BRAVES CRUSHING AL OPPONENTS & DOMINATING NL STANDINGS

Oh dem bases on balls! On Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves received more walks (11) than they had hits (9), and when it mattered, in the bottom of the eighth, they cashed the last two in. Eric Hinske broke a 5-5 tie with a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning, and Chipper Jones drove in three runs with a pair of doubles as the Atlanta Braves topped the Kansas City Royals, 8-5, Sunday afternoon at Turner Field, completing a sweep of the weekend series. "Every time I went to the plate, it seemed like there were two guys on base. Finally I got the job done at the end," said Hinske, who had left five men on base in the game and had been 2-for-9 in the series prior to stepping up in the eighth inning. "We've got 25 guys on this team, and it takes 25 to win. It seems like a different guy every game coming up with a big hit at the end." Omar Infante added two hits, including a two-run first-inning double for the Braves, who have won seven of eight and raised their record to 5-1 in Interleague Play. The Braves' eighth-inning rally came out of nowhere, as, with the score tied at 5, Kansas City reliever Blake Wood (0-1) had just induced a double-play grounder from Jason Heyward. But then Wood walked Jones and Troy Glaus, Saturday night's hero. Jones, who had his second straight multihit game Sunday and drove in five runs in the series, was more than willing to oblige. "In that particular instance, I am trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark, but at some point, you have to figure a guy's not going to let you beat him," he said. "He didn't throw anything really close in four pitches. I was swinging 3-0, but sometimes you have to let the pitcher cut his own throat. He ends up walking Troy, then has to come down Broadway to Eric, and Eric made him pay." Hinske lashed an 0-1 pitch into the gap in right-center field, scoring the go-ahead runs. Melky Cabrera followed with an RBI single, plating pinch-runner Brandon Hicks. Craig Kimbrel (2-0) got the win for Atlanta, but did it the hard way. Kimbrel pitched himself into a bases-loaded, none-out situation by walking leadoff hitter Brayan Pena, then botched a potential double-play comebacker from Chris Getz, and walked pinch-hitter Scott Podsednik. But, following a visit from Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell, he pulled a Houdini and escaped unscathed. "It says a lot that [manager Bobby Cox] trusts me, leaving me out there," said Kimbrel, who credited catcher David Ross for his pitch selection and said he fed off the crowd. "Roger came out and talked to me and said, 'You know what? You can get out of this. Just go right at them.' That's what I did and got out of it. I quit trying to nitpick and hit corners. I just went right at them, and it worked out." Kimbrel struck out David DeJesus looking, then got Mike Aviles swinging before retiring Billy Butler on an infield popup. Kimbrel's effort impressed the Braves veterans. "The kid bowed his neck and made pitches when he had to and got out of the inning," Jones said. "That's what being able to throw the ball 95 miles an hour with a good slider will do for you sometimes." "I'm trying to tell him you cannot create your own save, especially in a tie game, but he just ain't getting it yet," closer Billy Wagner said with a laugh. "The kid's on the right track. He's head-and-shoulders above where I was at that age. So he competes, and that's all you can ask for." Wagner, pitching his fourth straight day, threw a scoreless ninth, recording his 14th save in 16 tries and the 399th save of his career. Kimbrel and Wagner capped off a superb performance from Atlanta relievers, as Cristhian Martinez, Eric O'Flaherty, Peter Moylan, Kimbrel and Wagner combined to throw seven innings of shutout ball, allowing Kansas City only five hits over the game's final seven innings. The 'pen was forced into service four batters into the third inning, as Kenshin Kawakami was pulled by Cox after yielding three consecutive hits. Kawakami, who came into the game having received a total of 24 runs of support all season, got four runs in the first inning, but could not record an out in the third inning. He left leading 4-3, with runners on first and second. It was his shortest start since joining the Braves. "Kawakami just did not have his good stuff today. He just couldn't locate it," Cox said. "He just didn't have it. For the first time since he's been with us, he just didn't have it. Pitchers go through a game like that occasionally, just like hitters." Cox said Kawakami would make his next start, as Jair Jurrjens still has one more rehab start to make. "Our bullpen did a great job today," Hinske said. "We sent a lot of pitchers out there. We fought, we battled and had a big hit there at the end to win the game." As with Kawakami, Kansas City starter Kyle Davies did not factor in the decision. Davies, who pitched with Atlanta from 2005-07 and was making his first start against his hometown team, allowed only four hits -- and just two after the four-run first inning -- but issued a season-high seven walks. He threw 103 pitches in 4 1/3 innings, only 53 for strikes. The 11 walks overall were the most by a Kansas City team since Aug. 5, 2006, when it walked 12 against Minnesota. Sunday's win gave the Braves 42 straight victories when scoring at least five runs, 31 of which have come in 2010, and it was their 14th final at-bat victory. It also raised Atlanta's record to 33-1 when leading after eight. Most importantly, the win came on a day when the Mets and Phillies lost, which made for good feelings heading into the team's off-day Monday. The Braves travel to Chicago for a three-game Interleague series with the White Sox, then come back to Turner Field for a nine-game homestand against Detroit, Washington and Florida. "It's early, but we know what kind of team we are," Hinske said. "We come to the field every day expecting to win ballgames. That's the bottom line. We have great starting pitching, a great bullpen and a lot of hitting. We go out there and play a hard nine every day. I like our mix. I like our guys in here; we all get along in the clubhouse. When we go on the road, it's awesome. "We're excited to get to the field every day," he added. "Everybody's ready to play every day. It's awesome." (MLB.com)