Maddux gives up seven earned runs in four innings

MIAMI (AP) -- Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox was impressed with

what he saw Monday night. Just not from his own team.

Mark Redman pitched a five-hitter and the Florida Marlins

roughed up Greg Maddux and beat the Braves 8-1.

"These guys are good," Cox said. "They got good hitters,

great pitching, super defense. It's no easy task to beat these

guys."

Ivan Rodriguez hit a three-run homer in the first inning off

Maddux and Derrek Lee connected later, as the Marlins pulled back

to .500 for the fourth time in seven games.

Redman (6-3) settled down after giving up a run in the first

inning, retiring 18 of 19 batters until Julio Franco singled in the

seventh.

"I threw a lot of fastballs inside and they were jamming

themselves," said Redman. "I was going to make them hit the ball.

I tried to stay around the plate, keep the ball down and make them

hit good pitches."

Redman struck out two and walked one in his second complete game

of the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.78.

"He changed speeds well," said Marlins manager Jack McKeon.

"He's a professional. He does a yeoman's job every time out."

McKeon credited Redmond with giving the Marlins bullpen a much

needed night off after the weekend series against the Red Sox in

which the Marlins gave up 45 runs.

"Those kind of guys are real hard to hit," Cox said of Redman.

"He doesn't throw hard, but he's right over the top."

Maddux (6-8) gave up seven runs on six hits in four innings. It

was his shortest outing since May 20, when he also gave up seven

runs in four innings in a loss to Cincinnati.

Once again, Maddux struggled in the opening inning. Of the 72

runs he has given up this year, 27 have come in the first inning.

"I didn't pitch good, I didn't locate good and they took

advantage," said Maddux. "They hit my mistakes."

Back on April 5, the Marlins tagged Maddux for nine runs in two

innings. He came back eight days later to hold the Florida to one

run on two hits in six innings.

Rodriguez hit his 10th home run and added a double off Trey

Hodges in the fifth. Over his last 25 games, Rodriguez is

35-for-93, raising his batting average from .239 to .290.

"I just try to concentrate and hit the ball hard," said

Rodriguez, adding that he was more impressed with his pitcher than

with his own offense.

"It was a nice game but the best part is we got the win. Redman

pitched a great game. He worked both sides of the plate, fastball

in and out and the changeup was good," he said.

Lee's two-run homer in the third was his 16th of the season, and

came after Mike Lowell singled with two outs.

Lee homered for only the fourth time this season at Pro Player

Stadium. His last home run in Miami came on April 12 against

Atlanta.

"I don't hit a lot here but I hit that one pretty good," Lee

said.

Cox thought Maddux could have escaped the first inning without

as much damage had Rodriguez not muscled an inside pitch over the

wall.

"That ball went way in on him and he it to right field.

Normally that pitch jams somebody or gets a popup, not hit out to

right field," Cox said.

Maddux was more impressed that Rodriguez connected on the homer

on the first pitch he saw in the game.

"You don't usually hit the first pitch you see out of the

park," Maddux said.

The Braves scored in the first after Rafael Furcal led off the

game with a ground-rule double, advanced to third on a single by

Marcus Giles and came home on Gary Sheffield's double-play

grounder.Game notes
The Marlins announced that RHP Blaine Neal would be sent

down to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room on the roster for Tuesday

night's starter Josh Beckett. ... Kevin Gryboski relieved Maddux to

start the fifth, but his appearance lasted only three pitches -- all

balls -- before he left because of muscle spasms in right side.

Hodges threw the fourth ball to Luis Castillo, but the walk was

charged to Gryboski. ... The bat flew out Todd Hollandsworth's

hands as he struck out in the second inning. The bat loudly clanged

off a railing in front of the fans above the Marlins dugout,

ricocheting harmlessly to field. ... A fourth-inning pitch from

Maddux ran up and in to Alex Gonzalez knocking the bat out his

hands. But the ball was called foul because it only caught the knob

of the bat.