Simmons, McCann lead Braves past White Sox

Brian McCann and Andrelton Simmons both hit home runs, Tim Hudson pitched into the 8th inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago White Sox 6-4 on Friday night to start the second half.

The Braves would strike first in the third inning, when Simmons hit a shot to left field that hit off the foul poll, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead. The White Sox would answer in the bottom half of the inning, when Alex Rios hit a two out, two run double tying the game.

The game remained knotted until the top of the 6th, when Brian McCann drilled a three run home run into the Braves bullpen, following an 11 pitch at-bat. Tim Hudson would make that lead stand, as he pitched 7 1/3 innings, and benefited from a couple double plays and solid defense behind him, including nice plays from Simmons and Dan Uggla.

Chris Johnson added an RBI single in the 9th, his third hit of the game, scoring Justin Upton which some insurance for the Braves.

Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the 9th, picking up his 27th save.

The series continues tomorrow at 4:05 ET, as Paul Maholm (9-8, 3.98 ERA) faces Jake Peavy (6-4, 4.30 ERA) who is returning from the DL.