Florida 7, Atlanta 4

MIAMI (AP) -- Thanks to a doughnut giveaway for the crowd of

41,226, the Florida Marlins' latest win was especially sweet.

Jeff Conine homered and Luis Castillo had four hits, but an

announcement of free doughnuts drew the biggest cheer Saturday

night as the Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves for the first time in

five tries this season, 7-4.

Under terms of Krispy Kreme's season-long promotion,

ticket-holders were entitled to a dozen free glazed doughnuts

because the Marlins totaled at least 12 hits. They finished with 13

-- a baker's dozen.

"If everybody cashes those in, that's a pretty big chunk of

change for Krispy Kreme," Conine said.

Should every fan collect, that's 494,712 doughnuts that would

normally cost $226,330.74. It's the first time the Marlins have

triggered the giveaway.

"That guy will be baking doughnuts all week," manager Jack

McKeon said.

The Marlins fattened up mostly on Mike Hampton (0-2), who found

himself behind 4-0 after facing six batters. Mike Lowell singled

home Florida's first run, and a hustling Castillo scored from third

on a foulout to second baseman Marcus Giles down the right-field

line.

Conine then hit a two-run homer, his first. With one swing he

tripled his RBI total for the season to three.

"I haven't felt that bad the past five or six games," Conine

said. "I've settled into stance No. 67-B. I'm going to stay with

that one for a while, and hopefully it'll work out."

Castillo came into the game in a 1-for-15 slump himself, but he

snapped out of it with a hit in his first four at-bats, all against

Hampton. Castillo improved his lifetime average against the

left-hander to .424 (14-for-33).

Brad Penny (2-1) allowed two runs in six innings and tied Ryan

Dempster's franchise record of 42 victories.

"We'll see if we can't get him a dozen doughnuts," McKeon

said.

Joking aside, the Marlins were happy to get their first win over

the Braves after four losses.

"Four in a row -- it gets a little annoying," Conine said.

"You want to stop that as quickly as you can."

Division-leading Florida, 11-1 when not playing the Braves,

moved three games ahead of them in the NL East.

Atlanta actually out-hit Florida 14-13, including Andruw Jones'

fourth homer. But his inning-ending double play killed a rally in

the seventh when the Braves trailed 4-3, and Rafael Furcal hit into

a double play with two on to end the eighth.

The Braves also stranded 10.

"We got people on base, but we didn't take advantage," Jones

said.

Florida scored three times in the seventh with five consecutive

singles. One run scored on a passed ball by Johnny Estrada, and

Antonio Alfonseca's wild pitch made it 7-3.

"Those were two balls where the bottom dropped out," Braves

manager Bobby Cox said. "That's tough for a catcher to catch."

Hampton departed with two out in the inning. He was charged with

six runs, hiking his ERA to 8.41.

Florida's Wil Cordero went 2-for-3 with two RBI, hiking his

average from .100 to .174. Armando Benitez, who began the weekend

tied for the major league lead in saves, worked the ninth to

improve to 9-for-9.

Juan Pierre led off Florida's first with a walk and took third

on a double by Castillo. Lowell's single made it 1-0, and Cordero's

foulout scored Castillo, who beat Giles' wide throw with a

headfirst slide.

"We know we've got speed," Castillo said. "We try to do

something different and play hard."

Conine then golfed a two-run homer over the scoreboard.

Game notes
The Marlins' losing streak against the Braves was their

longest since dropping 11 in a row to Atlanta from July 1994 to

August 1995. ... Dempster went 42-43 for Florida from 1998 to 2002.

... Florida's Miguel Cabrera left five runners in scoring position,

all in the first four innings. ... The Marlins will give away

commemorative championship rings to the first 30,000 fans at their

game May 31 against Cincinnati. Florida had a similar giveaway

earlier this month, and some fans were unhappy about going without

when ushers ran out of rings. ... The Marlins topped 40,000 in

attendance for the third time in eight home games. ... The Braves'

Julio Franco singled home a run pinch-hitting in the eighth inning

and then left the game, complaining of dizziness. He has been ill

for several days.