GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: PITTSBURGH (40-48) at ATLANTA (47-42)

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Ascanio relieved P Moylan.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 0
ATLANTA 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: T Armas (.286, 0 HR, 1 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Castillo hit for T Armas.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 0
ATLANTA 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J Castillo (.243, 0 HR, 10 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY RONNY PAULINO SCORED JASON BAY.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R PAULINO ON SECOND, J BAUTISTA ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 1
ATLANTA 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J WILSON (.263, 2-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 8 1
ATLANTA 3 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 x 9 11 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PIT - IAN SNELL, JOHN GRABOW (6TH), TONY ARMAS (6TH) AND RONNY
PAULINO

ATL - TIM HUDSON, PETER MOYLAN (8TH), JOSE ASCANIO
(9TH) AND BRIAN MCCANN

HOME RUNS: PIT - NONE

ATL - BRIAN MCCANN (10) OFF IAN SNELL IN THE 1ST, 2 ON
ANDRUW JONES (16) OFF IAN SNELL IN THE 6TH, 0 ON
BRIAN MCCANN (11) OFF IAN SNELL IN THE 6TH, 0 ON</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 8 1
ATLANTA 3 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 x 9 11 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PIT - IAN SNELL, JOHN GRABOW (6TH), TONY ARMAS (6TH) AND RONNY
PAULINO

ATL - TIM HUDSON, PETER MOYLAN (8TH), JOSE ASCANIO
(9TH) AND BRIAN MCCANN


WP - TIM HUDSON (9-5)
LP - IAN SNELL (7-6)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: PIT - NONE

ATL - BRIAN MCCANN (10) OFF IAN SNELL IN THE 1ST, 2 ON
ANDRUW JONES (16) OFF IAN SNELL IN THE 6TH, 0 ON
BRIAN MCCANN (11) OFF IAN SNELL IN THE 6TH, 0 ON


TIME: 2:28 ATT: 38,922

PROBABLES: PIT - TOM GORZELANNY (9-4, 3.10)
ATL - CHUCK JAMES (8-7, 3.96)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH (1) VS ATLANTA (9) - FINAL

PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N McLouth cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .241
F Sanchez 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .294
M Kata 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A LaRoche 1b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .240
T Armas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
a-J Castillo ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .240
J Bay lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .254
X Nady rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .291
J Bautista 3b 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .258
R Paulino c 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .234
J Wilson ss 4 0 2 0 0 1 4 .262
I Snell p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .100
J Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Phelps 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333

Totals 33 1 8 1 1 6 11

a-struck out looking for T Armas in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - X Nady (16, T Hudson); R Paulino (14, J Ascanio). S - I Snell.
RBI - R Paulino (25). 2-out RBI - R Paulino. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - J Wilson 3, F Sanchez 1. GIDP - F Sanchez. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - A LaRoche (4, ground ball). DP: 1 (J Wilson-F Sanchez-A
LaRoche).


ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
W Harris lf-cf 5 0 1 0 0 1 3 .338
E Renteria ss 4 0 1 2 0 1 1 .319
Y Escobar ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .301
C Jones 3b 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .332
P Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-C James ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .207
J Ascanio p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Jones cf 2 2 1 1 1 0 1 .213
a-M Diaz ph-lf 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .353
B McCann c 4 2 3 4 0 0 2 .269
J Francoeur rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .288
K Johnson 2b 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .287
S Thorman 1b 2 1 0 0 2 2 1 .215
T Hudson p 3 1 1 1 0 0 2 .200
b-C Woodward ph-3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .216

Totals 34 9 11 9 4 7 15

a-hit sacrifice fly to right for A Jones in the 6th; b-popped out to shortstop
for T Hudson in the 7th; c-struck out swinging for P Moylan in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - C Jones (18, I Snell); B McCann (20, I Snell). HR - B Mccann 2
(11, 1st inning off I Snell 2 on, 2 Out, 6th inning off I Snell 0 on, 0 Out), A
Jones (16, 6th inning off I Snell 0 on, 0 Out). SF - M Diaz. RBI - B McCann 4
(53), A Jones (55), T Hudson (3), E Renteria 2 (47), M Diaz (20). 2-out RBI - B
McCann 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Jones 1, T Hudson 1, B
McCann 1. GIDP - E Renteria. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - C Jones (4, 2nd base off I Snell/R Paulino).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (S Thorman-E Renteria-T Hudson).


----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 000 000 001 -- 1
ATLANTA - 300 006 00x -- 9
----------------------------------------------------

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
I Snell (L, 7-6) 5 8 7 4 2 4 3 3.11
J Grabow 1/3 3 2 2 1 1 0 6.04
T Armas 2 2/3 0 0 0 1 2 0 8.12

ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr era
T Hudson (W, 9-5) 7 5 0 0 1 4 0 3.35
P Moylan 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.08
J Ascanio 1 3 1 1 0 2 0 9.00

I Snell pitched to 4 batters in the 6th.

IBB - S Thorman (by I Snell). Pitches-strikes: I Snell 94-61; J Grabow 14-9;
T Armas 33-19; T Hudson 89-55; P Moylan 11-8; J Ascanio 15-10. Ground balls-fly
balls: I Snell 8-3; J Grabow 0-0; T Armas 1-5; T Hudson 13-4; P Moylan 1-2; J
Ascanio 0-1. Batters faced: I Snell 25; J Grabow 5; T Armas 9; T Hudson 26; P
Moylan 3; J Ascanio 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Fieldin Culbreth. 1B--Paul Schrieber. 2B--Tim Mcclelland.
3B--Marty Foster.

T--2:28. Att--38,922.
Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 4 mph, in from
center.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
PITTSBURGH 1
ATLANTA 9 FINAL</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (1) AT ATLANTA (9) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ATLANTA 1ST: W Harris flied out to left. E Renteria grounded out to
pitcher. C Jones safe at first on error by first baseman A LaRoche. C Jones
stole second. A Jones walked. B McCann homered to right, C Jones and A Jones
scored. J Francoeur grounded out to third. (3 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error)
PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 6TH: A Jones homered to left center. B McCann homered to center.
J Francoeur singled to center. K Johnson singled to right, J Francoeur to
second. J Grabow relieved I Snell. S Thorman walked, J Francoeur to third,
K Johnson to second. T Hudson singled to left, J Francoeur scored, K Johnson to
third, S Thorman to second. W Harris struck out swinging. E Renteria singled
to center, K Johnson and S Thorman scored, T Hudson to second. C Jones singled
to left, T Hudson to third, E Renteria to second. M Diaz hit for A Jones.
T Armas relieved J Grabow. J Phelps at first base. M Diaz hit sacrifice fly to
right, T Hudson scored. B McCann flied out to center. (6 Runs, 7 Hits, 0
Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 9.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: J Ascanio relieved P Moylan. J Castillo hit for T Armas.
J Castillo struck out looking. J Bay singled to center. X Nady flied out to
center. J Bautista singled to right, J Bay to third. R Paulino doubled to
deep left, J Bay scored, J Bautista to third. J Wilson struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1, ATLANTA 9.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (1) AT ATLANTA (9) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ATLANTA 1ST: W Harris flied out to left. E Renteria grounded out to
pitcher. C Jones safe at first on error by first baseman A LaRoche. C Jones
stole second. A Jones walked. B McCann homered to right, C Jones and A Jones
scored. J Francoeur grounded out to third. (3 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error)
PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 6TH: A Jones homered to left center. B McCann homered to center.
J Francoeur singled to center. K Johnson singled to right, J Francoeur to
second. J Grabow relieved I Snell. S Thorman walked, J Francoeur to third,
K Johnson to second. T Hudson singled to left, J Francoeur scored, K Johnson to
third, S Thorman to second. W Harris struck out swinging. E Renteria singled
to center, K Johnson and S Thorman scored, T Hudson to second. C Jones singled
to left, T Hudson to third, E Renteria to second. M Diaz hit for A Jones.
T Armas relieved J Grabow. J Phelps at first base. M Diaz hit sacrifice fly to
right, T Hudson scored. B McCann flied out to center. (6 Runs, 7 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 9.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: J Ascanio relieved P Moylan. J Castillo hit for T Armas.
J Castillo struck out looking. J Bay singled to center. X Nady flied out to
center. J Bautista singled to right, J Bay to third. R Paulino doubled to
deep left, J Bay scored, J Bautista to third. J Wilson struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1, ATLANTA 9.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (1) AT ATLANTA (9) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pittsburgh Starting Lineups -- N McLouth CF, F Sanchez 2B, A LaRoche 1B, J Bay LF,
X Nady RF, J Bautista 3B, R Paulino C, J Wilson SS, I Snell RHP.

Atlanta Starting Lineups -- W Harris LF, E Renteria SS, C Jones 3B, A Jones CF,
B McCann C, J Francoeur RF, K Johnson 2B, S Thorman 1B, T Hudson RHP.

Umpires -- Fieldin Culbreth (HP), Paul Schrieber (1B), Tim Mcclelland (2B),
Marty Foster (3B).

Gametime Weather: 82 degrees, Cloudy, wind in from center at 4 mph.


PITTSBURGH 1ST: N McLouth singled to left. F Sanchez grounded into double
play, first to shortstop to pitcher, N McLouth out at second. A LaRoche singled
to right center. J Bay grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 0.

ATLANTA 1ST: W Harris flied out to left. E Renteria grounded out to
pitcher. C Jones safe at first on error by first baseman A LaRoche. C Jones
stole second. A Jones walked. B McCann homered to right, C Jones and A Jones
scored. J Francoeur grounded out to third. (3 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error)
PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

PITTSBURGH 2ND: X Nady grounded out to third. J Bautista struck out
swinging. R Paulino struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 2ND: K Johnson struck out looking. S Thorman struck out swinging.
T Hudson grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
ATLANTA 3.

PITTSBURGH 3RD: J Wilson reached on infield single to third. I Snell
sacrificed to pitcher, J Wilson to second. N McLouth flied out to center.
F Sanchez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 3RD: W Harris grounded out to first. E Renteria struck out
swinging. C Jones doubled to deep left. A Jones flied out to center. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: A LaRoche lined out to center. J Bay grounded out to
pitcher. X Nady grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 4TH: B McCann doubled to right. J Francoeur struck out swinging.
K Johnson popped out to shortstop. S Thorman intentionally walked. T Hudson
grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: J Bautista flied out to center. R Paulino grounded out to
third. J Wilson singled to center. I Snell struck out looking. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 5TH: W Harris singled to left. E Renteria grounded into double
play, shortstop to second to first, W Harris out at second. C Jones grounded
out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 3.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: N McLouth grounded out to first. F Sanchez grounded out to
first. A LaRoche flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
ATLANTA 3.

ATLANTA 6TH: A Jones homered to left center. B McCann homered to center.
J Francoeur singled to center. K Johnson singled to right, J Francoeur to
second. J Grabow relieved I Snell. S Thorman walked, J Francoeur to third,
K Johnson to second. T Hudson singled to left, J Francoeur scored, K Johnson to
third, S Thorman to second. W Harris struck out swinging. E Renteria singled
to center, K Johnson and S Thorman scored, T Hudson to second. C Jones singled
to left, T Hudson to third, E Renteria to second. M Diaz hit for A Jones.
T Armas relieved J Grabow. J Phelps at first base. M Diaz hit sacrifice fly to
right, T Hudson scored. B McCann flied out to center. (6 Runs, 7 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 9.

PITTSBURGH 7TH: W Harris in center field. M Diaz in left field. J Bay
struck out swinging. X Nady doubled to deep center. J Bautista walked.
R Paulino grounded into fielder's choice to second, J Bautista out at second,
X Nady to third. J Wilson grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 9.

ATLANTA 7TH: M Kata at second base. J Francoeur flied out to center.
K Johnson walked. S Thorman struck out swinging. C Woodward hit for T Hudson.
C Woodward popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
ATLANTA 9.

PITTSBURGH 8TH: Y Escobar at shortstop. P Moylan relieved T Hudson.
C Woodward at third base. J Phelps grounded out to shortstop. N McLouth popped
out to shortstop. M Kata flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 9.

ATLANTA 8TH: W Harris grounded out to first. Y Escobar flied out to right.
C James hit for P Moylan. C James struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, ATLANTA 9.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: J Ascanio relieved P Moylan. J Castillo hit for T Armas.
J Castillo struck out looking. J Bay singled to center. X Nady flied out to
center. J Bautista singled to right, J Bay to third. R Paulino doubled to
deep left, J Bay scored, J Bautista to third. J Wilson struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 1, ATLANTA 9.</div>

 

McCann, Hudson shine as Braves rout Pirates

<h3>ATLANTA 9, PITTSBURGH 1</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Brain McCann homered twice and Tim Hudsonhurled seven scoreless innings as the Atlanta Braves coasted toa 9-1 triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of athree-game series on Friday.


Hudson (9-5) scattered five hits with a walk and four strikeoutsen route to winning his third straight decision. The31-year-old righthander needed 89 pitches - 55 strikes - todispatch of a light-hitting Pirates lineup, which had no playerbatting over .300.


McCann, who smashed a three-run homer in the first, followedwith his 11th blast off Pirates starter Ian Snell (7-6) in thesixth, giving the Braves a 5-0 edge. It was the second careermulti-homer game for Atlanta's All-Star catcher, who has threeshots in his last two contests.


Hudson also helped his own cause with an RBI single during thesix-run sixth.


Friday's game provided a boost of confidence for McCann andteammate Andruw Jones, who both struggled mightily in the firsthalf of the season.


A perennial Gold Glove winner, Jones flirted with the Mendozaline for much of July before finally finding his stroke inAtlanta's series against San Diego just before the All-Starbreak. McCann was selected to the National League All-Star teamdespite batting just .235 (40-for-170) since returning from afinger injury on May 4.


Jones continued his torrid hitting by smashing a homer toleft-center field in the sixth. The 30-year-old has recordedseven hits in his last 13 at-bats to raise his average to .213.

Former Brave Adam LaRoche's miscue in the first inning helpedAtlanta build 3-0 advantage.


With two outs, Chipper Jones hit a grounder to first, but theball took a high hop that LaRoche failed to handle. Thinking hefielded the ball, the often aloof LaRoche started runningtoward first base.


Second baseman Freddy Sanchez fielded the ball, but hit LaRoche,who was in the way of the throw.


After Snell walked Andruw Jones, McCann smashed his 10th homerover the right field wall.


Snell allowed a season-high seven runs and eight hits infive-plus innings.


Edgar Renteria drove in two runs for the Braves, who sent 11batters to the plate in the sixth.


Jack Wilson had two hits for the Pirates, who lost for just thesecond time in seven games.

 

McCann, Hudson shine as Braves rout Pirates

<h3>ATLANTA 9, PITTSBURGH 1</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Brain McCann homered twice and Tim Hudsonhurled seven scoreless innings as the Atlanta Braves coasted toa 9-1 triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of athree-game series on Friday.


Hudson (9-5) scattered five hits with a walk and four strikeoutsen route to winning his third straight decision. The31-year-old righthander needed 89 pitches - 55 strikes - todispatch of a light-hitting Pirates lineup, which had no playerbatting over .300.


"I felt pretty good," said Hudson, who recorded his first winover Pittsburgh since June 11, 2004. "I got away with somepitches. When you get a nice lead like that, you can be allowedto be not so perfect."


"You know (Hudson) has great stuff, but you don't expect him toshut you down," former Brave Adam LaRoche said. "He had hisstuff, but it wasn't like the first time he's had it."

McCann, who smashed a three-run homer in the first, followedwith his 11th blast off Pirates starter Ian Snell (7-6) in thesixth, giving the Braves a 5-0 edge. It was the second careermulti-homer game for All-Star catcher, who has three shots inhis last two contests.


"I wish I could have had this (production) in April, May andJune," McCann said. "Hopefully, I can stay consistent."

Hudson also helped his own cause with an RBI single during thesix-run sixth.


Friday's game provided a boost of confidence for McCann andteammate Andruw Jones, who both struggled mightily in the firsthalf of the season.


A perennial Gold Glove winner, Jones flirted with the Mendozaline for much of July before finally finding his stroke during athree-game series at San Diego prior to the All-Star break.McCann was selected to the National League All-Star team despitebatting just .235 (40-for-170) since returning from a fingerinjury on May 4.


"Andruw is going to carry us the second half," McCann said."Numbers don't lie. If you've hit .270 with 40 homers and 100RBI for 12 years in a row, there's no reason he's not going todo that again this year."


Jones continued his torrid hitting by smashing a homer toleft-center field in the sixth. The 30-year-old has recordedseven hits in his last 13 at-bats to raise his average to .213.

LaRoche's miscue in the first inning helped Atlanta build a 3-0advantage.


With two outs, Chipper Jones hit a grounder to first, but theball took a high hop that LaRoche failed to handle. Thinking hefielded the ball, the often aloof LaRoche started runningtoward first base.


"I thought it was in my pocket (of my glove)," LaRoche said. "Ithought it hit the web. I thought I had it, but it poppedout."


Second baseman Freddy Sanchez fielded the ball, but hit LaRoche,who was in the way of the throw. After Snell walked AndruwJones, McCann smashed his 10th homer over the right field wall.

Atlanta hopes to soon be knocking on the door of the first-placeNew York Mets in the Natinal League East Division, playing 14games against teams with sub-.500 records to open the secondhalf.


"It's nice to get off on the right foot," Hudson said. "Guyscame out and played pretty hard. It's how we wanted to startoff the second half."


Snell allowed a season-high seven runs and eight hits throughfive-plus innings. The righthander fanned four and walked twoen route to losing his four straight start away from home.

"I didn't like my performance at all," Snell said. "My legswere not under me. I was flat. I hit a spot where I wasgetting tired. (My pitches) were up and I was getting tired."

Edgar Renteria drove in two runs for the Braves, who sent 11batters to the plate in the sixth.


Jack Wilson had two hits for the Pirates, who lost for just thesecond time in seven games.

 

McCann, Hudson shine as Braves rout Pirates

<h3>ATLANTA 9, PITTSBURGH 1</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Brian McCann homered twice and Tim Hudsonhurled seven scoreless innings as the Atlanta Braves coasted toa 9-1 triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of athree-game series on Friday.


Hudson (9-5) scattered five hits with a walk and four strikeoutsen route to winning his third straight decision. The31-year-old righthander needed 89 pitches - 55 strikes - todispatch of a light-hitting Pirates lineup, which had no playerbatting over .300.


"I felt pretty good," said Hudson, who recorded his first winover Pittsburgh since June 11, 2004. "I got away with somepitches. When you get a nice lead like that, you can be allowedto be not so perfect."


"You know (Hudson) has great stuff, but you don't expect him toshut you down," former Brave Adam LaRoche said. "He had hisstuff, but it wasn't like the first time he's had it."

McCann, who smashed a three-run homer in the first, followedwith his 11th blast off Pirates starter Ian Snell (7-6) in thesixth, giving the Braves a 5-0 edge. It was the second careermulti-homer game for All-Star catcher, who has three shots inhis last two contests.


"I wish I could have had this (production) in April, May andJune," McCann said. "Hopefully, I can stay consistent."

Hudson also helped his own cause with an RBI single during thesix-run sixth.


Friday's game provided a boost of confidence for McCann andteammate Andruw Jones, who both struggled mightily in the firsthalf of the season.


A perennial Gold Glove winner, Jones flirted with the Mendozaline for much of July before finally finding his stroke during athree-game series at San Diego prior to the All-Star break.McCann was selected to the National League All-Star team despitebatting just .235 (40-for-170) since returning from a fingerinjury on May 4.


"Andruw is going to carry us the second half," McCann said."Numbers don't lie. If you've hit .270 with 40 homers and 100RBI for 12 years in a row, there's no reason he's not going todo that again this year."


Jones continued his torrid hitting by smashing a homer toleft-center field in the sixth. The 30-year-old has recordedseven hits in his last 13 at-bats to raise his average to .213.

LaRoche's miscue in the first inning helped Atlanta build a 3-0advantage.


With two outs, Chipper Jones hit a grounder to first, but theball took a high hop that LaRoche failed to handle. Thinking hefielded the ball, the often aloof LaRoche started runningtoward first base.


"I thought it was in my pocket (of my glove)," LaRoche said. "Ithought it hit the web. I thought I had it, but it poppedout."


Second baseman Freddy Sanchez fielded the ball, but hit LaRoche,who was in the way of the throw. After Snell walked AndruwJones, McCann smashed his 10th homer over the right field wall.

Atlanta hopes to soon be knocking on the door of the first-placeNew York Mets in the Natinal League East Division, playing 14games against teams with sub-.500 records to open the secondhalf.


"It's nice to get off on the right foot," Hudson said. "Guyscame out and played pretty hard. It's how we wanted to startoff the second half."


Snell allowed a season-high seven runs and eight hits throughfive-plus innings. The righthander fanned four and walked twoen route to losing his four straight start away from home.

"I didn't like my performance at all," Snell said. "My legswere not under me. I was flat. I hit a spot where I wasgetting tired. (My pitches) were up and I was getting tired."

Edgar Renteria drove in two runs for the Braves, who sent 11batters to the plate in the sixth.


Jack Wilson had two hits for the Pirates, who lost for just thesecond time in seven games.