By JOE KAY
AP Baseball Writer
CINCINNATI(AP)
Manager Bobby Cox was so wrapped up in another
wild, last-minute win that he didn't realize his Atlanta Braves
were going in the right direction again in the NL East
standings.
After a week losing most of their lead, they were building it
back up.
Jason Heyward knocked in two runs with his third double of the
game Friday night, a two-out hit in the 10th inning that rallied
Atlanta to a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds and restored a
little bit of that division cushion.
Atlanta moved 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place Philadelphia,
which lost 8-1 to Washington in Roy Oswalt's debut with the
Phillies - a score that showed up on the outfield board but got
overlooked with so much going on.
"So the Phillies got beat?" Cox said. "It's fun to watch the
scoreboard, but you've got to take care of your own game."
Their rookie provided the final thrill.
Francisco Cordero (3-4) walked two batters in the 10th. Heyward
worked the count full, then hit a sinking liner that diving left
fielder Jonny Gomes couldn't catch, allowing both runners to
score. Martin Prado came all the way around from first, diving
into the plate and jamming his right hand. He went for
precautionary X-rays.
Heyward worked the count full, fouled a pitch off his foot, then
went the opposite way for his game-winning hit.
"I had a good idea what I wanted to do with that at-bat, just be
patient and not try to do too much," Heyward said. "He made a
good pitch on 3-2 before that. I just got a piece of it."
Impressive all around.
"That at-bat Heyward had - you're 20 years old, you're not
supposed to be doing stuff like that against one of the better
closers in the game," catcher Brian McCann said. "He came
through for us tonight."
Jesse Chavez (3-2) escaped a threat in the ninth. Billy Wagner
got out of a two-on threat in the 10th, earning his 24th save in
29 chances by fanning Drew Stubbs for the final out.
The dramatic victory was typical for the Braves. They have won
17 games in their final at-bat, most in the majors.
Reds right fielder Chris Heisey prevented them from winning it
an inning earlier. He jumped and stole a potential homer from
pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad in the top of the ninth.
Joey Votto led the Reds with three hits, including an RBI double
and a solo homer off left-hander Jonny Venters that tied it
4-all in the eighth. Votto leads the NL with 27 homers and a
.326 average.
"You know how baseball momentum can work," Votto said. "We had
it, then it came to a screeching halt. After I hit the home run
and Chris made the catch, it looked like that gave us something
to build on, but we didn't come through."
The NL East leaders opened the series hoping to get some
traction and stop their slide. The Braves led the division by a
season-high seven games on July 22, but went 2-4 while the
second-place Phillies got hot, winning eight straight and
closing the gap to 2 1/2 games.
The Phillies also bolstered the pitching staff during their
surge, trading for Oswalt. Washington roughed up Oswalt in his
Phillies debut Friday night, allowing Atlanta to push the lead
back to 3 1/2.
Pitching hasn't been the Braves' biggest problem. Their offense
went south, scoring a total of six runs in the last three games.
Their top All-Star got it going. McCann, who won the All-Star
game's MVP award for his bases-loaded double, hit a two-run
homer off Johnny Cueto.
Braves starter Kris Medlen allowed three runs in five innings.
He was hit on the inside of the right forearm to load the bases
in the sixth. He stayed in the game to run the bases, then left
for treatment because his hand was shaking. He doesn't expect to
miss a start.
The Reds opened the day a half-game in front of St. Louis in the
NL Central, which has a two-team race. Nobody else has a winning
record in the division. Fans have started taking notice - the
crowd of 40,373 was only Cincinnati's fifth capacity crowd of
the season.
"It was a playoff atmosphere," Medlen said. "If we win the East,
it could be a (playoff) matchup for us."
NOTES: The Braves traded 32-year-old minor league OF Mitch Jones
to the Pirates for cash. ... The Braves plan to designate OF
Brent Clevlen to the minors on Saturday and call up OF Gregor
Blanco. ... Reds will honor Cox before Saturday's game. Cox is
retiring after this season, his 29th as a manager. ... Reds RHP
Aaron Harang felt good two days after he threw off a mound for
the first time since he went on the DL July 6 with back spasms.
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