Braves, Prado Walkoff Against Diamondbacks Bullpen
Source: Yardbarker.com
This game was a tale of two bullpens. The Braves pen rescued starter Kenshin Kawakami from another lackluster start with 4.2 innings of 4 hit baseball while giving up only one run. The Diamondbacks bullpen on the other hand erased an outstanding start by Ian Kennedy allowing 3 runs, 2 homers in only 2 innings. Not to mention the walk off hit by Martin Prado that drove in the tying and go ahead runs.
Brian McCann hit his third homer of the season leading off the seventh inning against Kennedy whom to that point had baffled the Braves all night. After a pitching change and two more base runners were aboard, the struggling Nate McLouth tied the game with a three run bomb to the right field bleachers.
Braves closer Billy Wagner who has been solid pretty much the whole season surrendered the lead to the Diamondbacks in the top of the ninth allowing a run scoring double to Connor Jackson. So trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the Braves went to work on Diamondbacks closer Chad Qualls. Eric Hinske led off the inning with a single. Omar Infante followed with a bunt single. Seventh inning hero McLouth sacrificed the runners into scoring position, and Melky Cabrera received an intentional walk to load the bases with one out. Then Martin Prado poked an outside offering into right field for the game winning hit.
“In that situation, with one out, I knew I would get a pretty good pitch to hit,” Prado said. “He threw me a slider. I just put the bat on it. Fortunately, it was a good result for us.”
The victory was the Braves fourth in a row and keeps their good momentum going. They welcomed former Braves Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche back to Turner Field for the first time since they were Braves last season. Johnson went 2 for 5 at the plate with LaRoche taking the coller with an 0 for 5.