May 8, 2024
ATLANTA (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks made the most of timely hits for another win over the Atlanta Braves when they couldn't repeat their 16-run performance of the night before.
Ryne Nelson allowed only three hits in seven innings, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. gave Arizona the lead with a two-run double and the Diamondbacks beat Atlanta 5-3 on Wednesday night, handing the Braves their fourth consecutive loss.
The Diamondbacks scored all five runs with two outs.
“It was a totally different game,” said Arizona manager Torey Lovullo in comparing the game to the wild 16-13 win Tuesday night. "... It was all built around what Ryne Nelson did for us, seven unbelievable innings against a very good offensive team.”
Nelson (6-5) allowed two runs with five strikeouts in seven innings to continue his trend of strong road starts. Entering the game, Nelson was 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last seven road starts.
Nelson said his plan was to give the hitters a different look than they saw when he took a 5-2 loss to the Braves.
“The fastball wasn't as good as I wanted it to be and that kind of forced me to mix it up," Nelson said.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said Nelson “was on the attack. I thought he was aggressive."
Kyle Nelson and Kevin Ginkel each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.
Gurriel's two-run double off Charlie Morton gave Arizona a 3-1 lead in the third. Nick Ahmed drove in two runs with two hits for the Diamondbacks.
The four-game losing streak matches Atlanta's longest of the season. The Braves also had four-game skids from April 19-23 and May 10-14. After going 21-4 in June, the Braves are 7-6 in July.
Marcell Ozuna's two-out homer in the second was the only hit allowed by Ryne Nelson until Michael Harris II tripled to fight field with one out in the sixth. Harris was stranded.
Austin Riley, who had two homers and a career-high seven RBIs on Tuesday night, cut Arizona's lead to 4-2 with his 19th homer, a shot to left field, to lead off the seventh.
The NL East-leading Braves remained 9 1/2 games ahead of second-place Philadelphia.
Morton (10-7) allowed four runs on four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings, ending his streak of wins in five consecutive starts. The right-hander had been 3-0 in July, allowing one run in his first three starts.
