Major League Baseball

Wild-card hopeful Braves rout D-backs

Published Aug. 18, 2009 2:24 a.m. ET

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Tommy Hanson isn't worried about how many innings he pitches as long as he can keep helping the Braves win.

Hanson gave up two runs in six innings for his third straight win and Ryan Church hit a three-run double in a six-run third inning that lifted the Atlanta Braves past Max Scherzer and the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4 on Monday.

Hanson (8-2) gave up six hits and did not walk a batter for his second straight start. The right-hander struck out seven. He has thrown 146 innings this season, including 66 1-3 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett before his June 7 promotion to Atlanta. His previous high was 138 innings in the minors last year.


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Hanson said he hasn't tracked his innings count this year.

"I couldn't even tell you where I'm at," Hanson said. "I'm not even sure."

Hanson said he feels strong, and the results back up his claim. His ERA is 3.05, and he has allowed no more than two runs in nine of his 13 starts with Atlanta, including each of his three starts in August.

"I still feel strong and everything feels good," he said. "Hopefully if I can just keep going like I have been everything will be fine."

Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer, his 38th, off Boone Logan in the seventh, but he had a single and two strikeouts against Hanson.

"My first impression is he'll probably be around for a long time," Reynolds said. "He has good stuff. He spots his fastball well. He had a good slider and curveball. He throws it where he wants it."

Stephen Drew hit a fifth-inning homer off Hanson.

Arizona manager A.J. Hinch called Hanson "a pretty impressive pitcher."

Garret Anderson gave the Braves a 1-0 lead with a second-inning homer, and Adam LaRoche added a two-run shot off Scherzer in the sixth.

The Braves won two of three in a series that took three months to complete. The game was rescheduled following a May 17 rainout at Turner Field.

Scherzer (7-7) gave up six hits and nine runs, though only three were earned, in five innings. His throwing error in the third made all of the Braves' runs in the inning unearned.

"He was really firing the ball," said Atlanta's Chipper Jones, who had three strikeouts, including two against Scherzer.

"He got a little wild there and made an error, opened up the gates for us," Jones said. "But he wasn't an easy guy to hit against, believe me."

David Ross led off the third with a double and scored when Scherzer made a wild throw to third base after fielding Hanson's bunt. Scherzer hit Matt Diaz and Yunel Escobar with pitches to set up a bases-loaded walk to Adam LaRoche. Church drove in three with his double past Alex Romero in right field.

Arizona trailed 7-0 before scoring two runs in the fifth. Drew hit his 10th homer and the Diamondbacks scored a second run on three straight singles by Gerardo Parra, Reynolds and Miguel Montero.

Hanson struck out Chad Tracy to end the inning.

"It was good to get that punchout to end the inning and get out of there without any more damage," Hanson said.

Arizona loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth off Mike Gonzalez before Romero's game-ending groundout.

Paid attendance was 23,668, but actual attendance appeared to be far less than half of that figure.

"Nothing against Pittsburgh, but I'm used to that," said LaRoche, the former Pirates first baseman.

Notes

Scherzer's first career win came in the second game of the series on May 16, when he threw six scoreless innings in a 12-0 win at Turner Field. ... The Braves placed OF Nate McLouth on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left hamstring and purchased the contract of OF Reid Gorecki from Triple-A Gwinnett. Gorecki made his major league debut as a defensive replacement in the eighth. ... Tests, including a CT scan, on 2B Martin Prado were negative, according to GM Frank Wren. Prado, who has complained of headaches since leaving Saturday's game, has been cleared to play, according to Wren, but was held out Monday. ... Paid attendance was 23,668, but actual attendance appeared to be far less than half of that figure.

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