Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Results, Stats and Recap – July 8, 2024 Gametracker

PHOENIX (AP) — Sean Murphy hit a tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning and Marcell Ozuna drove in the clinching run with a sacrifice fly in the 11th as the Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Monday night for their third straight victory.

Matt Olson led off the 11th inning with an infield single, moving automatic runner Austin Riley to third base. Riley scored on Ozuna’s sacrifice fly for a 5-4 lead.

Murphy tied the score at 3-3 with a two-run shot off pitcher Paul Sewald that easily cleared the right-center field fence. Sewald retired the first two batters in the ninth inning before Eddie Rosario singled.

“I’m just trying to do my best, keep the line moving,” Murphy said. “I hit the home run, but the idea is just to get the next guy up and see what happens. The hit went my way and left the ballpark.”

Rosario was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier in the day. The veteran outfielder recently signed with the Braves after being released by the Nationals. He hit .183 with seven homers for Washington this season.

It was Sewald’s third consecutive missed save after converting his first 11 chances this year.

“You just have to finish the inning,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “He made some really good pitches to get to that position, and then he made some mistakes. A few things went wrong and good teams will take advantage of that.”

“I still can’t believe how often a two-out home run happens,” he added. “But it’s happened to us a little bit lately.”

The teams traded runs in the 10th inning on sacrifices by Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies and Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo.

Raisel Iglesias (1-1) earned the win with two hitless innings in relief. Joe Jimenez worked a scoreless 11th inning for his second save.

“I thought the bullpen did a great job of containing them,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s a great win.”

Justin Martinez (3-1) took the loss as the defending National League champion Diamondbacks fell to 45-46. They haven’t been above .500 since April 3.

Arizona took a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning after scoring three runs in the sixth. Corbin Carroll tied the game with a bouncing infield single that set up Perdomo from second base. Christian Walker drew a bases-loaded walk and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made it 3-1 with a sacrifice fly.

Riley gave the Braves a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a 430-foot home run to center field. It was the third baseman’s 12th of the season.

It was the only blow the Braves could muster against Arizona starting pitcher Yilber Diaz in his major league debut. The hard-throwing Venezuelan showed his potential with a fastball that reached 98 mph and good command of velocity. He allowed one run on four hits and one walk in six innings, striking out five.

Diaz became the 11th starting pitcher this season for the D-backs, who have battled injuries on the mound all year.

Braves starting pitcher Bryce Elder pitched five scoreless innings before struggling in the sixth. The right-hander allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out one batter.

Olson made a stellar defensive play in the sixth inning that likely saved a run. The first baseman caught a sliding ball over his head in foul territory, then turned to throw, preventing Joc Pederson from scoring from third base.

Atlanta juggled its pitching rotation after bringing Elder up from Triple-A on Monday. Veteran left-hander Chris Sale — named to his eighth All-Star team on Sunday — was pushed back a day to Tuesday.

FOLLOWING

Sale (11-3, 2.71 ERA) starts against Arizona right-handed pitcher Zac Gallen (6-4, 3.06 ERA).

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AP Major League Baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb