"I keep saying this is his best outing, that's his best outing," Cox said after Wednesday's game, "but this (was), I think, by far. ... I thought he had great velocity and good off-speed stuff. And he was strong. He was going to pitch the ninth if we didn't get to his spot in the order. Which is another good sign."

Hampton is sticking to the pragmatic, low-key attitude that sustained him through repeated setbacks. He assessed the outing this way:

"I pitched a good game on a night when I needed to pitch a great game."

When he made mistakes, the balls were up, which led to more pitches than he wanted to throw. But even at that, he finished eight innings with 97 pitches.

"I'm glad," Hampton said, "because after (Tuesday) night (Jair Jurrjens was out after only three innings) the guys needed a break in the bullpen. So it was nice in that aspect, to be able to help the team out. I just failed to execute a big pitch when I needed it."

Hampton gave up only three runs, a total the Braves offense has been unable to overcome frequently this season. That should be good enough in most situations, but at least Hampton is clear on what got him in trouble.

"The balls that were hit were balls that were flat and up. As long as I keep the ball down, I have a chance to be successful. The few that were down cost me those runs. I just have to keep the ball down, especially with runners in scoring position."

BRAVES 4, MARLINS 2: Charlie Morton retired the first 10 batters he faced, Brian McCann delivered a three-run homer in the fifth, Brandon Jones saved the lead with a leaping catch of a sure home run in the sixth, and Mike Gonzalez struck out the side in the ninth.