Diamondbacks Beat Braves in 16-13 Slugfest
Heading to the top of the 9th inning tied with the Braves 13-13, something had to give for the Diamondbacks. In their franchise history, they had never won a game in which they gave up 12 or more runs, going 0-85. At the same time they had never lost a game when they scored 13 or more, going 79-0. Things did give, in a big way, when Geraldo Perdomo hit a two-run double and Ketel Marte followed with an RBI base hit to give the D-backs a 16-13 lead. Kevin Ginkel struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth, letting out a primal scream on the final pitch as he sealed the victory. BOX SCORE
It was a ballgame for the ages, a true slugfest. There were no fewer than six lead changes in this seesaw battle. It was also a major monkey off the Diamondbacks backs. The offense had been struggling mightily, scoring just 2.9 runs a game in their previous 14 contests, going 4-10 in the process. With the season seemingly spinning out of control a victory like this was more than just cathartic, it was absolutely critical.
"I'm proud of this team" said manager Torey Lovullo. "We fought today. We had a lot of opportunities to shut it down. But we're resilient, we're strong, and we showed up today"
The biggest star among many for the D-backs tonight was Christian Walker who had two homers, a single, a walk, five RBI and a stolen base. It wasn't just Walker though. Six different players had RBI's, and six different players had multi hit games. The only player in the lineup not to get a hit, oddly enough, was Lourdes Gurriel Jr, the only player who hit at all in the Toronto series.
Walker expressed confidence that sooner or later the bats would break out of their slump. "We knew it was in there. It was just a matter of doing what we had to do to make it show up."
The D-backs jumped on Braves starter Bryce Elder from the jump. Corbin Carroll chopped an RBI triple over the head of Matt Olsen and into the right field corner. He later scored on a fielding error spotting Zach Davies a 2-0 lead.
Davies was not able accept his good fortune however as the Braves pounded him for five runs on five hits and walk in the bottom of the inning. Amazingly the D-backs pounced right back, scoring five of their own in the top of the 2nd to take a 7-5 lead. Emmanuel Rivera got it started with a solo homer. Ketel Marte smashed a two-run double and came in to score on a wild play in which Corbin Carroll reached third base on a strikeout. That set the tone for the night.
The D-backs stretched their lead to 8-5 in the fourth when Walker hit his first homer, but the Braves came back with four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 9-8 lead, the big blow coming from Austin Riley's three run homer.. That was the end of Davies night as he gave up nine runs on eight hits and three walks in just 3.2 innings. His ERA is now 7.38 and his position in the rotation is a discussion for another day.
The Braves scored two runs in the fifth on a homer off Jose Ruiz to stretch the lead to 11-8, but then the D-backs came right back again, scoring four in the top of the sixth, three of them on a Walker's second homer of the game. That 12-11 lead would once again be short lived when Austin Adams gave up another homer to Riley in the 6th inning, this time a two run blast. Riley had seven RBI on the night, including an RBI double in the first.
The D-backs tied it up in the 8th when Dominic Canzone collected his first major league hit, an RBI single to right. The bullpen meanwhile was restoring order. Tyler Gilbert and Miguel Castro retired the side in order in the 7th and 8th innings, setting up the big top of the 9th and Perdomo's go ahead hit.
Here is an extended D-backs highlight reel. You're going to want to watch this.
The D-backs needed the victory to hold on to their Wild Card spot in the tightly bunched National League. Game two of the series is tomorrow night at 4:20 MST, 7:20 EST. Ryne Nelson starts for the D-backs and Charlie Morton goes for the Braves.
