The VandenHurk that Florida last saw allowed seven runs in 5 1/3 innings over his first two starts of the season.

Meet the new VandenHurk. He throws his fastball a few ticks higher on the radar gun. He has a brand new slider. His curveball doesn't hang as much as it used to. And he's pitching pretty well.

Making his first start since being recalled from Double-A Carolina after trying the Marlins' patience early in the season, VandenHurk was a new man against the Braves on Tuesday. The 23-year-old righty hurled five no-hit innings and got a lift from a Mike Jacobs three-run homer to lead the Marlins to a 4-0 win over the Braves in front of 14,721 at Dolphin Stadium.

The Braves broke up the no-hitter in the sixth inning with a leadoff single by Chipper Jones off Marlins reliever Joe Nelson. But the Florida relievers went on to pitch four shutout frames and allow just one hit to preserve the win.

"I was going to jokingly ask [Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez] for the scorecard -- I've never been part of a one-hitter before," Nelson said. "But if we can throw up another one-hitter, I'll give up the hit. It doesn't bother me."

It was the Marlins' 10th one-hitter and the first time they've used four pitchers to accomplish the feat.

With the win, the Marlins moved within a game of first place in the National League East and are now even with the Mets.

Gonzalez was forced to take VandenHurk out of the game early because he threw 94 pitches, mostly due to a fourth inning that saw him get out of a bases-loaded nobody-out jam.

Besides that hiccup, the Marlins' skipper could tell his starter put in some good work with the Mudcats.

"He went down to the Minor Leagues and picked up a slider," Gonzalez said. "He was a fastball, curveball guy. Our guys in the Minor Leagues were working with the slider, and he threw a lot of good ones.

"You could see that he went down there and he's gotten better."

In his first start of the season, VandenHurk's 69-mph curveball hung and his fastball didn't top 91 mph. On Tuesday, he topped out at 95 mph while mixing in a biting slider. He threw first-pitch strikes to 12 of the 20 hitters he faced. VandenHurk finished the night with seven strikeouts and five walks.

"I just wanted to go out there, keep the team as close as possible and make sure I win it for them," said VandenHurk, who threw a one-hitter against the Braves last season. "Obviously getting [the no-hitter through five] feels good, but getting the win feels much better."

The righty has been somewhat hampered by injuries since being signed by the Marlins as a non-drafted free agent in 2002. He underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery in 2005 and, after being optioned to Double-A this year, VandenHurk suffered an ulnar nerve injury in his right arm in late April.

But he looked healthier than ever against the Braves.

"I used [the slider] tonight, and just tried to get something I can throw offspeed, and I was able to do that with my slider and the curveball," said VandenHurk, who went 3-3 with a 4.23 ERA for the Mudcats this season. "That's a big key for my game."

In the fourth inning, after issuing three straight walks to Jones, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann -- throwing 12 of his 18 pitches for balls in the process -- he struck out Jeff Francoeur on three straight pitches, got Kelly Johnson swinging and forced Mark Kotsay to fly out to keep his no-hitter intact.

"I think it was important not only for the team, but for his own confidence," Gonzalez said. "He walked three guys there, and usually that's not a good combination to do that.

"[But] he threw strikes. All of a sudden, he threw strikes."

That proved crucial in the next half-inning, when the Marlins took a three-run lead on Jacobs' 20th home run of the season -- tying his career high and making him the third Marlins player to reach the 20-homer plateau this season. After Braves starter Charlie Morton put runners on first and second with two outs on walks to Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla, Jacobs sent an 0-1 changeup over the right-field fence to make it a 3-0 game.

"Three runs were huge at that point," Jacobs said. "Obviously, they were pitching really well, and our guys were pitching well, as well. Our hats go off to the guys who have been coming up and doing their job.

"Obviously, [the pitchers] did a great job today and stepped up."