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Braves maintain lead Backed by Joneses, Marquis wins on Yom Kippur
Updated: Thursday September 27, 2001 12:19 AM
MIAMI (AP) -- Jason Marquis decided to pitch on Yom Kippur, and the Atlanta Braves are glad he did. Marquis, who is Jewish, allowed one run in six innings and helped Atlanta beat the Florida Marlins 4-1 Wednesday night to maintain a one-game lead in the NL East. The second-place Philadelphia Phillies kept pace by beating Cincinnati 8-0. The New York Mets beat Montreal 5-2 and remained four games back with 10 to play. Marquis (4-6) declined the Braves' offer to let him skip the game in observance of the start of the holiday, and he won for the first time in his past five starts. "I discussed it with my family, and I think I came to the right decision," said Marquis, 23, who lives in nearby Coral Springs, Fla. "Baseball is a very important part of my life -- as important as family and religion. I am fasting, and I'm going to temple Thursday with my family. I think I made the right choice." Andruw Jones hit his 33rd home run and Chipper Jones added his 37th for the Braves. Three relievers closed out the five-hitter, with John Smoltz pitching the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances. The Braves improved to 4-6 on an 11-game trip. It concludes Thursday against Florida, with Atlanta's Greg Maddux starting for the first time since hyperextending his pitching elbow Saturday. "If we win Thursday, it will be not such a bad road trip after all," Andruw Jones said. Jones homered leading off the sixth against A.J. Burnett (9-12) to put the Braves ahead 2-1, and they added two runs in the seventh against rookie reliever Benito Baez. Chipper Jones hit a solo homer with two out, Brian Jordan doubled and B.J. Surhoff singled in another run. Andruw Jones has five RBIs in the past two games. Chipper Jones' RBI was just his second of the trip, and he needs five more to become the first third baseman to drive in 100 runs in six consecutive seasons. It was a big offensive outburst by Braves standards. They rank 13th in the National League in scoring and have scored only 31 runs in 10 games on the trip. They scored just twice while Marquis was in the game. "He'd better get used to it," Chipper Jones said wryly. "That's the way it is. And to be honest, it's a good way to learn to pitch in the big leagues. You have to bear down every inning. He's starting to grasp what Maddux, Smoltz and (Tom) Glavine have been doing for so long." Marquis allowed five hits, walked three and struck out three. "I gave my team a chance to win, and they came through," he said. "Hopefully we can get rolling from here." The victories by the Phils and Mets were posted before Atlanta's game was complete. "You see the other two teams put a W on the board, and it motivates you," Chipper Jones said. "I think that might have pushed us tonight." Burnett allowed only four hits and two runs in six innings, but the Marlins lost for the ninth time in his past 10 starts. They were mathematically eliminated from the division race. Atlanta scored in the second on Surhoff's single, a wild pitch, two walks and a sacrifice fly by Mark De Rosa. Florida tied the game in the bottom of the second on Kevin Millar's infield single and a double by Charles Johnson. But that was it for the Marlins, who have five runs in three games against the Braves. "We're not hitting. We're not scoring," manager Tony Perez said. "But we're facing some good pitching." Notes: A high inside pitch by Burnett in the first inning forced De Rosa to duck out of the way. The ball sailed over his helmet and hit his bat. ... Chipper Jones' homer was his seventh right-handed. ... Marlins starters have an ERA of 1.93 over the past eight games. ... Florida's Derrek Lee singled in the third to extend his career-best hitting streak to 12 games. ... Marlins reliever Armando Almanza is likely out for the season because of inflammation in his pitching arm, Perez said.
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