Braves 9, Marlins 6

ATLANTA – J.D. Drew homered twice and Sam McConnell earned his first major league win to lead the Atlanta Braves past the Florida Marlins 9-6.

It was the seventh career two-homer game for Drew – his first since Oct. 3, 2001 – and he tied a career high with five RBIs for the Braves, who moved within 31/2 games of first in the NL East.

The Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the top spot.

McConnell (1-0) allowed one run on one hit through 3 1-3 innings. He was called up from Triple-A Richmond on June 25 and made his debut that night against Baltimore. In his two previous outings, he compiled a 13.50 ERA.

Kevin Gryboski relieved McConnell with two on in the seventh and allowed a bloop single by Mike Redmond to make it 7-6, but pinch-hitter Lenny Harris flied to left to end the threat.

John Smoltz pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 15 chances.

Mike Lowell and Miguel Cabrera both homered for the Marlins, who lost for the fifth time in seven games.

Neither starting pitcher came back after the delay, which probably was a good thing for Florida right-hander A.J. Burnett. He gave up three runs on five hits in only one inning.

His counterpart, Paul Byrd, was only slightly better. He was charged with two runs on three hits in two innings, then turned a 3-2 lead over to Travis Smith.

Smith allowed five straight hits during one stretch in the third- including a two-run homer to Cabrera – and let Florida go ahead 5-3. But Darren Oliver (2-3), who took over for Burnett, gave it right back in the bottom half.

Estrada doubled and moved to third on a single by Julio Franco. A groundout by Andruw Jones brought in Estrada, and Franco scored on the first career triple by rookie Charles Thomas.

Finally, pinch-hitter Mike Hessman singled in Thomas for a 6-5 lead.

Notes: Atlanta 1B Adam LaRoche, on the 15-day disabled list with a separated shoulder, went 2-for-4 with a homer during a rehab assignment Wednesday night with Triple-A Richmond. He might return to the Braves on Friday. … Lowell and Cabrera hit back-to-back homers in the Marlins’ 5-4 victory Tuesday night.

AP-ES-06-30-04 2325EDT