carlyle has played for 18 different professional clubs in themajors and minors since 1996. Carlyle also helped out at the plate with two hits, three runsscored and three RBI. Chipper Jones capped Atlanta's scoring with his 16th homer ofthe season in Atlanta's seven-run fourth. Looper (7-8) allowed seven runs and 10 hits, walked one andstruck out three in 2 2/3 frames - the shortest outing for therighthander since he was converted to a starter at the beginningof the season. "Basically, I pretty much stunk," Looper said. "I wasn't ableto get the ball down and every time, they took advantage of it." Looper's outing continued a brutal stretch for Cardinals'pitchers, who have surrendered a whopping 72 runs to the Bravesover their last seven contests. St. Louis has allowed 14 ormore runs in four of those games. "If we had those pitches to hit (tonight), we would have scoredin double figures," St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said. "Theball was in the middle of the plate. Looper just had a toughtime making pitches." Eric Duncan homered and drove in three runs for the Cardinals.
