Almost two years since he last started a major league game, Kris Medlen returned to the role Tuesday night and pitched like he wanted to stay there.
The Braves right-hander allowed one run and four hits in five innings of a 7-1, rain-delayed win against the Miami Marlins at Turner Field, extending the Braves' winning streak to seven games. The Braves have won 14 of the past 15 games started by Medlen, who made 14 starts in 2010.
Brian McCann and Tyler Pastornicky hit home runs for the Braves, who notched their 17th win in 22 games to move to a season-high 15 games over .500. They pulled within 2 1/2 games of National League East-leader Washington, which lost 8-0 to Philadelphia.
Medlen (2-1) didn't return after a 1-hour, 53-minute rain delay before the sixth inning. He likely would have pitched only one more inning anyway, since he was on a pitch limit in his first start. He'll stay in the rotation at least until Tommy Hanson (sore back) returns from a stint on the 15-day disabled list that began Tuesday.
Medlen threw 40 strikes in 57 pitches and had one walk with three strikeouts, and four relievers worked a scoreless inning apiece, including demoted started Jair Jurrjens, whose place Medlen took in the rotation. Jurrjens allowed one hit in the ninth inning in his first-ever relief appearance.
Braves pitchers have a 1.43 ERA during the seven-game winning streak, with 10 earned runs allowed in 63 innings.
Juan Francisco had three hits, including a two-run single in the three-run first inning, and McCann's home run in the third put the Braves ahead 4-1 and made it the first nine-homer month of his career. Pastornicky led off the sixth with a homer, the second for the rookie and first as a pinch-hitter.
Medlen's fifth pitch was a 90-mph fastball that Donnie Murphy hit over the center-field fence for a 1-0 Marlins lead with one out in the first inning. Jose Reyes followed with an infield single, but Medlen induced a double-play grounder from Carlos Lee to end the inning.
The Braves, who trailed in only one inning during their three-game weekend sweep against Philadelphia and never in Monday's 8-2 win against Miami, answered with three runs in the first.
After one-out singles by Martin Prado and Jason Heyward, there was a balk by Ricky Nolasco (8-10). McCann drove in the tying run with a ground out, and two walks loaded the bases for Francisco, Chipper Jones' backup.
Francisco had a two-out, two-run single Monday, and did it again Tuesday. His single drove in Prado and Heyward for a 3-1 lead. He was 3-for-3 with a double and an intentional walk, making him 10-for-17 with two homers and eight RBIs in his past eight games.
McCann has nine homers and 21 RBIs in an 18-game tear that began July 5, the day the Braves began their 17-5 stretch that includes 10 wins in 12 home games.
Staked to a 3-1 lead after an inning, Medlen, 26, knew what to do with it. He allowed only two runners to advance past first base after the Murphy homer, once because of a Francisco error.
When he moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation during the 2010 season, Medlen went 5-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 starts and the Braves won 13. Teammates say they relish playing behind him because he works quickly, throws a lot of strikes and gets plenty of ground balls.
His last start before was Aug. 4, 2010, when he went 4 1/3 innings against the Mets and left with a torn elbow ligament that required "Tommy John" surgery and sidelined him until the final week of the 2011 season.
