Brown Downs Braves Again

Sun, Aug 15, 1:40:22AM
by Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Brown pitched seven scoreless and Todd Hollandsworth hit a three-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat John Smoltz 8-1 Saturday night, ending the Braves' four-game winning streak.

The loss dropped the Braves back into a first-place tie in the NL East with the New York Mets who beat San Francisco 6-1 on Saturday.

Brown (14-6) won his fifth straight decision, allowing four hits and striking out five. He has allowed only three earned runs in 38 2-3 innings over his last five starts, after surrendering 25 runs in 33 innings during the previous five outings.

The right-hander also extended his streak of innings without allowing a home run to 41 1-3.

Smoltz (8-6) left the game after 4 1-3 innings because of a strained right groin and was charged with three runs and six hits. He lost his fourth straight decision and remained winless in eight starts since beating the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 18.

Smoltz began the season 5-0 for the first time in his 12-year career, but has been on the disabled list twice because of a strained right elbow.

Brown, who finished runner-up to Smoltz for the 1996 Cy Young Award dueled the Braves' right-hander through three scoreless innings before the Dodgers capitalized on Adrian Beltre's speed to score their first run.

After Todd Hundley's single put runners at the corners with one out, Raul Mondesi scored when Beltre beat the relay from second baseman Keith Lockhart on a potential double-play grounder to short. Craig Counsell followed with an RBI single, giving him six hits in 10 career at-bats against Smoltz.

Smoltz departed after giving up singles by Mark Grudzielanek and Gary Sheffield. Eric Karros greeted Kevin McGlinchy with an RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

The Dodgers broke it open in the seventh with RBI singles by Hundley and Beltre. Hollandsworth completed the scoring in the eighth with his seventh homer.

Andruw Jones hit his 23rd homer, a leadoff shot in the ninth off Pedro Borbon Jr, for the only Atlanta run.

Notes: Flags at Dodger Stadium flew at half staff and a moment of silence was observed by a sellout crowd of 53,533 in memory of Pee Wee Reese, the shortstop and captain of the Dodgers' only world championship team in Brooklyn. Reese, 81, died on Saturday. ... Dodgers longtime broadcaster Vin Scully recalled how much of an impact the team's move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958 had on Reese - who retired following the team's first season out west. ``He didn't want to live out here,'' Scully said. ``He didn't want to tear up the roots that were his life in Kentucky, but he took it with great grace and dignity - as he did everything else.'' ... The Braves have scored only four earned runs in their last 35 2-3 innings against Brown over a span of five regular season starts.