Ashby Off to Good Start With Braves

BALTIMORE —  Andy Ashby made himself right at home with the pitching-rich Atlanta Braves.

Ashby pitched a seven-hitter in his debut with Atlanta and Andres Galarraga had three hits, including a homer, as the Braves beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1, Friday night.

Chipper Jones also homered for the Braves, who improved to 4-7 against the Orioles since the inception of interleague play. Atlanta is 4-1 in Baltimore and 0-6 at Turner Field.

Ashby, obtained Wednesday in a trade with Philadelphia, walked four and struck out six in his second complete game of the season.

“That’s a great way to break in with a new ballclub,” said Brave Manager Bobby Cox, who watched the game from the clubhouse as he began his five-game suspension.

Ashby (5-7) has won three consecutive starts, the last two against the Orioles, and has yielded only four earned runs in his last 24 innings.

Baltimore had three hits in the first inning but only four more the rest of the way.

“The first couple of innings I think I was jumpy and kind of fast,” Ashby said. “We got in a groove and we made the pitches we had to make to minimize big innings.”

It was the seventh complete game for the Braves, the most by any team in the National League.

Albert Belle had two hits and his 70th RBI for the Orioles and Harold Baines had two singles, giving him 1,600 hits as a designated hitter.

Atlanta second baseman Quilvio Veras hurt his knee during a first-inning rundown and left in the bottom of the fourth.