The Atlanta Braves defeated the Diamondbacks 5-4

Sean Murphy’s big two-out homer in the top of the ninth inning helped send the game into overtime, where the Atlanta Braves cruised to a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Things started off pretty well for the Braves in this game, as it looked like they were going to welcome Yilber Diaz back to the big leagues in a big way. While Diaz was able to retire Atlanta’s first two batters in order, he wasn’t so lucky when Austin Riley stepped up to the plate. Not only did Riley reach base, he went ahead and tagged them all out after hitting a deep grounder to left-center field to make it 1-0 early in the game.

In the end, it wasn’t exactly a sign of things to come for the Braves or Diamondbacks. Instead, it was the start of the pitching duel we’ve all been waiting for. totally We saw Yilber Diaz and Bryce Elder come in. The score remained 1-0 until the sixth inning, with the Braves unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunities they had against Diaz while Elder performed particularly well in his first two starts in the order against Arizona.

Atlanta had an opportunity in the third inning after Sean Murphy led off the inning with an accidental swing that fortunately turned into a hit, and then Orlando Arcia singled to lead off the inning for the Braves. Unfortunately, that opportunity didn’t come to fruition as the leadoff team was unable to get the job done and put a few more runs on the board.

The Braves’ next scoring opportunity came in the sixth inning, when Jarred Kelenic led off the inning with a single and then stole second with one out to put himself in scoring position. Matt Olson eventually joined Kelenic on the basepath after drawing a two-out walk, meaning Marcell Ozuna was one big hit away from potentially putting the Braves in complete control of the game. Unfortunately for Atlanta, the rookie pitcher was able to leave a slider just outside the zone that Ozuna took for strike three, blowing the scoring opportunity.

It ended up costing the Braves dearly once the bottom half of the inning rolled around. Bryce Elder stayed on the field to face the top of the Arizona order and it certainly didn’t help matters that he had to face Corbin Carroll with a man in scoring position after Gerardo Perdomo hit a bloop bouncer that Orlando Arcia made a meal of. Perdomo ended up on second base after that play and Carroll then singled to tie the game. To make matters worse, Carroll stole second base and was then joined on the paths by Ketel Marte and Joc Pederson after Elder walked them both. The third stint at the top of the order didn’t go well for Elder and he had to come out in favor of Grant Holmes.

Holmes was suddenly given the unenviable task of facing Christian Walker with the bases loaded. Holmes threw very cautiously around Walker, and as a result, Walker drew a walk from Holmes to give Arizona the lead. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then hit a ball from well below the zone and into center field for a sacrifice fly that made it 3-1 Diamondbacks.

There was only one out on the board while this was going on, but the second out ended up being recorded in spectacular fashion. Matt Olson chased a fly ball into foul territory to make a dazzling sliding catch, then stood up alertly and threw the fly ball to home plate. Joc Pederson was frozen at third base, and Holmes got Eugenio Suarez out to end the inning. It was a tough inning, to be sure, but Matt Olson’s solid play helped keep it from getting any worse.

Regardless, the Braves went from a slim one-run lead to suddenly having to chase two runs to keep the game going. That said, we’ve all seen how this Braves lineup has suffered from power outages on a regular basis, so it would have been understandable to think that this would be just another one of those nights at the ballpark this season for Atlanta. Indeed, the Braves couldn’t get anything going once Kevin Ginkel entered the game in the seventh inning, and then Ryan Thompson held them quiet in the eighth inning as well.

Thanks to the efforts of Grant Holmes, Arizona remained within three runs as the game headed into the ninth inning. The Braves had to face Paul Sewald if they wanted the game to continue and the first two outs went as expected for Arizona. Getting that 27th and final out proved very, very tricky for Sewald though. Eddie Rosario scored his return to the lineup with a two-out single to keep the game going and he put himself in scoring position thanks to the defensive indifference while Sean Murphy was at bat.

Paul Sewald made it 1-1 against Sean Murphy before throwing him a 92 mph fastball that he left in the zone. Murphy pulled it really well and sent it deep and away from the opposite field. Once the ball landed, it was in the pool area in right-center and the Braves had tied the score at three all.

That’s how the score remained until the end of extra innings after Raisel Iglesias benched the Diamondbacks in a 1-2-3 to end the scheduled innings. Jarred Kelenic led off extra innings with a fly ball that looked like it was going to clear some sort of fence. If Kelenic had hit that 18 more stadiums, the ball would have cleared a fence. Instead, the ball landed in Alek Thomas’ glove for the first out of the tenth inning. Ozzie Albies hit another laser to right field — that batted ball had a .660 xBA, preceded by Kelenic’s fly ball having a .630 xBA. Both hits resulted in one out, but at least Ozzie’s hit resulted in a sacrifice fly that put the Braves back in front.

Now it was time for Raisel Iglesias to walk the tightrope to preserve a one-run lead with a ghost runner already in scoring position — while pitching the ninth inning, no less. The tightrope routine proved a little too tricky for Iglesias to complete perfectly, unfortunately. The Diamondbacks did the right thing and played ABC baseball to tie the game — Alek Thomas hit a sacrifice bunt to move the ghost runner, then Geraldo Perdomo hit a fly ball that was more than deep enough for fast runner Jake McCarthy to score. Iglesias got Carroll out, ending the first extra inning.

The next inning saw the Braves continue their theme of hitting the ball extremely hard without showing anything for it. Matt Olson hit a 109 mph ground ball that was nearly a groundout, but Ketel Marte couldn’t control it, so it ended up turning into an inside single that advanced the runner. Marcell Ozuna then hit a 112 mph laser with an xBA of .840. The bad news is that Ozuna’s laser stayed in long enough for Corbin Carroll to end up making the catch. The good news is that Carroll’s throw to the cutoff man and the cutoff man’s throw didn’t come in time to prevent Austin Riley from scoring, so that was another run scored for the Braves. While Eli White didn’t hit a rocket himself, he did fall after a groundout and so Atlanta once again had to find a way to keep that one-run lead alive.

Joe Jimenez got the ball for the 11th inning and found himself in trouble with one out after Joc Pederson walked to put the winning run on base. It was time for Jimenez to lock it up and he did. Jimenez retired Christian Walker on a full count for the second out and then it took him one pitch for Lourdes Gurriel to hit a fly ball to deep left field. The ball didn’t land in the stands, on the wall or on the turf either – it landed safely in Eli White’s glove to end the game and give the Braves a winning start to their trip.

As usual when it comes to the Braves and games in the West, this one was weird at times, but the main thing to focus on is the Braves winning. It was an incredibly valiant effort by the Braves to keep fighting until the very end – they usually do that in almost every game, but tonight was the night their late-game fighting spirit paid off.

Atlanta is now in the 50-win club with the current NL division leaders and this win was also crucial in helping push back a team that is currently staring down the Braves in the Wild Card race. Atlanta will now look to push Arizona even further tomorrow night as Chris Sale will start tomorrow’s game, which is scheduled to begin at 9:40 PM PMET

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