The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Inciarte blast leads rally as Braves stomp D-Backs
NL East leaders take 3 of 4 games for their first series win in Arizona since 2012.
PHOENIX — Ender Inciarte attempted to bunt with two on and none out in the ninth, his Braves trailing 4-3 Sunday afternoon. He was unsuccessful.
Then, faced with two strikes, he had to swing — and the ball still hasn’t landed.
Inciarte’s long three-run home run jump-started a six-run inning as the Braves pulled away for a 9-5 win and secured their first series win in Arizona since 2012. They took three of four from the Diamondbacks with two extra-inning heart-stoppers and a late rally in the Sunday finale.
After Inciarte provided a lead, Lucas Duda hit a solo homer, his first with the Braves. Ronald Acuna tripled. Johan Camargo hit a home run that exceeded even Inciarte’s shot. In the blink of an eye, a 4-3 deficit became a five-run lead.
The Braves looked every bit of a playoff team in Phoenix, proving themselves the better of the two postseason contenders.
Tyler Flowers’ lead-off single in the ninth off Brad Boxberger gave them a breath of life. They took it and ran.
The Braves had no hits and
three walks through five innings. Their best scoring chance came when Acuna walked and stole second in the fourth. But he got greedy, attempting to swipe third with Camargo at bat. He was thrown out.
Camargo drew a walk, but Freddie Freeman grounded into a double play. Arizona starter Robbie Ray issued his third walk to Ozzie Albies with two down in the next inning, but then promptly struck out Inciarte.
Fittingly, Braves starter Touki Toussaint broke up the no-hit bid with one out in the sixth. One pitch later, Acuna launched a ball over the right-field fence for a lead. It was his 25th homer of the season, tying him for fifth-most in a year for a player under 21.
And so the Braves, with no hits through 5½ innings, had two knocks and two runs in a two-pitch span thereafter. It was Acuna who lifted them out of an offensive rut.
Since moving to leadoff, Acuna has hit .330 with an NL-leading 18 homers, 34 RBIs, 41 runs scored and 10 steals in 49 games. The Braves stumbled into the AllStar break, losing eight of 11 and falling behind the Phillies in the NL East. Acuna has spearheaded their second half. The Braves since turned a half-game deficit into a 4.5-game advantage in the division. As Freeman and Nick Markakis work to solve their slumps, Acuna has helped keep the offense afloat.
In Toussaint’s third career start, and first on the road, Jon Jay tagged him for the first hit with one down in the third. Toussaint followed with a two-out walk to Paul Goldschmidt but coaxed an inning-ending flyout from A.J. Pollock.
He permitted another hit in the sixth that came back to bite him. Toussaint walked Daniel Descalso to put two on for the Diamondbacks. Luke Jackson relieved him with two out, and it fell apart from there.
Jackson faced four hitters, without registering an out. He allowed three hits and a walk. A 2-0 lead became a 4-2 deficit in the span of a few minutes. Each hit, especially Nick Ahmed’s game-tying, two-run hit and pinch-hitter David Peralta’s go-ahead single, were essentially served on a tee.
Toussaint’s command wasn’t as sharp as he’d like: five walks while throwing 56 of his 105 pitches for strikes in 5⅔ innings.
Sam Freeman (3-5) was the winning pitcher with a scoreless inning.