updated 9:02 p.m. ET June 23, 2007

ATLANTA - Braves manager Bobby Cox tried to protect his catcher in the ninth inning and left with a record-tying ejection.

He couldn’t protect his team from Justin Verlander, either.

Verlander pitched seven innings to win his fourth straight start and the Detroit Tigers beat light-hitting Atlanta 2-1 Saturday.

Cox was thrown out of the game in the ninth by plate umpire Chad Fairchild. Cox’s ejection gave him 131 for his career, tying the record set by John McGraw.

Cox came on the field too late to save Brian McCann from being tossed for arguing a called third strike from Todd Jones, who got three outs to earn his 18th save in 22 chances.

“He was the only catcher I had left,” Cox said.

Cox already has the record for most ejections by a manager, since 14 of McGraw’s came as a player.

McCann said the pitch was low but Cox said Fairchild was calling it that way all game.

“You can’t really complain about it,” Cox said. “You get some and not some, which is all right. It was that way for both sides. Nobody’s going to hit Verlander much, I can tell you.”

Verlander (9-2) gave up a fourth-inning homer to Chipper Jones but did not allow another baserunner past second. Verlander, who set a season high with 12 strikeouts when he no-hit Milwaukee on June 12, struck out 11 while giving up only four hits and two walks.

“All I can tell you is I’m glad he’s on our team,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “He’s a special talent. I think he’s one of the premier pitchers in the league, not just young pitchers.”

Verlander said he enjoyed his first game in Atlanta, where the temperature was 95 degrees for the first pitch.

“It was hot, pretty toasty out there,” Verlander said.

Gregory Smith / AP Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander delivers to the Atlanta Braves during Saturday's game.

“There were times I felt a little tired. It’s nice to be able to get loose real easily.”

Verlander mixed breaking pitches with fastballs approaching 100 mph.

“My god, that guy’s throwing 100 miles an hour in the sixth inning,” Chipper Jones said. “You’re not going to mount much against him. It’s really tough for the best hitters in baseball to put that in play consistently.”

Carlos Guillen homered for the Tigers, who have won six straight games.

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The Braves (38-37) have lost four straight and eight of 11 to fall to only one game over .500 for the first time since winning their season opener.

The Tigers, who won a season-best eight straight games from April 29 through May 8, have constructed their current winning streak on the road. The Tigers lead the major leagues with 26 road wins.

“We’re a pretty good team,” Leyland said.

The Braves already have faced Boston, Cleveland and Minnesota in interleague play, but Cox said the Tigers may be the best of all.

“Of all the teams we’ve faced, those guys might have the best overall team,” Cox said. “They’re a really solid team and I think their starting rotation will prove to be the best in their league.”

The Braves, who began the day with their first streak of three straight shutout losses since 1988, snapped a string of 31 consecutive scoreless innings when Jones led off the fourth with his 13th homer.

Jones, who struck out looking in the first inning, hit a 3-2 pitch from Verlander over the wall in left-center.

Atlanta’s Kyle Davies (3-7) gave up three hits and two runs in 6 1-3 innings before leaving with a strained left oblique.

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