Surprising Marlins use long ball to top Braves 6-5

Florida Marlins relief pitcher Kevin Gregg and catcher Mike Rabelo celebrate after the Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-0 in a baseball game in Miami, Tuesday, April 15, 2008. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

MIAMI—Mike Jacobs hit his sixth home run and Luis Gonzalez added a two-run pinch-hit homer to help the surprising Florida Marlins beat the struggling Atlanta Braves 6-5 Wednesday night.

Tim Hudson (2-1) lasted only three innings for the Braves, who lost their third in a row and fell to 0-7 in one-run games. They're 2-7 on the road.

Mark Hendrickson (3-1) won his third start in a row for the Marlins, who are last in the NL in ERA but 9-0 when scoring at least four runs. They lead the NL East despite the lowest payroll in the majors.

Florida was nursing a 4-3 lead when Gonzalez homered in the seventh. It was the second pinch-hit homer of his career out of 348 total.

Jacobs, who came into the game tied for the NL lead in home runs, hit a two-out homer off Hudson in the third. It was only the second homer allowed by a Braves starter this year.

Hudson endured his first poor start of the season, allowing six hits and four runs in three innings. He left after throwing only 58 pitches.

The right-hander lost for the first time in seven career starts in Miami, where he had been 4-0. His ERA rose from 2.14 to 3.38.

Hendrickson went 5 1-3 innings and gave up three runs, two earned. Kevin Gregg pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in as many chances.

Yunel Escobar hit his third home run for the Braves, who grounded into three inning-ending double plays.

Florida scored three times in the second. Josh Willingham led off with a double and came home on a single by Jorge Cantu. Mike Rabelo doubled and Alfredo Amezaga walked to load the bases, and Hanley Ramirez hit a two-out, two-run single.

Atlanta scored an unearned run in the second. Jeff Francoeur doubled, took third on an infield single by Matt Diaz and continued home on an errant throw by third baseman Cantu.

Kelly Johnson walked with two out in the fifth, and Escobar homered to cut the Braves' deficit to 4-3. Atlanta scored in the eighth on Brian McCann's RBI groundout and Diaz's infield single, but Mark Kotsay grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Twice the Marlins turned double plays to escape two-on, one-out jams.

Notes:@ Wednesday was the Marlins' ninth consecutive day in sole possession of first place, their longest such stretch since June 2004. ... Ramirez took early batting practice one day after his 11-game hitting streak ended. ... NL batting leader Chipper Jones singled in the third to extend his hitting streak to 12 games for Atlanta.