"Braves pitchers have had a season-long competition to determine who among them is the best hitter, and Tim Hudson's two-run homer in a 2-0 win against Toronto last month seemingly decided the issue early.

But that was before Derek Lowe struck a blow Tuesday. A three-run blow.

The veteran pitcher's bases-loaded double down the left-field line gave the Braves a four-run lead in the fourth inning, and they hung on for a 5-3 win against the Colorado Rockies at Turner Field.

"Our pitchers work extremely hard [on hitting]," said manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves have won seven of eight games and 12 of their past 15. "As a group [Braves pitchers] are pretty good. We're pretty good getting bunts down, and if you make a mistake, they can help themselves."

Freddie Freeman and Dan Uggla added home runs for the Braves, who stayed four games behind National League East-leader Philadelphia, which defeated Florida 14-2 on Tuesday night.

Craig Kimbrel struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning for his 26th save, matching Jonathan Papelbon's major league rookie record for saves before the All-Star break. His last two pitches registered 99 mph on the radar gun.

"We're playing good baseball," said Freeman, whose third homer in two nights helped the Braves improve to a league-best 21-10 since the beginning of June. "We're playing good defense, pitching's great, and now we're scoring enough runs these last few games."

Uggla had perhaps his best game of the season, going 2-for-2 with two walks, a double and his 13th homer. He has hit .165 in his past 21 games, and five of his 13 hits in that span have been home runs.

"Definitely a lot better than what's been going on,' said Uggla, who entered with a league-low .173 batting average and .241 on-base percentage. "Getting on base, putting together some good at-bats and battling, getting some hits -- that's what makes this game fun."

Despite his career-worst first half, Uggla's 13 homers put him only one homer behind team leader Brian McCann. Freeman is third with 12.

Uggla's homer off left-handed reliever Eric Stults was his second this season against a lefty."