Braves' Blasts Beat Astros

John Rocker got the biggest boos and didn't get anyone out. Fortunately for the Atlanta Braves, they still had Kerry Ligtenberg in the bullpen.

After his abrupt greeting by Houston fans, Rocker walked the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning before Ligtenberg came on to preserve the Braves' 6-5 victory Saturday.

Andruw Jones, Brian Jordan and Chipper Jones hit home runs for the Braves in cooled-down Enron Field.

After Rocker walked the bases loaded in the ninth inning and threw one pitch a ball to Daryle Ward, Cox had seen enough.

Ligtenberg got Ward to fly out, with the runners holding, then got Richard Hidalgo to ground into a game-ending double play.

"I was basically trying to throw as hard as I could and hit my spots," Ligtenberg said. "I didn't know how I was going to do it, I was just trying to get some outs. I was trying to get some guys to pop out or hit some ground balls."

The one-run loss was Houston's 13th in 14 games this season.

"I missed my pitch earlier," Hidalgo said. "I was trying to get my pitch and drive it, but I missed my pitch and then I hit the ground ball."

Chipper Jones thought Bill Spiers would score from third on Ward's fly.

"I think he would have scored, about a 95 percent chance," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "Maybe they could have made a hero throw, but I doubt it."

The Astros lost more than the game. Left fielder Moises Alou left the game with tightness in his left quadriceps muscle one day after outfielder Roger Cedeno was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Alou was listed as day-to-day.

The Braves got the early lead in the first regular-season game played at Enron Field with the roof closed. It was 72 degrees inside with the air conditioning while temperatures outside rose into the 90s.

Ken Caminiti hit a solo home run in the seventh and Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer in the eighth, giving the Astros homers in 14 straight games, tying a club record.

There have been 91 home runs hit in Enron Field this season in 24 games. There were a combined 118 for all of last season in the Astrodome.

Quilvio Veras doubled and scored on Chipper Jones' sacrifice fly in the first inning off Shane Reynolds (5-1). Veras singled in the third and scored on Andruw Jones' homer for a 3-0 lead.

John Burkett loaded the bases in the third on walks to Spiers and Alou and a single by Jeff Bagwell. Hidalgo singled home a run and Berkman had an RBI grounder.

Jordan hit a solo in the sixth and Chipper Jones' two-run homer in the eighth ended Reynolds' day. He allowed eight hits, six earned runs, walked one and struck out three.

Burkett (4-2) pitched six innings, gave up seven hits, two earned runs and five strikeouts for the victory.

Alou is hitting .330 in 26 games this season with six home runs and 18 RBIs. He walked twice before leaving the game.

Alou missed last season rcovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament on his left knee. Cedeno is on the disabled list with a broken left hand.

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