National League Roundup: Glavine rocked in return to Atlanta

Braves rough up former teammate in 10-4 triumph against Mets

? Nothing seemed right about Tom Glavine’s return to Turner Field — not his uniform, not the smattering of boos from the crowd, and certainly not his performance.

Glavine, a stalwart of the Atlanta Braves’ rotation for 16 seasons, was knocked around in his first start against his old team Saturday, leaving after only 31¼3 innings as the Braves beat the New York Mets, 10-4.

“For now, I’m disappointed in how it went, but I’m glad it’s over with,” said Glavine, who was bothered by a blister on the index finger of his pitching hand.

Andruw Jones and Javy Lopez both homered off Glavine, and Gary Sheffield and Robert Fick added home runs off reliever Jaime Cerda.

“Our ballclub was really fired up to face him,” Atlanta left fielder Chipper Jones said. “A first-ballot Hall of Famer, a friend, a brother, a teammate, all those things. It was a little sad when he left.”

Glavine (5-4) allowed six runs and eight hits, his worst start since the Cubs pounded him for five runs on eight hits on opening day. In his previous start, he held the San Francisco Giants to one run in 81¼3 innings.

“It was strange,” Glavine said. “I really wasn’t ready for how strange it was. But after the first inning, I felt pretty good.”

The crowd of 40,912 was the largest of the season at Turner Field, and reactions to Glavine were strong. When he walked to the bullpen before the game, he received a loud chorus of boos. But when he took the mound in the first inning, the boos eventually were drowned out by a brief standing ovation.

Padres 5, D’backs 1

Phoenix — Brian Lawrence retired his last 20 batters in a two-hitter, and San Diego beat Curt Schilling to snap a nine-game losing streak. Lawrence (3-5) earned his first victory since April 11. He was 0-5 in his previous seven starts.

Dodgers 6, Brewers 0

Mets pitcher Tom Glavine reacts after yielding a hit to Atlanta's Gary Sheffield. The Braves defeated the Mets, 10-4, Saturday in Atlanta.

Milwaukee — Hideo Nomo took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, and Fred McGriff hit a grand slam as Los Angeles beat Milwaukee for its ninth straight victory. Nomo, who has pitched a pair of no-hitters in his career, held the Brewers hitless until John Vander Wal’s looping liner to left with one out in the seventh.

Marlins 5, Reds 4

Cincinnati — Ken Griffey Jr. hit a pair of two-run homers, but Florida overcame those shots to defeat Cincinnati, disappointing a sellout crowd of 41,285. Alex Gonzalez and Juan Encarnacion each had three hits to lead the Marlins to their second straight win after they arrived at Great American Ball Park this weekend with a six-game losing streak.

Cubs 3, Astros 2

Houston — Shawn Estes won his fourth straight decision, and Mark Grudzielanek had three hits to lead Chicago past Houston. Mike Remlinger escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning for the Cubs, who are 8-5 since Sammy Sosa went on the disabled list May 10. The Cubs and Astros have split the first two games of a three-game series.

Expos 3, Phillies 2

Montreal — Wil Cordero hit Montreal’s fifth game-ending homer of the season as the Expos beat Philadelphia before 33,236 fans, the largest non-opening day crowd at Olympic Stadium in six years. Cordero brought the crowd — drawn mostly by discount tickets and a hot dogs promotion — out of their seats when he led off the bottom of the ninth inning with his fourth homer.

Cardinals 6, Pirates 0

Pittsburgh — Matt Morris pitched his second consecutive shutout and Fernando Vina and Jim Edmonds homered in a three-run second inning as the Cardinals beat Pittsburgh. The Cardinals jumped on Jeff Suppan for three runs in each of the first two innings. That was more than enough support for Morris (6-3) to win for the fifth time in six starts.

Giants 5, Rockies 1

Denver — Pedro Feliz homered for the second straight game in place of ailing Barry Bonds, and Kurt Ainsworth ended a four-game losing streak as San Francisco beat Colorado. Marquis Grissom was 5-for-6 and finished a homer short of the cycle for San Francisco.