Austin Riley had three hits, including the go-ahead single in the eighth inning, to help the Atlanta Braves complete a late-inning comeback for the second straight night and beat the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks 9-8 on Saturday.
The Braves trailed 6-0 before coming to bat in the first inning and 8-2 in the fifth. They scored three runs in the fifth, two in the seventh and two more in the eighth. An RBI single from Ronald Acuna Jr. tied the game, while Riley’s hit gave them their first lead.
On Friday, Atlanta scored three runs in the final two innings in the series opener and won in the 10th.
Saturday’s winning pitcher was A.J. Minter (1-1), with Raisel Iglesias working a scoreless ninth to earn his first save. The losing pitcher was Luis Frias (0-1).
Atlanta starter Max Fried worked 4 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits, one walk and five strikeouts, leaving his ERA at 18.00. Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on eight hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.
Ketel Marte had two extra-base hits in the first inning. He hit a leadoff homer for the second straight night, and then his double gave the Diamondbacks a six-run lead.
The Braves cut the lead to 6-2 in the fourth inning. The runs scored on a double by Marcell Ozuna and a triple by Michael Harris II with no outs. But Pfaadt fanned the next three batters to quell the rally.
The Diamondback got both runs back in the fifth on a throwing error and a double by Jake McCarthy to take an 8-2 lead. But the Braves got three runs back in the bottom half on Ozuna’s fourth homer, a three-run shot to left-center.
Atlanta scored twice in the seventh on run-scoring singles from Matt Olson and Harris, cutting the lead to 8-7.
–Field Level Media
