Maddux Not Great, but Good Enough

The Colorado Rockies caught up with Greg Maddux, but they couldn’t keep up with the Joneses.

Andruw Jones homered twice, Chipper Jones had a two-run double and Maddux survived a rocky seventh inning as the Atlanta Braves beat Colorado, 7-5, Monday night at Denver.

Maddux, who had yielded only two earned runs in 32 innings this season for an NL-best 0.56 earned-run average, was roughed up for five runs (four earned) but still got the win.

Maddux (2-1) gave up eight hits in eight innings and saw his ERA rise to 1.35. He also had eight assists and started two double plays.

“I thought Maddux was excellent,” Brave Manager Bobby Cox said. “He had the one bad inning, but that happens. You saw why he’s won so many Gold Gloves.”

After giving up only one run through six innings, Maddux gave up four in the seventh, including pinch-hitter John Vander Wal’s three-run homer that cut Atlanta’s lead to 7-5.

The Rockies loaded the bases in the ninth on three walks but Kerry Ligtenberg retired Mike Lansing and Neifi Perez on pop-ups for his first save.

Colorado starter Darryl Kile (1-3), who gave up seven runs in six innings, said he let his team down.

“If Greg Maddux gives up five runs, you’ve got to win,” Kile said. “If I hold them down, we win. I have a job to do and I didn’t do it.”

Maddux threw 70 strikes in 100 pitches.

The Rockies completed a 13-game homestand, their longest of the season, with a 3-10 record.

Arizona 15, Florida 4--Devon White drove in three runs against his former club at Phoenix and the expansion Diamondbacks won a series for the first time.

The Diamondbacks defeated Livan Hernandez (2-2) in winning for the third time in four games against Florida.

Relief pitcher Gregg Olson hit a two-run homer in Arizona’s highest-scoring game of the season. The Diamondbacks have won four of five overall.

White, traded to the Diamondbacks by Florida in November, had a sacrifice fly in the third inning and keyed a five-run fourth with a two-run single.

Hernandez gave up seven runs and five hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out six, including the first four batters he faced.

Olson got his first major league hit, a drive that landed a dozen rows into the left-field bleachers, during a five-run seventh inning.