ATLANTA (AP) -- It had been so long since Todd Zeile had hit a home run, even he had forgotten when it was.

Zeile capped the Rockies' five-run first inning with his first
homer in seven weeks and Colorado went on to beat the Atlanta
Braves 10-3 on Saturday night.

"I don't know. I know it was sometime before the (All-Star)
break,'' said Zeile, who hadn't homered in 39 games since June 26
(128 at-bats).

Zeile, however, had an excuse.

He said he caught the flu bug from his children during the
All-Star break (July 8-10) and it took him more than two weeks to
recover, but he continued to play.

"I haven't had the energy to hit one out of the park until
now,'' said Zeile, who said he dropped 10 pounds from his 218-pound
frame while he was ill, but has since regained it.

"Physically, I feel better now. I've been driving the ball in
batting practice. I didn't know when this would happen, but I had
more confidence going to the plate,'' Zeile said.

Since the break, Zeile had gone 14-for-104 (.135), dropping his
average from .291 to .249 before Saturday night.

Jay Payton, who had a two-run double in Colorado's big first
inning, added a solo home run in the third, his first with Colorado
since being acquired in a trade from the New York Mets on July 31.

"It was a big night for Todd. He hit a big home run that got us
off to a nice start and then got a big single,'' Colorado manager
Clint Hurdle said.

Colorado rookie right-hander Denny Stark (8-3) pitched five
scoreless innings. He escaped bases-loaded, one-out jams in the
first and third innings, striking out Andruw Jones each time and
getting Vinny Castilla on a soft liner in the first and on a
strikeout in the third.

"He went after Andruw and Vinny twice. He played with a hand
grenade two times, but got out of it,'' Hurdle said.

Stark allowed three hits, walked four and struck out six.

"I was just trying to keep the ball in the park,'' Stark said.
"Just trying damage control, maybe give them one or two runs, not
get out of it.''

Zeile hit an 0-2 pitch from Atlanta starter Jason Marquis into
the left-field stands after Payton had doubled for a 5-0 first
inning Colorado lead. It was Zeile's 14th homer of the season.

"It was a fastball that ran back over the plate,'' Marquis
said. "I was trying to get it over the outside corner. Against a
guy like that, you can't make a mistake.''

Zeile, who went 3-for-5, also had a two-run single in the
seventh.

Brent Butler added a run-scoring double and Walker an RBI triple
in the eighth to give the Rockies a 10-3 lead.

Marquis (8-7) pitched six innings. The right-hander gave up six
hits and six runs, walking three and striking out seven.

Jones drove in two of Atlanta's runs. He hit a solo home run,
his 26th of the season, in the sixth off Colorado reliever Mark
Corey and had an RBI single. He also struck out three times.

Game notes
The game was delayed by rain for 1 hour and 20 minutes
before the second inning. ... Stark is 2-0 vs. the Braves, beating
them 7-3 on May 18 at Coors Field. He allowed only four hits and
one run in seven innings. ... Atlanta 2B Marcus Giles got his
second start since returning from Triple-A Richmond on Sunday. ...
Atlanta LF Chipper Jones has reached base in 28 straight starts,
dating back to July 16. He went 1-for-2 and walked three times. ...
The game drew 46,104, Atlanta's eighth sellout of the season.