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Braves Break Down 'U', 'Zona


Not even Randy Johnson can get away with pitching down the middle of the plate against the Atlanta Braves.

Johnson gave up four home runs for the first time in his career, including two by Javy Lopez, and the Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 Sunday night.

Johnson (9-3), who had won five straight decisions since May 20, gave up seven earned runs for the first time since last July 8. His ERA went from 2.96 to 3.36.

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Game Summary

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  • "It was a case of not very good location," Johnson said. "You make bad pitches to good hitters and the result is going to be they're going to hit the ball a long way."

    Tom Glavine (5-7) won his second straight start after losing three in a row. He threw 40 pitches and walked three in the first inning. He gave up single runs in the first, second and third, then shut out the Diamondbacks on one hit the next three innings.

    "I didn't think either one of us were on," Glavine said, "but when it counted, I didn't give up a lot of runs. Offensively, the guys were behind me. I didn't expect so many runs against Randy."

    Glavine allowed three runs and six hits in six innings as the Braves took two of three in the matchup of division leaders.

    "My results are getting better," Glavine said. "This is a game I could have easily lost a few weeks ago."

    Lopez hit two-run, two-out homers in the third and fifth innings, his 10th career two-homer game and second this season. Lopez has three home runs in his last two games and 11 this season. He also hit two home runs April 21 at Dodger Stadium.

    He struck out miserably against Johnson in the first inning.

    "I didn't have a clue," Lopez said.

    But his next two appearances were different.

    "It's pretty exciting for this team to hit five home runs," Lopez said, "especially considering who we hit them off of."

    He was not quite correct. One of the homers was off someone other than Johnson.

    Gerald Williams also homered twice for Atlanta, giving him five for the season. He connected on Johnson's first pitch of th game and added a three-run shot off Dan Plesac in the eighth. It was the third two-homer game of Williams' career.

    Lopez and Andruw Jones hit consecutive homers in the fifth as Atlanta opened a 7-3 lead.

    Manager Bobby Cox wasn't around to watch much of his team's long-ball barrage. He was thrown out with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the first. Cox had been complaining from the dugout about plate umpire Jeff Kellogg's ball and strike calls after Glavine walked two of the first four batters. It was Cox's fifth ejection of the season and second in five days.

    Cox wouldn't comment on the ejection.

    Arizona's Jay Bell hit his 22nd home run, a career high, in the sixth inning. Bell, who homered for the second consecutive night, also doubled and had an RBI single in a 3-for-4 night.

    The Braves were 5-2 on a seven-game road trip against the other two division leaders, taking three out of four from Houston and two of three from Arizona.

    "We had a great road trip," Cox said. "The Bad Boys are 5-2. These guys are hotter than the dickens."

    Atlanta took a 4-2 lead with three runs in the third. Bret Boone singled to right with one out, advanced to second when Chipper Jones grounded out, then scored on Brian Jordan's single. Lopez then homered to right field.

    The Braves scored three more in the fifth. Jordan singled to left with two outs, then Lopez homered 434 feet into the left-field seats. Andruw Jones followed with his 12th home run.

    "We know they're a good club," Arizona manager Buck Showalter said of the Braves. "I think everybody knows where they're going to be when the season is over. We're concerned with what we've got to do to someday get on their level."

    Notes:

  • Johnson had six strikeouts to tie Don Drysdale at No. 21 on the career list with 2,486.
  • The four homers off Johnson were the most ever given up by a Diamondbacks pitcher.
  • Gerald Williams has three career homers against Johnson in 39 at-bats.
  • Johnson lost for only the fourth time in 23 decisions since he came to the NL midway through last season.
  • The Diamondbacks started five left-handed batters against the left-handed Glavine.
  • Cox also was thrown out in the first inning May 11 in San Francisco.
  • The sellout crowd of 47,235 was the Diamondbacks' largest of the season.
  • Atlanta is an NL-best 21-13 on the road.

    ©1999 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

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