PHOENIX (AP) -Dan Haren added a bit more misery to Atlanta’s rough trip out West.
The Arizona right-hander outpitched Derek Lowe and the Diamondbacks handed the Braves their fourth loss in a row, 5-2, on Thursday night.
The Braves got a run early and another late. In between, Haren retired 15 in a row.
“We hit the ball really good early in the game,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said, “and later on Haren got really tough. … You can say `Well, we didn’t hit the ball tonight,’ but he was hard to hit at. A lot of teams wouldn’t have hit him tonight at all.”
Haren (4-4) allowed two runs on seven hits in eight innings, striking out eight. He didn’t walk a batter for the third outing in a row, a span of 22 innings.
“He can control a game,” Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s a sight to see when he competes.”
The Diamondbacks took advantage of second baseman Kelly Johnson’s error to score four times in the fourth inning.
“It’s nice pitching with a lead,” said Haren, who has experienced a lack of run support often this season. “I’m able to be real aggressive.”
The last batter he faced was Chipper Jones, who had doubled in a run earlier in the game. Jones struck out looking.
“That was one of the best balls I threw all night,” Haren said. “He’s a tough guy to strike out. He’s given me some trouble over the years. I knew I had to make a perfect pitch and I knew it was probably my last batter, too, so I dug in deep and made the pitch.”
Haren has walked only nine batters all season, with 71 strikeouts.
“When people start to talk about top pitchers in the game, you don’t hear much about him,” Cox said, “but I know him.”
Lowe (6-3) gave up five runs, three earned, and a season-high 10 hits for the Braves, who were swept in three games in San Francisco before opening a four-game set in Arizona.
“I pitched poorly pretty much the whole game,” Lowe said. “That was pretty much a grind from the first pitch all the way through. I was just fortunate to not give up any more runs.”
Chad Qualls pitched a perfect ninth, with some defensive help from second baseman Augie Ojeda and shortstop Stephen Drew, for his 12th save in 14 opportunities.
Justin Upton singled three times for the Diamondbacks to raise his average to .346. The 21-year-old outfielder has hit safely in seven straight games and 30 of the last 33.
ble play cleared the way for Arizona’s big fourth. The miscue left runners at first and second with no outs, and Mark Reynolds doubled to right-center on the next pitch to bring home both runs.
Eric Byrnes and Ryan Roberts followed with RBI singles to put the Diamondbacks up 5-1.
“They had some opportunities with guys on base and they didn’t miss,” Johnson said. “They got their ace five runs. That’s what we’re trying to do, get our guy four or five runs and hope it’s enough. For them, it was.”
Dodgers 2, Cubs 1
At Chicago, Randy Wolf pitched into the eighth inning and Ramon Troncoso wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth as the Dodgers won their fourth straight.
Juan Pierre had two hits and scored a run for Los Angeles, which has the best record in baseball at 34-15.
The Cubs have lost nine of 11, and learned earlier in the day their ace Carlos Zambrano was suspended six games for his tirade during Wednesday’s victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wolf (3-1) allowed one run and six hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Troncoso pitched the ninth after manager Joe Torre let him bat in the top of the inning.
Randy Wells (0-2) pitched seven strong innings for the Cubs in his fourth career start, allowing two runs and eight hits.
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