Hudson goes the distance again

Atlanta hurler allows two runs in complete-game gem; Jones homers twice

? Andruw Jones gave Tim Hudson all the support he needed Sunday.

Jones hit his major-league-leading 41st and 42nd home runs, Hudson pitched his second straight complete game, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-2.

“Something special, Hudson getting back-to-back complete games,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “Andruw gave us what we needed today.”

Jones also took over the NL lead with 102 RBIs with his eighth multihomer game of the season. His three-run shot to left field in the third inning against Chris Capuano gave Atlanta all the runs it needed.

“I wanted to go out there and start something,” Jones said. “I felt good in batting practice.”

Hudson (11-7) scattered seven hits, including homers to Brady Clark and Chad Moeller. He pitched his first complete game of the season Monday.

The Braves increased their lead to 5-1 in the fifth on Jones’ solo shot. Of Jones’ home runs, 31 have went to left field.

Brewers manager Ned Yost knew his team was in trouble after Jones’ second home run.

“Hudson is 83-4 when given a four-run lead,” Yost said. “Our goal today was to keep it to three runs or less to give us a chance to win.”

Capuano (14-9) pitched seven innings, allowing five runs – four earned. He was bidding to become Milwaukee’s first 15-game winner since 1993, when Cal Eldred won 16 games.

Reds 7, Pirates 2

Pittsburgh – Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 534th career home run to tie Jimmie Foxx for 13th place on the all-time list, and Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh for its fourth straight victory.

Griffey went deep against Pittsburgh starter Kip Wells (7-14) in the fourth inning for his 33rd homer of the season and fourth in four games, then doubled down the right-field line in the sixth for the 1,000th extra-base hit of his career.

Griffey also extended his hitting streak to 14 games. The 12-time All-Star has hit .458 (27-for-59) during the stretch, with 10 multihit games.

Luke Hudson pitched six strong innings for his fifth win in six starts. Hudson (6-6) allowed one run and three hits.

Cardinals 6, Nationals 0

Washington – Cal Eldred made his first start since 2001 and combined with four St. Louis relievers to stretch Washington’s scoring drought to 21 innings.

John Halama (0-1) turned in five strong innings but took the loss after St. Louis scored three runs in the sixth. He left after allowing two runs on three hits in 51â3 innings.

Cubs 14, Marlins 3

Chicago – Carlos Zambrano scattered six hits over eight innings, and the Cubs scored eight runs in the seventh to beat Florida.

The Cubs retired Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg’s number before the game, then got three hits from MVP candidate Derrek Lee, including two solo homers.

Padres 4, Rockies 3

San Diego – Ryan Klesko drove in three runs, and Pedro Astacio pitched seven solid innings to lead the Padres to victory.

Klesko broke a 2-all tie in the fifth inning with a bad-hop single that knocked in two runs and salvaged the last game of a three-game series against the Rockies.

Giants 4, Mets 1

San Francisco – Pedro Feliz hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth, and J.T. Snow also connected in the inning, rallying the Giants to help Noah Lowry win his fifth straight start.

Lowry (11-11) completed an unbeaten August, winning all five of his starts and going at least seven innings in each outing. He allowed five hits and one run, struck out six and walked one in eight innings.

Dodgers 1, Astros 0

Los Angeles – Roger Clemens again got no run support from the Astros, and Jeff Weaver and Duaner Sanchez combined on an eight-hitter to lead the Dodgers.

This was the eighth time in Clemens’ 27 starts this season the Astros were shut out and the fifth time by a 1-0 score – including three games that went extra innings.

D’backs 10, Phillies 5

Phoenix – Shawn Green, gone for two days for the birth of his daughter, returned to hit a grand slam, and Arizona won its first series in nearly a month. Troy Glaus added a three-run homer to help the Diamondbacks.