Braves blow big lead, lose to D-backs

PHOENIX — Arizona manager Chip Hale said it was one of the more satisfying victories of the season, and it was easy to see why.

A.J. Pollock homered for the second consecutive game, and the Diamondbacks rallied for a wild 9-8 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Arizona played without slugger Mark Trumbo and reliever Vidal Nuno, who were traded to Seattle for catcher Welington Castillo, pitcher Dominic Leone and two minor leaguers in a six-player deal announced after the game. But the Diamondbacks still managed to erase an early 6-0 deficit while picking up their second straight win.

"The guys just kept fighting and battling," Hale said. "You've just got to keep playing and we kept playing."

Arizona chased Mike Foltynewicz in the sixth and grabbed the lead for good with three runs in the seventh. Yasmany Tomas and Chris Owings each had an RBI single, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia made it 8-7 with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly. David Peralta's slide at home plate beat Cameron Maybin's throw from mid-center field.

"We weren't looking for the five-run inning right away," said Pollock, who had a solo shot in the fifth. "We were just looking to put a run on and put some pressure on the other team, and the bullpen did a good job keeping us there."

Tomas had three hits, and four relievers combined for four innings of four-hit ball. Andrew Chafin (4-0) got the win, and Brad Ziegler allowed A.J. Pierzynski's pinch-hit homer in the ninth before finishing for his fifth save in six tries.

"We never give up. That's the key," Peralta said.

Freddie Freeman went deep twice for the Braves, who dropped consecutive games after winning two in a row. Maybin and Nick Markakis had three hits apiece.

Freeman hit a three-run shot in Atlanta's five-run second, and then had a solo shot in the fourth. The slugger is batting .357 with five homers and 10 RBIs in his last seven games.

"I felt good all series," Freeman said. "Hope I can carry that over after the next series."

Atlanta reliever Jim Johnson (1-3) was charged with two runs and two hits in one inning of work. Johnson's errant throw while trying to catch Nick Ahmed in a rundown in the eighth went over third baseman Chris Johnson's head, allow Ahmed to score Arizona's ninth run.

The Braves scored each of their runs in the second with two outs. Maybin had a two-run single against Rubby De La Rosa before Freeman's ninth homer sailed into the right-field seats.

De La Rosa was charged with a season-high seven runs in five innings. He matched a career high with eight strikeouts and walked two.

De La Rosa was 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA in his previous five starts.

Foltynewicz allowed four earned runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two.

"Our 10-game road trip, some areas of our bullpen got exposed a little bit," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We need to fix that. I need to figure out a combination to get the ball to (Jason) Grilli's hands somehow. It's tough losing games like that."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Braves: Maybin was back in the lineup in center field after missing the past two games with a quad/groin injury. "The last two days definitely helped," Maybin said.

Diamondbacks: Peralta (left middle finger bruise) returned to the lineup in left field after missing the past two games due to soreness from being hit by a pitch on a bunt attempt Sunday in Milwaukee. . P David Hernandez continues his comeback from elbow surgery and pitched a scoreless inning on Tuesday for Double-A Mobile. He was scheduled to pitch Wednesday as well.

UP NEXT

Braves: After an off day, Williams Perez gets the ball at home against Pittsburgh on Friday. Perez (1-0, 2.66 ERA) is facing the Pirates for the first time in his career.

Diamondbacks: Jeremy Hellickson (3-3, 5.08 ERA) is on the mound to face the New York Mets on Thursday in Phoenix. Hellickson is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his last three starts and has one previous start against the Mets in his career.