Miami — The Braves got a victory they desperately needed Wednesday, but they can only hope they didn't pay a severe cost.

Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson, their best hitter and best pitcher, each was injured during the Braves' 9-4 win against Florida at Dolphin Stadium, overshadowing a four-hit, three-RBI performance by rookie Gregor Blanco.

Jones strained his left hamstring crossing first base on a fourth-inning groundout, and Hudson (11-7) came out after six innings with tightness in his upper right forearm near his pitching elbow.

"We'll see how Chipper is," said manager Bobby Cox, whose Braves won the series 2-1. "Hudson, I think, will be fine."

Jones will be reevaluated Friday before the Braves open a weekend series at Philadelphia. He said he hoped to miss only a "couple of games," but couldn't rule out a stint on the disabled list.

"It's sore right now," he said. "I don't know what the timetable's going to be. Hamstrings are a little more delicate than quads or groins."

Hudson said he could have stayed in if the game were closer, and didn't think he would need to skip his next start. He said the tightness probably resulted from throwing more split-finger fastballs Wednesday than he has all season.

"I don't foresee it being any trouble," said Hudson, who threw just 68 pitches in six sharp innings (three hits, one walk, six strikeouts) and improved to 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 13 starts against the Marlins, including 5-1 with a 2.59 ERA in eight starts at Dolphin Stadium.

"Just got to reevaluate it tomorrow, get treatment throughout the week and through the weekend, and hopefully it'll get to feeling better. It doesn't feel too bad, just feels like tight muscles right now."

When someone asked if this game was a microcosm of the Braves' star-crossed season, Jones said, "I don't know if you can look at it like that. We won a series within the division."

But then he added, "Obviously you're a little worried about Huddy. Hopefully that will turn out to be something very minor. We just haven't had many opportunities to feel good about ourselves and how we're playing."

Blanco matched his career-highs in hits and RBIs for the Braves, who moved back to within six games of co-leaders Philadelphia and New York in the National League East standings.

The Braves are five behind Florida and have won seven of 12 games against the Marlins this season.

If Hudson skips a start Tuesday against St. Louis, the Braves might plug in lefty Mike Hampton, who hasn't pitched in a major-league game in 35 months.

Hampton has been out all season recovering from a twice-strained pectoral muscle and, most recently, a groin strain. He said after a bullpen session Tuesday that told the Braves he was ready to pitch.

The Braves were considering pitching him Saturday in place of struggling lefty Jo-Jo Reyes, but it's unclear if the Hudson situation will affect that. Cox said they would discuss scenarios in Philadelphia on the off-day Thursday.

"I don't know what we're going to do," said Cox, whose Braves open a weekend series Friday with the Phillies. "We've got all day tomorrow to think about it."

At nearly empty Dolphin Stadium, the Braves led 9-0 on Wednesday until Buddy Carlyle got rocked for four runs in the ninth inning including a three-run homer by Luis Gonzalez.

Blanco had three singles and a two-run triple, and also reached base on an error in his other plate appearance.

The Braves again roughed up Ricky Nolasco (10-6), who allowed eight hits and five runs in five innings. He fell to 0-3 with a 10.57 ERA in three starts this season against the Braves. He's 10-3 with a 3.10 ERA against everyone else.

Jones gave the Braves another care when the major-league hitting leader (.369) grabbed his leg after crossing first base on a groundout in the fourth inning.

Jones, 36, hobbled off with assistance from Braves trainer Jeff Porter.

He has been plagued by injuries in the past four seasons, but has stayed off the DL this season and played 89 of 101 games despite nagging injuries including a partial tear of the right quadriceps, back spasms and a right-groin strain.

He had six DL stints during the 2004-07 seasons, including one for a strained right hamstring in 2004.

Since coming back from his most recent DL stint on June 13, 2007, Jones has hit a robust .361 with 44 doubles, 35 homers and 130 RBIs in 181 games.