Rockies Get Best of Smoltz

For once, the Colorado Rockies got a chance to pound John Smoltz and the Atlanta Braves.

Tormented by Smoltz and Atlanta throughout their four years of existence, the Rockies got a small measure of revenge against both as Ellis Burks hit his 37th homer and drove in five runs in a 16-8 rout of the Braves on Thursday at Denver.

In the last four years, the Braves have won 35 of 47 meetings between the teams and Smoltz (21-8) had been 7-0 with a 2.58 earned-run average in eight starts against Colorado.

“They made some mental errors they don’t normally make, kicked the ball around in the infield and were not the Atlanta Braves that beat us in the past,” Colorado Manager Don Baylor said. “It helps when you score six runs in the first two innings against the guy that I think will be the Cy Young winner and continue to score against him when they leave him out there.”

Burks became the 19th player to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season. He also set a team record with 263 total bases, breaking Dante Bichette’s mark from last year.

John Burke (1-0), the third of seven Rocky pitchers, pitched a perfect sixth to earn his first major league victory and Colorado’s fifth in a row.

The NL East-leading Braves have lost four in a row and 10 of 15.

Montreal 5, Florida 4--Henry Rodriguez, who had made two errors earlier in the game, got the game-winning hit at Montreal, a two-run homer in the eighth inning off Jay Powell (4-2).

It was Rodriguez’s 34th home run, but his first since Aug. 25.

Dave Veres (5-3) pitched one inning of relief for the win. Mel Rojas got the last three outs for his 30th save, tying a career high set last season.

Florida’s Gary Sheffield hit his 42nd home run, one shy of Andres Galarraga’s league-leading total.

Houston 4, Philadelphia 1--Jeff Bagwell hit his 30th homer and Darryl Kile (12-8) pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh inning at Houston to give the Astros their 10th victory in 12 games against the Phillies this season.

Bothered by control problems in the past, Kile struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter.

Losing pitcher Mike Williams (6-13) fell to 0-5 in seven career appearances against the Astros.

Pittsburgh 10, San Francisco 4--Jay Bell hit a two-run homer, and Jeff King had a two-run single to lead the Pirate offense at San Francisco.

Jason Schmidt (4-5) allowed 12 baserunners in five innings and left trailing 4-2, but got the win when the Pirates scored five runs off four San Francisco pitchers with none out in the sixth.

Joe Boever got the last five outs for his first save.