Lopez homers again; Smoltz saves No. 51

MIAMI (AP) -- Javy Lopez capped the best weekend of his most

frustrating season with the game's biggest blow.

A pinch-hit grand slam gave Lopez 10 RBI for the series, and

the Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins 6-4 Sunday.

Lopez hit a homer for the third game in a row but has just 10

this season. He's 4-for-7 in the series to raise his average to

.233, still well below his career mark of .282.

"Sometimes it's a month and I don't hit a home run,'' Lopez

said. "It's the first time I've ever been in this situation,

hitting that low. I'm taking it as experience. I hope I don't fall

into this hole again. It's a bad hole.''

Florida rookie Justin Wayne shut out Atlanta for five innings

but couldn't get through the sixth. Gary Sheffield's pinch-hit RBI

single made it 2-all, and Lopez's two-out homer off Graeme Lloyd

put the Braves ahead.

"It's good to get it going,'' Lopez said. "It has been a long

season. Sooner or later things have to change.''

Lopez was batting for Damian Moss (11-5), who won his fourth

consecutive decision by allowing two runs and four hits in five

innings. Lopez also had a pinch-hit homer Friday.

John Smoltz pitched a perfect ninth for his major league-leading

51st save. He has blown only four save chances and needs six saves

to tie Bobby Thigpen's big league record set in 1990. He also lowered his ERA to 3.50, and opponents are batting .161 against him.

"I'm trying to make quick work, throw strikes and not waste

anything,'' Smoltz said. "And it has been working.''

A crowd of 7,844 was the smallest to see the Braves play in

Miami.

Florida's Kevin Millar hit a solo homer in the sixth to extend

his hitting streak to 21 games, longest of his career and the

longest active streak in the majors. Millar also provided footage

for TV highlights when he tripped over himself and fell on his rear

after catching a routine fly in left field.

"That darn football field,'' Millar said. "I must have stepped

in a Ricky Williams divot. I wanted to move, but I couldn't. My

spikes got caught in the shoelaces.''

Charles Johnson hit his sixth homer for Florida. Mike Lowell

doubled in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.

Wayne (1-2), making his third career start and first in Miami,

left leading 2-1 but was charged with four runs. He allowed five

hits in 5 1-3 innings.

The skimpy crowd suggested the Miami Dolphins must be more

popular than Julian Tavarez. The game went head-to-head with the

telecast of the Dolphins' game at Indianapolis, and on Tavarez

bobblehead doll day, 7,156 of the souvenirs went unclaimed.

Trailing 2-0, the Braves began their comeback with one out in

the sixth. Chipper Jones and Julio Franco singled, and Matt Franco

and Marcus Giles walked to force in a run and send Wayne to the

showers.

Sheffield, one of four regulars held out of the starting lineup

by the NL East champions, followed with single off Lloyd. After

Henry Blanco struck out, Lopez homered to the opposite field on a

2-0 pitch.

"When I was on the other side, the key to this lineup was

Javy,'' Sheffield said. "When he put up big numbers, the Braves

scored 10 or 11 runs a game.''

Johnson put the Marlins ahead with a leadoff homer in the third.

Their other runs scored on a sacrifice fly by Juan Encarnacion and

a single by Derrek Lee.

Game notes

Braves center fielder Andruw Jones and shortstop Rafael

Furcal, both battling the flu, were held out of the lineup for the

second consecutive game. Furcal is in a 9-for-59 slump (.153). ...

The previous smallest crowd for a Braves game in Miami was 9,177

last Sept. 27. ... Tavarez, originally scheduled to pitch Sunday,

was given an extra two days to rest a sore rib cage. He's now

scheduled to start Tuesday against Montreal.