Boone Finally Ends His Long Slump

In a slump since June 9, Bret Boone knew eventually he’d break out. He’s just glad it happened sooner rather than later.

Boone drove in four runs and Tom Glavine beat Houston for the seventh consecutive time as the Atlanta Braves tied the Astros for the best record in the National League with a 6-4 win Tuesday night.

Boone started Atlanta’s offense with a 430-foot, two-run homer in the first.

“That was pretty good,” he said. “Us little guys don’t usually hit the ball that far. I’ll take it.”

Atlanta, which remained a half-game ahead of the New York Mets in the NL East, matched the Astros at 69-46. The Braves have won five of six against Houston this year.

Boone broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh with a two-run double off Shane Reynolds (14-8). Boone and Chipper Jones homered on consecutive pitches against Reynolds in the first, and Ryan Klesko tied the score at 4 with a sixth-inning homer.

Glavine (10-9), who lowered his earned-run average to 4.14, gave up four runs and seven hits in seven innings, but just two runs were earned. Glavine is 7-0 in nine starts against Houston since July 4, 1995.

“I think there’s some truth to the fact you sometimes get it going better against good teams,” Glavine said. “Also, I’m familiar with these guys. Their team’s been pretty much the same. They haven’t changed a lot.”