The Braves trailed the Rockies by a score of 5-0 early on Friday night, but a couple of mid-inning rallies and a late homer from Eric Hinske sealed a 9-8 for Atlanta. Tim Hudson made the start and rebounded nicely after a rough first inning, working six frames while allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out six.
Freddie Freeman continued to punish the Rockies in the third inning with a huge two-run homer to right, his fifth of the season and seventh of his young career against Colorado. In the fifth, Chipper Jones drove in a run with an RBI-single up the middle, and he and Freeman were driven in on a Brian McCann single. Eric Hinske capped off the fifth with an RBI-double to give the Braves a 6-5 lead.
That lead was held for about three minutes as Hudson surrendered a solo homer to Jonathan Herrera to lead off the bottom half of the fifth. Chipper responded in the top of the six with a solo home run of his own, just to see that lead erased once again in the bottom of the sixth on a Tyler Colvin RBI-groundout.
The two clubs remained tied at 7-7 until the 11th inning. Eric Hinske came up and hit a ball to right-center field, just clearing the wall to give Atlanta a 9-7 lead. Craig Kimbrel allowed a run to score in his inning of work, but he managed to close out the game with a one run lead intact.
The Braves and Rockies will meet again on Saturday evening. It'll be Mike Minor vs. Jamie Moyer on the mound. First pitch is set for 8:10 ET.