Furcal powers Atlanta victory

ATLANTA -- John Smoltz wasn't at his best Sunday, but that didn't matter for the surging Atlanta Braves.

Led by two Rafael Furcal home runs and a mostly solid performance by Smoltz, the Braves extended their winning streak to six games with a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It was the eighth one-run game in nine outings for the Braves. They've won six of those and are 19-15 overall in one-run games.

Furcal hit homers from each side of the plate and had a double in the first to finish 3-for-5.

It was the second time this year Furcal has homered from both sides of the plate in the same game.

"Things are clicking," second baseman Marcus Giles said after the game. "We're getting great pitching and great defense."

With the exception of a three-run fourth, Smoltz was steady. He scattered eight hits and two walks over eight innings while striking out four. He has won nine of his past 12 starts and hasn't lost a game since June 6. He ended July with a 4-0 record.

The Braves' offense started strong, putting two runs on the board in the bottom of first when Giles and Chipper Jones both singled following Furcal's leadoff double. Giles then scored on a sacrifice fly by Andruw Jones.

The Pirates rallied in the fourth, scoring three runs off four hits and a walk.

Furcal tied the game in fifth, launching a 411-foot, lead-off homer to right-center. He untied it in the bottom of the seventh on the first pitch from John Grabow, a 413-foot blast to make it 4-3. Furcal is batting.376 since June 25.

"It doesn't shock me that a little guy can (hit with) so much power, because he can," Braves Manager Bobby Cox said.

The Braves added an insurance run later in the inning off a Julio Franco pinch-hit single.

Reach Brandon Larrabee at brandon.larrabee@morris.com.