Arizona’s Turnaround Series After Being Swept Coming Out of the Break
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Diamondbacks lost three consecutive games in Toronto against a well-oiled team fighting to keep an American League Wild Card spot. The Diamondbacks had an even taller task. Limping into Atlanta, they answered the bell and took two of three games for the series win against the best team in baseball.
The Diamondbacks were one of 12 teams on Tuesday that scored double-digit runs as they won a thriller 16-13. Veteran first-baseman Christian Walker broke out of his slump at the plate, going three-for-five, and piling up five RBIs. In fact, the first four of the Arizona lineup (including Walker), combined 10-for-21 (.476 BA), scored 10 runs, and contributed 12 runs batted in.
The second game was much less wild. Backed by a strong performance by rookie starter Ryne Nelson, who earned the win with seven innings pitched, three hits, two earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. The D-Backs beat the Braves five to three, with RBI contributions from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Nick Ahmed.
Thursday was a mix of both of the previous games; good pitching in the first part, then an offensive breakout in the second part. But the Braves came out on top in the end, avoiding the sweep.