Historic Comeback Propels Diamondbacks’ Series Win

In a nail-biter until the very end, the Arizona Diamondbacks were able to squeeze out a 9-8 victory Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves to take the series two games to one.

Things got interesting when Atlanta took 6-0 lead going into the bottom of the 2nd inning. But the D-backs didn’t back down.

They rallied to score a run in the 2nd and two in the 3rd to cut the lead in half.

In the 4th inning though, the Braves added another to make it a 7-3 ball game. With the game on the line, the D-backs were in danger of starting to month of June 1-2 and fall back to three games under .500.

But the D-backs had something else in mind. They came roaring back in the later innings to regain a 9-7 lead. They added a run in the 5th, another in the 6th, three in the 7th and one in the 9th.

Atlanta added a run in the top of the 9th, but came up a run shy of tying the game and fell to the D-backs for the second day in-a-row.

Wednesday’s comeback win tied a franchise record for the largest deficit the D-backs had ever overcome, according to Steve Gilbert at MLB.com. 

The D-backs fell to the Braves Monday to begin the series, but held on to win Tuesday to tie things up at one game apiece.

Here’s a quick review of the series:

Monday:

Braves 8, D-backs 1

It was pretty much all Atlanta in this one. They jumped ahead to an early 3-0 lead in the second and never looked back.

D-backs’ rookie starter Archie Bradley (2-3) threw five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits. He also walked three and struck out one.

He picked up the the loss in this one and walked away with a 5.80 ERA.

Braves starter Alex Wood threw a gem of a game, going eight strong innings. Wood gave up just one run on seven hits. He didn’t allow a walk and struck out four.

All things considering, the D-backs very well could have been still recovering from that 17 inning loss to the Milwaukee Brewers the day before.

Tuesday:

Braves 6, D-backs 7

Things started to turn the D-backs way Tuesday.

A clutch home run by AJ Pollock in the bottom of the 7th inning gave Arizona the 7-6 lead. Prior to that, the D-backs were looking for answers after Atlanta put a five spot on the board in the 6th inning and led it 6-4 going into the bottom of the 6th.

The D-backs’ bullpen was able to hold on in the 8th and 9th innings and Arizona tied the series 1-1.

Josh Collmenter got the start and lasted 5 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on six hits and left the game in the middle of the 6th inning.

The win went to reliever Andrew Chafin (3-0) who came in and pitched 1 1/3 inning without giving up a run.

Braves reliever Brandon Cunniff (2-1), who gave up the homer to Pollock, was slapped with the loss.

Shelby Miller started the game for the Braves, but lasted just 4 1/3 innings and was removed after giving up four runs on six hits. He also walked six and struck out two.

Wednesday:

Braves 8, D-backs 9

Wednesday was comeback day of course for the D-backs.

D-backs starter Rubby De La Rosa had a pretty rough outing, giving up seven runs on nine hits. He lasted five innings though and recorded eight strike outs, but ultimately walked away with a no-decision.

The win went again to Chafin (4-0), who came into the game in the 7th inning and didn’t allow a run in his one inning of work.

The loss went to Braves’ reliever Jim Johnson (1-3) who gave up two runs in his inning of work.

The D-backs have now won two consecutive series and are two games under .500 (25-27) on the year and are currently 5.5 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West.

Up next, the D-backs host the New York Mets for four games at Chase Field beginning Thursday.