Braves Stay Hot, Bury D-Backs with 11-Hit Outburst in 8-2 Victory
The Atlanta Braves kept their momentum rolling Friday night, collecting 11 hits in a commanding 8-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks—marking their sixth victory in their last seven games against Arizona.
Though the pitching showdown between had star power on paper, both starters struggled mightily out of the gate. Neither pitcher showed much control, with Sale especially laboring through the early innings despite solid velocity, hinting at mechanical issues rather than stuff.
Atlanta’s offense came alive in the second inning with a refreshing display of small-ball execution. Michael Harris got it started with a single, followed by Eli White’s RBI double down the line. Arizona native Alex Verdugo blooped in a perfectly placed double to add another run, and Austin Riley drove in the third with a clean single.
Sale ran into trouble in the fourth, tossing his 90th pitch as Arizona finally got on the board via Jorge Barrosa’s RBI single. Despite his velocity touching the upper 90s, Sale struggled to finish off hitters, often losing command in key moments.
Chris Sale
Gallen, who threw nearly 60 pitches in the first two innings, managed to last five before handing things over to the bullpen. But the Braves weren’t done. In the sixth, Eli White’s infield chopper forced a rushed throw from Eugenio Suarez, resulting in a costly error and a run. Nick Allen then added an RBI single to stretch the lead to 5-1.
A brief scare came in the seventh when Corbin Carroll appeared to cut into the lead with a two-run homer, but the call was overturned on replay after the ball narrowly missed the foul pole. The Braves took full advantage of the momentum swing in the eighth: Sean Murphy and Ozzie Albies hit back-to-back doubles, Eli White added an RBI single, and Riley kept the hit parade going to make it 8-1.
Arizona scratched across one more run off Jesse Chavez in the eighth, but it was far too little, too late. With the win, the Braves improved to 11-14 and continue trending upward with a strong run of form. If you didn’t catch the game, you missed a classic case of Atlanta quietly dominating with timely hitting and relentless pressure.
