Chipper Braves Beat Expos

With the Atlanta Braves closing in on another division title, Ozzie Guillen can afford to laugh it up a bit.

Guillen and Andruw Jones each had two RBIs to lead Atlanta to its sixth straight win Saturday night, 5-3 over the Montreal Expos.

Guillen, whose 10th-inning homer his first in over a year gave the Braves a 4-3 win Friday night, drove in the go-ahead runs with a two-run single in the sixth off Javier Vazquez (8-8).

Tongue in cheek, Guillen saved his best for last.

"Now it's time for them to pick me up," Guillen said. "I'm tired of carrying this ballclub for two days."

The Braves increased their lead in the NL East to six games over the New York Mets, who lost 4-2 in Philadelphia. Atlanta's magic number to clinch its eighth straight division title is just two.

However, Braves manager Bobby Cox isn't about to write the Mets off yet.

"We've got another one to go here," Cox said. "We've got to win two, right?"

Jones, 3-for-4 with a double, had RBI singles in the second and fourth.

Terry Mulholland (9-8), whose last start was Sept. 13, allowed three runs one earned and nine hits in seven innings to raise his record to 3-2 with the Braves since he was acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 31.

"his is great," Mulholland said. "This is everything I could have asked for in July when I was with the Cubs. It was a tough situation and I'm very thankful to Bobby and (Braves general manager) John Schuerholz for getting me over here."

John Rocker pitched the ninth for his 37th save.

Tied at 3-3 in the sixth, Brian Jordan singled with one out and advanced to third on Jones' double.

Vazquez intentionally walked Greg Myers and Guillen singled to left to give Atlanta a 5-3 lead.

"It's a good team over there," Vazquez said. "I pitched them like I pitch everybody else, but you've got to be careful with them. They've got great pitching. Mulholland did a great job for them tonight."

Rondell White homered for the second consecutive night on Mulholland's first pitch of the game. Montreal added two unearned runs to make it 3-0 in the first on shortstop Guillen's error and Trace Coquillette's RBI single.

The Braves capitalized on a pair of Montreal errors in the second to get within one run, 3-2.

Jordan reached on first baseman Fernando Seguignol's error and stole second. Jones hit an RBI single and advanced to third when his sinking liner got past White and rolled to the wall in center for a two-base error. Myers then scored Jones with a fly to left.

Jones hit his second straight RBI single in the fourth to tie the game.

Vazquez allowed five runs three earned and eight hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked three.

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