Braves Sweep Rockies in Doubleheader

<br>The Atlanta Braves swept and so did John Smoltz. Smoltz finished off 12-6 and 5-2 wins over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Thursday night, giving him 15 saves in 16 chances this season. Atlanta,

Friday, May 9th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The Atlanta Braves swept and so did John Smoltz. Smoltz finished off 12-6 and 5-2 wins over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Thursday night, giving him 15 saves in 16 chances this season. Atlanta, which swept the three-game series, has won the last 67 games he has pitched in, a major league record.

``It's been a great day and a weird day,'' Smoltz said. ``It's great to be able to sweep a series, but it felt like it took five days.''

It also was a big night for Andruw Jones, who set a franchise record by driving in runs in nine straight games.

Jones, who had first-inning RBI singles in both games, topped the previous mark of eight games shared by Eddie Mathews (1954), Hank Aaron (1955, 1957), Mike Lum (1978) and Bob Horner (1979-80).

``It's something for the books,'' Jones said. ``But the wins are more important. Good things happen when you're playing good.''

In other games it was Cincinnati 8, St. Louis 6; Houston 6, Pittsburgh 2; Los Angeles 6, New York 1; Montreal 12, San Diego 5; and San Francisco 3, Florida 2.

At Turner Field, Robert Fick homered in the first inning of the opener and had five RBIs. Gary Sheffield hit a three-run double and Chipper Jones had a two-run homer.

Atlanta has won four in a row and is 19-3 since a 4-8 start. Colorado has lost four straight and seven of eight.

``It's amazing. Unbelievable,'' Fick said. ``This winning is contagious. It doesn't matter if we're down or who's pitching.''

Shane Reynolds (2-1) and Russ Ortiz (4-2) won, and Nelson Cruz (3-3) and Shawn Chacon (4-2) lost.

Reds 8, Cardinals 6

Aaron Boone led off the second, sixth and seventh innings with homers, completing a four-game sweep of St. Louis. Boone went 7-for-14 with five homers and seven RBIs as the Reds got their first series sweep at Great American Ball Park.

Scott Sullivan (3-0) won in relief of Paul Wilson, who gave up four runs in five innings, and Scott Williamson pitched the ninth for his eighth save.

Mike Crudale (0-1) gave up the go-ahead run in the sixth.

Astros 6, Pirates 2

Geoff Blum went 3-for-3, doubling in the sixth and giving Houston a 3-2 lead when he advanced to third and scored on wild pitches by Jeff Suppan (4-3).

Houston swept the four-game series, coming from behind in the last three games. The Astros are on their longest winning streak since a seven-game spurt last May 12-18. Visiting Pittsburgh has lost six straight for the first time since a seven-game slide last Aug. 10-16.

Ricky Stone (3-0) allowed one hit in one inning, and Nate Bland, Pete Munro, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner combined on three innings of hitless relief, completing the six-hitter.

Dodgers 6, Mets 1

Kazuhisa Ishii (3-1) allowed one run and six hits in six innings and Cesar Izturis drove in three runs. Los Angeles won two of three at New York and nine of 13 overall.

Tom Glavine (4-3) gave up three runs and seven hits in seven innings. New York, which has lost eight of 11, scored only five runs in the three games.

All-Star catcher Mike Piazza received seven stitches in his abdomen earlier this week after having a mole removed and had just two pinch-hitting opportunities in the series. Before the game, the Mets talked to Piazza about beginning the process of learning to play first base.

Expos 12, Padres 5

Fernando Tatis hit a two-run double that capped a six-run first inning.

Wil Cordero went 3-for-4 for Montreal, which took a 9-1 lead in the second inning and scored 12 runs for the second straight night. Tomo Ohka (3-4) allowed three runs and eight hits in eight innings.

Just 5,274 fans were on hand at Olympic Stadium and the three-game series drew 16,226.

Brian Lawrence (2-4) allowed 10 runs _ nine earned _ and nine hits in his shortest career outing. San Diego has lost five straight and 10 of 11, dropping to an NL-worst 11-23.

Giants 3, Marlins 2

Pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia singled home the tiebreaking run with two outs in the ninth off Braden Looper (2-1) as visiting San Francisco completed a three-game sweep. The Giants (24-9) have won five straight, and Florida has lost six in a row.

Mike Lowell tied the score 2-all in the eighth with a sacrifice fly off Joe Nathan (4-0), who gave up a run for the first time this season in 23 innings.

Tim Worrell pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save, third in three nights.