PHOENIX (AP) — Eugenio Suárez had a homer, double and three RBIs, Geraldo Perdomo added three hits and a stellar defensive play in the ninth inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks outlasted the Atlanta Braves 7-5 on Wednesday night.
The Diamondbacks beat the Braves for the first time this season after Atlanta won the first five meetings.
“We have a really good team, too, and we never give up,” Suarez said. “We came here to play 27 outs and we did it better today. We put our best on the field and that’s why we got that ‘W.’”
Paul Sewald worked the ninth for his 12th save of the season, breaking a streak of three blown saves. He was helped by Perdomo, with the shortstop diving to his right for a grounder before jumping to his feet and throwing to first to get Travis d’Arnaud for the first out.
With the score tied at 5, Corbin Carroll led off the eighth with a double into the right-center gap off Joe Jiménez (1-3). Ketel Marte moved him to third with an infield single, Joc Pederson was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Christian Walker drew a full-count walk to give Arizona the lead. Perdomo added a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5.
Suarez started his night with a 452-foot, two-run homer off Charlie Morton in the second that landed in the upper deck of the left field seats, tying the score at 2-all.
“I was ready for that one,” Suarez said. “I put my best swing on it and that’s why I got the big homer. I’ve been working for that.”
Suarez’s double down the line in left in the seventh gave the D-backs a 4-3 lead. It was another good game for the third baseman, who is starting to turn his season around after a slow start. The 11-year veteran came into the evening hitting .205 with seven homers.
Morton gave up four runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out five. The 40-year-old right-hander was lifted after giving up a single to Perdomo in the seventh and Suárez drove him home with the double off Pierce Johnson.
Jose Herrera’s RBI single later in the seventh pushed the D-backs’ advantage to 5-3.
“That’s the first time our bullpen’s given up a lead in a long, long, long time,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s going to happen.”
The Braves responded right away with Ozuna’s two-run homer off Ryan Thompson (5-3). It was Ozuna’s 24th homer of the season and traveled 441 feet, landing above the center field wall.
D’Arnaud gave the Braves a 2-0 lead in the second, driving a two-run double over Carroll’s head in right field that scored Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario.
The Braves pushed ahead 3-2 in the third on Matt Olson’s sac fly. The D-backs came back in the bottom of the inning on Ketel Marte’s solo homer to right center.
Arizona’s Slade Cecconi gave up three runs on four hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out three.
Atlanta’s Austin Riley was 3 for 4 with two doubles.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: Placed OF Ramón Laureano (oblique) on the 10-day injured list. Optioned RHP AJ Smith-Shawver and OF J.P. Martinez to Triple-A Gwinnett. Added LHP Dylan Lee and OF Brian Anderson to the active roster.
Diamondbacks: Top prospect Jordan Lawlar re-injured his hamstring in a recent minor-league game, according to manager Torey Lovullo. The shortstop — who was promoted for the team’s playoff run in 2023 — has missed most of this season with a myriad of injuries.
UP NEXT
The Braves will start RHP Max Fried (7-4, 3.18 ERA) on Thursday. The D-backs haven’t announced a starting pitcher.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
