PHILADELPHIA – Eric Milton pitched seven strong innings in his longest outing of the season and Jim Thome hit his 12th home run of the season to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Milton (6-1) gave up one run on three hits, striking out a season-high eight batters and walking three.

Coming off his first loss with Philadelphia in his last start, Milton retired 10 straight to start the game. His only difficulty came in the fourth when he gave up an RBI triple to Andruw Jones that tied the game 1-1.

In the seventh inning, Milton walked two but ended the threat by striking out pinch-hitter Chipper Jones.

Rheal Cormier got two outs in the eighth and Tim Worrell recorded the final four outs for his seventh save in nine opportunities.

Thome’s two-run homer off Armando Almanza in the eighth was the 393rd of his career and his first since May 18.

The Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Chase Utley got hit by a pitch by Atlanta starter Travis Smith (0-1) with the bases loaded.

Smith, who was called up late Saturday from Triple-A Richmond when Horacio Ramirez was placed on the 15-day disabled list, gave up three hits in six innings. The 31-year-old right-hander, who hadn’t pitched in the majors since going 4-2 for St. Louis in 2002, walked two and struck out five.

His return to the big leagues got off to a shaky start. The second batter he faced, David Bell, hit a solo shot for his sixth homer of the season.

After that he settled down, escaping a first-and-third, no-out jam in the second inning by striking out Mike Lieberthal and Tomas Perez and getting Milton to ground out.

Smith retired the next 13 batters in a row until Bell’s single in the sixth.

Notes: Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was a late scratch from the starting lineup with a right ankle injury. Tomas Perez started in his place. … Thome’s homer was the Phillies’ 37th in the month of May, breaking a franchise record set in 1999. … Chipper Jones didn’t start for the second straight day after bruising his left quadriceps when he got hit by a pitch on Friday. … RHP Antonio Alfonseca narrowly escaped injury in the seventh when Perez hit a hard line drive back to the mound. Alfonseca just got his glove up in front of his head to deflect the ball. He quickly recovered and threw out Perez.

AP-ES-05-30-04 1626EDT