Kelly Johnson Hits 2 Of Atlanta Braves' 4 Homers In 12-4 Win

ATLANTA (AP) _ On the day slugger Mark Teixeira arrived, the Atlanta Braves showed they already have a lot of power. <br/><br/>Kelly Johnson had four hits, including two homers, and Jeff Francoeur and

Tuesday, July 31st 2007, 9:53 pm

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) _ On the day slugger Mark Teixeira arrived, the Atlanta Braves showed they already have a lot of power.

Kelly Johnson had four hits, including two homers, and Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann also hit home runs as the Braves welcomed Teixeira to town with a 12-4 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

Johnson drove in five runs and McCann drove in four, including a two-run double in the 8th.

Teixeira, obtained from Texas in a seven-player trade that was finalized earlier in the day, was activated for the game but did not arrive until the seventh inning.

Grinning widely, Teixeira waved to fans from the dugout as he enjoyed his first ovation from Atlanta fans. The Turner Field video board showed Teixeira wearing his new No. 24 uniform.

Teixeira, who averaged 35 homers in his first four seasons in Texas and has 13 this year, is expected to start Wednesday night and may hit fourth.

Johnson hit a two-run home run and McCann also hit a homer as the Braves took a 5-1 lead with nine hits in four innings off Houston starter Chris Sampson (7-8).

The Astros rallied with three runs in the fifth. Eric Bruntlett, who walked against Braves starter Chuck James, scored following singles by Eric Munson and pinch-hitter Chris Burke. Craig Biggio's two-run double to right-center cut Atlanta's lead to 5-4.

James (9-8) earned the win despite giving up more than two runs for the first time in six starts. James gave up six hits and four runs in five innings.

Lance Berkman hit a first-inning homer off James.

Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the second on McCann's homer and a sacrifice fly by Julio Franco. Edgar Renteria, who had three hits, reached in the third on a single and scored on Andruw Jones' sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead.

Johnson, who has been sharing time with rookie Yunel Escobar at second base, padded the lead with his two-run homer in the fourth. Johnson's three-run homer off Matt Albers capped the Braves' four-run seventh.

The only negative for the night for Johnson was a fielding error on Munson's grounder in the sixth. The miscue almost allowed Bruntlett to score from first. Francoeur's throw from right skipped past Renteria, but third baseman Chipper Jones backed up Renteria and threw out Bruntlett at the plate to end the inning.

Bruntlett made three errors at short for Houston. The final one led to two unearned runs in the eighth.

Notes: Johnson had four hits and hit two homers for the second time in his career. He also hit two homers on April 22 at New York. The five RBIs are not his career high; he drove in six on June 17, 2005 at Cincinnati. ... Houston 3B Ty Wigginton had his second two-hit game in as many starts since coming to the Astros in a trade with Tampa Bay. He stole second base in the second inning, matching his total for steals in 98 games with the Devil Rays. ... Johnson, a converted outfielder, committed his ninth error in his 100th game.