Rockies rattled by Braves bats

DENVER - The day after the Rockies' dramatic ninth-inning win that swept away the Florida Marlins, reality returned to Coors Field in the form of the Atlanta Braves. The team with the best record in baseball strolled onto the grass and delivered an emphatic 9-3 win over Colorado, pounding out 16 hits, roughing up Rockies starter Jason Jennings, and reminding baseball fans everywhere why Colorado is a playoff longshot.

"Our (pitching) staff needs to make a statement," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "They need to make adjustments and counterpunch better. They're trying hard, but it's like me trying to run through a wall. I can keep trying all night but I won't do it. I might want to try the door."

Jennings got off to a slow start against Greg Maddux, who had never lost (7-0) at Coors Field.

After giving up consecutive hits to start the game, Jennings caught a break when Gary Sheffield, the Braves' hottest hitter, was thrown out for disputing a called third strike. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox soon followed his 32 home run, .334 slugger to the showers, but Chipper Jones' two-run double down the rightfield line gave the Braves a 2-0 lead, and the last laugh.

Maddux then doubled off the wall to start the top of the second inning, and came around when shortstop Rafael Furcal homered to leftcenter field. Atlanta added another run later in its at-bat and led 5-0.

Charles Johnson's two-run shot in the bottom of the second trimmed the Braves' advantage, and the catcher cut the lead even further in the fourth inning, hitting into a bases-loaded double play to score Larry Walker and pull Colorado to 5-3.

Meanwhile, the Rockies infield was helping nurse Jennings - who had thrown 59 pitches through three innings - through some difficult spots with a couple of double plays and some other fielding gems. Third baseman Chris Stynes back-handed a short-hopping ball in the top of the fourth to end one threat, then stabbed a wicked line drive to temporarily save a run in the fifth. However, despite the best efforts of the infield, which turned three double plays in the game, the Braves scored once more, to open a 6-3 lead.

Chipper Jones, who was 3 for 4 with 5 RBI, stretched the lead even further with a mammoth 2-run shot into the upper deck.

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