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Kimbrel suffers rare setback as D-backs edge Braves

By The Associated Press
Posted 10:49PM on Thursday 28th June 2012 ( 11 years ago )
ATLANTA -- Chris Young hit a tiebreaking homer against Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-2 victory over the Braves on Thursday night.

Jason Kubel had a two-run double in the sixth to tie the score for the Diamondbacks.

Trevor Bauer, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2011, did not receive a decision in his major-league debut for Arizona after he was called up from Triple-A Reno earlier in the day.

David Hernandez (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless eighth, allowing no hits, walking two and striking out the side.

J.J. Putz earned his 14th save in 17 chances, retiring Michael Bourn on a groundout, striking out Jason Heyward and getting Martin Prado to ground out.

The Diamondbacks have won five of seven and 15 of 23. They snapped a season-high four-game losing streak on the road.

Kimbrel (0-1) allowed just one hit - the first homer he's allowed this season - and struck out one.

The Braves, who have lost three of five, left 10 runners on base.

Brian McCann had an RBI double in the third inning and Bourn made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

Young homered for the second straight night, but was batting .151 in his previous 106 at-bats and had been dropped to eighth in the batting order. Arizona has homered in nine straight games for the first time since July 20-Aug. 1, 2010.

Bauer allowed five hits, two runs, three walks and struck out three in four innings. The 21-year-old right-hander, who left for a pinch-hitter in the fifth, threw 42 of his 74 pitches for strikes.

Braves starter Jair Jurrjens couldn't hold a 2-0 lead in the sixth and left with runners on first and third and two out.

Kubel, who began the night leading the NL with 24 RBIs in June, made it 2-2 in the sixth with a double that scored Willie Bloomquist from second and Justin Upton from first.

A wild pitch walk to Miguel Montero moved Kubel to third and chased Jurrjens, who allowed six hits, two runs and three walks with no strikeouts in 5 2-3 innings.

Kris Medlen and Eric O'Flaherty combined to hold the Diamondbacks scoreless in the seventh and eighth.

Jurrjens was making his second start since getting recalled from a demotion to Triple-A Richmond and winning 4-1 at Boston last Friday.

Bauer, a former UCLA star who won the Golden Spikes Award in 2011 as the nation's top college player, endured an adventurous third.

The rookie made 30 pitches in the inning, walking three and hitting a batter before escaping with a 1-0 deficit after Freddie Freeman flied out with the bases loaded.

Pitching coach Charles Nagy visited the mound twice in the third. Nagy and a team trainer spoke with Bauer after he threw a ball in the dirt to walk Bourn, the first batter.

Bauer convinced them he was fine and forced Heyward to ground into a double play.

After walking Martin Prado on five pitches, Bauer gave up McCann's double off the right-field wall, scoring Prado from first to make it 1-0.

But Bauer continued to labor, walking Jones and hitting Dan Uggla to load the bases before retiring Freeman.

Left-hander Patrick Corbin held the Braves scoreless in the fifth, sixth and seventh and retired the last eight batters he faced.

NOTES: Uggla, Freeman and Simmons combined to leave 13 runners on base. ... Heyward went 0 for 5 to snap a 12-game hitting streak, but he ended the Arizona second by catching Aaron Hill's fly ball in right field and throwing out Kubel on McCann's tag at the plate. ... Arizona optioned INF Josh Bell to Reno to make room for Bauer on the 25-man roster. ... Montero walked twice and has reached base safely in his last 17 games.
Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann makes a double play with the tag at home plate on Arizona Diamondbacks' Jason Kubel trying to score on a fly-out by Aaron Hill during the second inning of a baseball game on Thursday in Atlanta. / photo: Associated

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