...said. "He's throwing harder now than he did last spring." Reach R. Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com. There's no tying in baseball PHILLIES...Baseball Classic. Half of his six hits in 10 at-bats are homers. - R. Travis Haney

...strike ended the season. The Mets only glaring weakness is starting pitching. 5. The hole's too deep Atlanta has never rallied from anything more than a 9-game deficit at the All-Star break in its run of division titles. - R. Travis Haney

...a nondisplaced fracture of the bone and will miss four to six weeks, Braves assistant GM Frank Wren said. Reach R. Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.

...Lohse. Smoltz (9-5, 3.45) has won five consecutive decisions and hasn't lost a game since June 13. Reach R. Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.

...baffling Braves with mid-80s breaking balls. Snell (9-7) gave up four runs on nine hits in seven innings. Reach R. Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.

...timetable as to when Ramirez might return. The team is waiting patiently for strength to rebound in his leg. Reach R. Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.

...starter Lance Cormier (2-4, 6.08 ERA) to face Marlins left-hander Dontrelle Willis (7-10, 4.14). Reach R. Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - After a half-season that thrust him into the national spotlight, Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur had a lot of visions about what he'd like to do in the off-season.

...probably showed up to the park today and thought, 'If this guy makes a mistake, I'm going to do it again.' " Reach R. Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.

...face Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang (8-3, 4.14) in this afternoon's 1:05 start (TBS). Reach R. Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.