If the weekend’s events at SunTrust Park were a sign of things to come, the National League Wild Card race might prove to be much more interesting than expected. The Braves enhanced the potential intrigue as they received a career-best three doubles from Brandon Phillips while completing a three-game sweep of the slumping D-backs with a 7-1 win Sunday afternoon.

“It was fun and we got off on the right foot,” Braves outfielder Matt Kemp said. “That is a good team that we swept and we have to keep going. We’ve got another tough series coming up and it’s time to enjoy it tonight and turn the page [Monday] to get ready for the Cubs.”
Jaime Garcia set the tone for the afternoon as he allowed just four hits and one run over seven innings. Phillips provided a pair of RBI doubles and began the key four-run third inning with a two-bagger against Zack Godley, whose ERA rose from 2.58 to 3.09 as he allowed a season-high seven runs — six earned — over six innings.
“It is nice to get a win, but it is nicer for the team to win three games against a really good team,” Garcia said. “Everybody is playing well right now.”
Though they have lost a season-high five consecutive games and 11 of their past 14, the D-backs still lead the NL Wild Card race. The D-backs lead the Rockies by one game and have a 6 1/2-game lead over the Cubs.
“This is a very resilient group,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “They have been all year. They should be proud of where they’re at. We know we’ve hit a little stumbling block, and that’s part of the season. That happens in every baseball season, so we’ll enjoy the day off [Monday] and see what we can do on Day 1 in Cincinnati.”
The Braves now own a .500 record (45-45) after the All-Star break for the first time since 2014. They sit six games behind the Rockies, who currently are positioned to grab the second Wild Card entry.
Godley recorded a career-high nine strikeouts, but seven of those were recorded after he allowed Kemp and Matt Adams to homer during a four-run third inning. Kemp’s three-run shot to left-center field was his first long ball since June 21 and just his fourth extra-base hit since June 17. Adams’ solo shot to right-center was just the sixth homer the D-backs right-hander has allowed in 75 2/3 innings this season.
“They just squared some balls up,” D-backs catcher Jeff Mathis said. “Obviously he didn’t have his best stuff today, but they squared a few balls up and put some runs on the board.”
Cognizant that he might be traded within the next couple of weeks, Phillips either enhanced his value or gave the Braves reason to contemplate keeping him. The veteran second baseman delivered a key double during Friday’s series-opening victory and then recorded three-hit performances in the final two games. He scored Ender Inciarte with the RBI doubles he recorded during the first and fourth innings Sunday.
“[Phillips] was one step ahead of us,” Lovullo said. “Fastballs away, he’d hit them the other way. Fastballs in, he’d turn on them. Breaking balls, he’d hammer them. He’s a hot hitter. He’s a proven hitter. He’s a guy that’s been very successful in the National League, so you have to give him credit.”
Before their five-game skid, the D-backs were one of five teams in the Majors to not lose four consecutive games, along with the Dodgers, Astros, Indians and Red Sox.
Julio Teheran will take the mound when Atlanta opens a three-game series against the Cubs on Monday at 6:35 p.m. CT. Teheran has allowed at least six earned runs in four of the nine starts made at SunTrust Park.

With a series victory in sight, the Nashville Sounds faltered against the Omaha Storm Chasers, dropping the series finale 15-1. The Sounds were seeking their first series victory since the beginning of June, a string of ten series.

Two explosive innings highlighted the day for the Storm Chasers. Omaha sent eight batters to the plate in the third inning against Chris Jensen and four of them came around to score. The Storm Chasers tallied a single run in both the fifth and seventh innings before pouring it on in the eighth. Omaha plated nine runs on eight hits in the eighth inning against three different Sounds pitchers.

Nashville’s lone run of the game came in the fifth inning. Melvin Mercedes got the frame started with a base hit followed by a bunt single from Kenny Wilson. Two batters later Franklin Barreto drilled a double off the right field wall to score Mercedes.

Jensen was dealt his first loss of the season after allowing five runs on seven hits in five innings of work.

Chris Bassitt, in his second MLB rehab stint with the Sounds, logged two-plus innings and was tagged for four runs on five hits. He began the eighth inning but allowed three straight hits before being pulled from the game.

Joey Wendle extended his hitting streak to eight games with a one-out, bloop single in the seventh inning. The streak matches a season-high for Wendle who hit safely in eight straight from June 8-16. The Sounds were unable to cash in with runners on the corners and one out following Wendle’s base hit as Barreto and Renato Nuñez each struck out.

Omaha’s Ruben Sosa picked up run scoring doubles against three different Sounds pitchers and drove in four runs on the day.

The 15 runs allowed by the Sounds were a season-high for the pitching staff and the nine-run eighth inning was also a season-high.

The Sounds begin a four-game series against the Iowa Cubs Monday night at Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa. Right-hander Corey Walter (2-5, 6.75) starts for Nashville against right-hander Seth Frankoff (1-5, 4.15) for Iowa. First pitch is scheduled for 7:08 p.m.

Little-used Lane Adams drove in three runs with a pinch-hit, bases-loaded double in the sixth, giving Atlanta the lead, and the Braves beat the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks 8-5 on Saturday night.

Adams was hitting only .214 in 28 at-bats before his double to the left-field wall off Randall Delgado (1-2) cleared the bases. Arizona led 3-2 before Atlanta’s four-run inning.

The Diamondbacks have lost seven of eight and 10 of 13.

Brandon Phillips had three hits, including a homer. Ender Inciarte also had three hits.

After Arizona scored two runs in the eighth to cut Atlanta’s lead to 7-5, Jace Peterson hit a pinch-hit homer off Jorge De La Rosa into the top level of seats in right field in the bottom of the inning.

Patrick Corbin’s streak of 28 consecutive scoreless innings against Atlanta ended with Phillips’ homer with one out in the third. The streak was the longest by an Arizona pitcher against a team to start his career. It covered six games, including four starts, and began on June 28, 2012.

Inciarte’s one-out single in the fifth set up Brandon Phillips’ double off Corbin to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead.

Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz, who threw 51 pitches in the first two innings, allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings. Ian Krol (2-2) recorded the final out in the sixth. Jim Johnson pitched a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 28 chances.

Foltynewicz had thrown 95 pitches when he was allowed to take the mound to open the sixth. Chris Herrmann doubled and scored on a one-out single by pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso, tying the game at 2-2. A review confirmed the call on the field that Herrmann’s hand touched the plate on his slide before he was tagged by Kurt Suzuki.

Descalso scored from second on Paul Goldschmidt’s single to center field off Luke Jackson, giving Arizona a 3-2 lead.

Arizona trailed 7-3 before scoring two runs in the eighth. Braves left-hander Sam Freeman didn’t record an out while giving up two walks and a single. David Peralta’s groundout against Rex Brothers drove in a run. Goldschmidt added another RBI groundout.

Corbin allowed two runs on six hits in five innings.

The attendance was 41,627, setting a season high in new SunTrust Park.

LHP Jaime Garcia (2-7, 4.55) will get the start on Sunday as the Braves go for a sweep.  Garcia is 5-2 with a 4.00 ERA in seven career starts against Arizona. He has allowed five or more runs in four straight starts and has lost his last four decisions.  First pitch is set for 12:35, Thunder Radio brings you live coverage on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network beginning at noon.

A career night from Yairo Muñoz carried the Nashville Sounds past the Omaha Storm Chasers 11-5 Saturday night. Muñoz drove in a career-high five runs as he went 3-for-5 with a home run and a pair of doubles.

The Sounds offense spotted starting pitcher, Frankie Montas, a four-run cushion before he took the mound. Renato Nuñez lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Franklin Barreto from third base for the first run of the game. Matt Olson doubled and came around to score on a single from Mark Canha and an error by Omaha first baseman, Ryan O’Hearn. Muñoz then destroyed a 1-0 pitch for his second home run of the season.

Montas put in a stellar shift on the evening. He was effective in his four innings of work, surrendering just a pair of singles without issuing any walks and striking out five. It was the second consecutive scoreless start turned in by Montas. Josh Smith picked up his third win of the season as he allowed just one run on three hits in three innings.

Omaha threatened in the fifth as Frank Schwindel doubled off Smith to get the inning started. For the Storm Chasers it was the first extra-base hit of the series. Smith then walked Corey Toups but induced a double play and recorded a punch out to end the threat.

Nashville added to its lead in the sixth inning. Back-to-back doubles from Canha and Muñoz and base hit from Beau Taylor extended the Sounds’ lead to 6-0.

The Storm Chasers broke through in the sixth inning when Garin Cecchini took Smith deep to lead off the frame. It was the third home run allowed by Smith on the season.

A two-out rally in the seventh inning extended Nashville’s lead to 8-1. Nuñez and Canha each singled while Muñoz brought them both home on his second double in as many innings. Nashville tacked on another pair of runs in the eighth inning on two more hits.

The Storm Chasers made some noise in the eighth inning as they exploded for four runs as 10 batters came to the plate. Omaha tallied five hits in the inning off Lou Trivino. Kyle Finnegan came on with the bases loaded and struck out the next two batters to limit the damage.

Matt McBride capped the scoring off for the Sounds in the ninth inning with a two-out solo blast. McBride had a season-high three hits with a single, double, and home run on the night. Canha also tallied a trio of hits for the Sounds.

The final game of the the four-game series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Werner Park. Right-hander Chris Bassitt (1-1, 7.24) starts for Nashville against left-hander Eric Skoglund (2-4, 4.42) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.

A few hours after saying he and his teammates were playing for something greater than a .500 record, Freddie Freeman got the second half of the season started in auspicious fashion as he homered and delivered the decisive eighth-inning hit that enabled the Braves to claim a 4-3 win over the stubborn D-backs on Friday night at SunTrust Park.

Freeman drilled his 17th homer of the season off Taijuan Walker in the sixth inning and then delivered an eighth-inning single off Archie Bradley that became a game-winner when left fielder Gregor Blanco made a lackadaisical throw back toward the infield. These contributions preserved the effort provided by R.A. Dickey, who surrendered one run over six innings against the D-backs, who still hold a comfortable lead atop the National League Wild Card standings despite losing nine of their past 12 games.
As the Braves moved within two games of a .500 record and fueled their hope to make a run at a Wild Card berth, they tallied a pair of runs over six innings against Walker. The D-backs went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and remained scoreless until recording four consecutive one-out singles in the sixth inning.
Paul Goldschmidt delivered a game-tying solo shot off left-handed reliever Sam Freeman in the seventh inning.

The Sounds were clinging to a 3-2 lead entering the ninth inning but a pair of singles and a costly error lifted the Omaha Storm Chasers to the 4-3 victory.

Logan Moon legged out an infield single to start the ninth inning rally for Omaha. Billy Burns followed that up with a base hit through the left side of the infield to bring Dean Anna to the plate. Anna laid down a bunt back to Sounds closer, Simon Castro who airmailed the throw into foul territory allowing the tying and winning runs to score.

The Storm Chasers did not waste time lighting up the scoreboard. Burns drew a leadoff walk from Sounds starter Jesse Hahn, swiped second base and advanced to third when Beau Taylor’s throw went into center field. Burns came in to score on a bloop single into shallow left field from Cam Gallagher.

The game did not stay tied for long. Mark Canha continued his hot hitting by leading off the frame with a double. Two batters later, Taylor crushed a double into deep right center field to bring home Canha from second.

With one out in the top of the third inning Franklin Barreto golfed a solo home run onto the berm beyond the left center field fence to give the Sounds a 2-1 advantage.

Hahn retired the first two batters he faced in the home half of the third inning before running into some trouble. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases. Then Frank Schwindel hit a ground ball up the middle forcing Sounds shortstop Joey Wendle to range to his left. The ball went off Wendle’s mit and trickled into center field for the Storm Chasers’ second unearned run of the game.

The Sounds starter was chased from the game with one out and two runners aboard in the fifth inning. In his 4 1/3 innings of work the right-hander allowed a pair of unearned runs on five hits while walking three and fanning six. Patrick Schuster came out of the bullpen and eliminated the threat by inducing a ground out and recording a punch out.

The Sounds regained the lead with two outs in the top of the fifth inning when Matt Olson drove a 2-2 pitch into the opposite field gap to score Wendle from first base. Olson would be the final base runner for Nashville as the Storm Chasers retired the final 13 Sounds hitters to come to the plate.

Omaha had opportunities to tie the game prior to the ninth inning on multiple occasions but the timely strikeouts from the Sounds pitching staff squashed those chances.
Wendle extended his hitting streak to seven games with his one-out single in the fifth inning.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at Werner Park. Right-hander Frankie Montas (0-1, 5.19) starts for Nashville against left-hander Onelki Garcia (1-1, 5.46) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.