Lane Adams’ three-run pinch hit lifts Braves
ATLANTA — When Lane Adams strode to the plate to pinch-hit for the Atlanta Braves with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth inning Saturday and the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead 3-2, some must have wondered whether the wrong Adams heard his name called.
But in about the time it took to say, “Why isn’t left-handed power hitter Matt Adams pinch-hitting here against Randall Delgado?” right-handed Lane Adams lined a first-pitch double to left field, clearing the bases and giving the Braves a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in an 8-5 win before 41,627 at SunTrust Park.
It was the largest crowd to date at the firstyear stadium.
Brandon Phillips drove two runs with a home run and a double and Jace Peterson added a pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning for the Braves, who’ve won the first two games coming out of the All-Star break and go for a sweep this afternoon against an Arizona team that has the fourthbest record in the majors.
The Braves are 6-2-1 in their past nine series and have a 22-16 record since the beginning of June, moving back within one game of .500 at 44-45. They also have at least one double in 11 consecutive games, their second-longest streak since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.
They’ve won seven consecutive games started by pitcher Mike Foltynewicz, who gave up eight hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings and got no decision. He had six strikeouts and three walks and had a high pitch count (110).
Lane Adams, a 27-yearold rookie whose first home run came as a pinch-hitter June 22 against San Francisco, is now 6-for-25 (.240) with eight RBIs as a pinch-hitter, tied with Danny Santana for the team lead in pinch-hit RBIs.
After Patrick Corbin limited the Braves to six hits and two runs in five innings, right-hander Delgado, who spent the first six years of his career in the Braves organization, gave up consecutive infield singles to Ender Inciarte and Matt Kemp to start the sixth inning. Nick Markakis struck out and Johan Camargo flied out before Dansby Swanson kept the inning alive by working a seven-pitch walk to load the bases.
Delgado has reverse splits — he handles left-handed batters better than right-handers. Lefties hit just .216 in 102 at-bats against him before Saturday and right-handers hit .265 in 132 at-bats. And so, Lane Adams, a journeyman with excellent speed, was sent up to face Delgado. He pounced on a firstpitch slider, driving it to the left-field corner to bring in all three runs and give the Braves a 5-3 lead.
When Inciarte followed with a ground ball that was botched by the second baseman (but ruled a hit), Adams was sprinting all the way and scored from second base on the play.