Braves 7, Rockies 4
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs as the Atlanta Braves continued their winning ways Monday with a 7-4 road triumph over the Colorado Rockies in the opener of their four-game series.
Eric Hinske also went deep, and Derek Lowe posted his third win in four starts for Atlanta, which has won 13 of 17 games.
Freeman, who has seven RBIs in his last four contests, singled and scored in the second inning before launching a two-run blast off Jason Hammel (5-9) in the third. Hinske belted his ninth homer two batters later for a 5-0 lead.
Lowe (6-7) allowed four runs over 6 1/3 innings in improving to 3-4 in his last 13 outings. The righthander has failed to reach seven innings in each of his last 11 starts, however.
Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth for his 29th save in 34 opportunities. Kimbrel is one save away from tying Atlanta's rookie record set by Kerry Ligtenberg in 1998.
Todd Helton drove in a pair of runs for Colorado, which has lost three straight and four of six.