YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Jones has 5 hits, 4 RBIs as Braves beat Cubs 10-3

    ATLANTA (AP) — Chipper Jones absorbed every moment of a performance he said he'll cherish in retirement.

    The newly chosen All-Star, delivered his first five-hit game in a decade, driving in four runs Tuesday night and leading the Atlanta Braves over the Chicago Cubs 10-3.

    Jones was added to the NL All-Star roster before the game. The 40-year-old third baseman replaced injured Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp.

    He then played like an All-Star at the plate, on defense and with his first stolen base of the season.

    Jones, who plans to retire after this season, went 5 for 5 for his third career five-hit game and first since Aug. 11, 2002.

    "Tonight was just one of those dream games," Jones said. "I would be hard-pressed to find a game in which I played better."

    After his fifth hit, a single in the eighth inning, Jones was lifted for pinch runner Juan Francisco. Jones tipped his batting helmet as he received an ovation on his way to the dugout. He emerged from the dugout for another wave to the fans as the cheers continued.

    "That was fun. That was a lot of fun," Jones said. "It's just another one to file in the memory bank from my last year. It has been pretty special to this point."

    Jones hit a three-run double in the sixth. He has a season-best 10-game hitting streak and is hitting .313.

    "I don't think that swing is ready to retire," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.

    Jones added a defensive highlight in the eighth inning when he fielded Darwin Barney's grounder behind third base and, while in foul territory, threw him out at first.

    "Impressive," Braves right-hander Jair Jurrjens said. "He stole the show today. He carried us."

    Jurrjens (2-2) gave up nine hits and three runs, all unearned, in five innings. Reliever Kris Medlen pitched three perfect innings.

    The Cubs led 3-1 before Michael Bourn hit a bases-loaded triple in Atlanta's five-run fifth. Martin Prado's sacrifice fly and Jason Heyward's 13th homer in the inning pushed the Braves' lead to 6-3, chasing Chris Volstad out of the game.

    Volstad (0-7) was promoted from Triple-A Iowa for the start. He gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 1-3 innings.

    "He didn't really pitch to the game plan and that was discouraging," Sveum said, adding Volstad didn't follow catcher Steve Clevenger.

    Sveum said Volstad will have another chance.

    "We don't have any options, so we'll run him out there again," Sveum said. "As of now we don't have any other options."

    The loss left Volstad with 20 consecutive starts without a win. It is the longest winless streak in the majors since Jo-Jo Reyes made 28 straight winless starts for the Braves and the Blue Jays from 2008-11, according to STATS LLC.

    Volstad was winless in his last 11 starts with Florida in 2011 and hasn't won in nine starts over two stints with the Cubs this season.

    "It's definitely a learning process," Volstad said. "I think it's just a matter of trying to be too perfect. Too fine.

    "I just need to relax."

    Bourn walked in the first and scored when Jones' single dropped in front of David DeJesus in center field. DeJesus dove and trapped the ball.

    Cubs relievers Rafael Dolis and Jairo Asencio combined to walk six batters in the sixth, helping the Braves score four runs on only one hit — Jones' bases-loaded double to right field. Prado forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk from Asencio.

    The start of the game was delayed by rain for 52 minutes. Following the rain, the first-pitch temperature was 72 degrees, a drop of more than 20 degrees.

    NOTES: Volstad's last win came on July 10, 2011 with Florida against Houston. ... The Cubs optioned RHP Casey Coleman to Triple-A Iowa to clear a roster spot for Volstad. Coleman gave up seven earned runs, his career high as a reliever, in last Wednesday's 17-1 loss to the Reds. ... Braves RHP Randall Delgado will face Cubs LHP Paul Maholm as the series continues on Wednesday night. Maholm threw seven scoreless innings in a 1-0 win over the Braves in Chicago on May 5.

    Loading...
    • Lobbying in American-US Airways deal focuses on small cities

      By Karen Jacobs (Reuters) - US Airways Group and American Airlines , seeking approval for a merger that would create the world's largest airline, are warning lawmakers that a requirement to divest certain airport slots would lead to less service for small and medium-sized cities, sources close to the effort told Reuters. The airlines may be required to shed slots Washington's Reagan National Airport to prevent market domination. There is concern that those slots could go to rivals, such as JetBlue Airways , which would likely use them for flights to major cities. ...

    • No Wonder Republican Criticism of Obama Isn’t Working

      Henny Youngman, the late borscht belt comedian, told hundreds of politically incorrect jokes. One of them was his response when asked, “How’s your wife?” “Compared to what?” he’d say.

    • Woman feared Iowa kidnapping suspect's release

      IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The ex-girlfriend of a man suspected of kidnapping two Iowa girls this week worried that he would harm her and her family before his impending release from prison in 2011, citing prior sexual and physical abuse and threats, according to court records released Friday.

    • Woman accused of contaminating daughter's IV tubes

      TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A prosecutor says a woman on trial in Tucson contaminated her hospitalized infant daughter's intravenous lines in an attempt to get attention from the girl's father.

    • California reveals prices for health insurance under Obamacare

      By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California unveiled prices on Thursday that consumers will pay for a selection of health plans offered through the state under the Affordable Care Act, providing a glimpse into how health care reform may look as it is rolled out across the nation. Under the federal health care reform law, Californians who do not get or cannot afford health insurance through their jobs can buy coverage through an exchange, at a group rate negotiated by state regulators. ...

    • Another patent suit bites the dust: Motorola can’t ban Xbox

      The good news with patent suits is that even when they’re successful they very rarely result in outright sales bans of popular products. And now Ars Technica reports that yet another attempt to enforce a sales ban has fallen flat on its face, this time Motorola’s attempt to stop sales of Microsoft’s Xbox. According to Ars, Motorola filed suit against Microsoft back in 2010 because its Xbox allegedly infringed upon Motorola patents that detailed technologies for “video transmission and compression as well as Wi-Fi.” Motorola’s quest against the Xbox ended this week, however, when a six-person panel at the International Trade Commission decided to toss out the company’s complaint. A Microsoft spokesperson described the ITC’s decision as “a win for

    • Sweden's Inexplicable Riots, Explained

      For the fifth straight night, rioters have broken windows and set fire to cars in neighborhoods around Stockholm, Sweden. The violence fits the pattern, if not the scale, of other recent incidents in European cities, drawing renewed attention to the interplay of immigration, economics, and government.

    • Why is AT&T milking subscribers for an extra $500 million? ‘Because they can’

      AT&T said earlier this week that it will add a new administrative fee to each of its wireless subscribers’ monthly bills. The fee is only $0.61, which doesn’t sound like much, and an AT&T spokesperson was quick to point out to several news sites that this new fee is lower than similar fees charged by rival carriers. Subscribers were still outraged. Now that the shouting has died down a bit, however, people are looking for a batter explanation for the new charge they’ll see each month. According to one industry watcher, that explanation couldn’t be simpler: “Because they can.” “Why would AT&T do this? Because they can, and it is all in the pricing strategy,” Joe Hoffman, principal analyst at ABI Research

    Loading...

    Follow Yahoo! News

    Brought to you byYahoo! Sports