Braves snap losing streak thanks to clutch homers in the eighth inning

The Atlanta Braves got into a pitching duel and home run derby with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon.

Objectively, the Diamondbacks won the pitching duel. There was no way this Braves team was going to lose the derby.

Two eighth-inning home runs were the difference in Atlanta's 7-5 win over Arizona, snapping a four-game losing streak and giving the Braves their 62nd win of the season.

Zac Gallen and Spencer Strider were unhittable for the first two-thirds of this game, with Gallen taking a perfect game into the sixth inning while Strider tied his season-high with strikeouts.

Gallen blinked first with Orlando Arcia breaking up the perfect game with his ninth home run off the season, a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth that gave the Braves an early lead. In the top of the seventh, Strider walked and hit the first two batters he saw in the inning, bringing rookie Dominic Canzone to the plate with no outs.

Coming into Thursday's game, Canzone was hitting .091 through his first 11 professional at-bats. So, yes, it would make sense he hit his first major league home run off one of the best pitchers in major league baseball this year. He snuck one just over the fence in right field to give the Diamondbacks a 3-1 lead. Emmanuel Rivera followed it up with a homer in almost the exact same spot to push the lead to 4-1.

The Braves offense responded in the bottom of the seventh with Matt Olson hitting home run number 31, a two-run blast cut the Arizona lead to just one run.

Continuing his torment of the Braves both on the basepaths and the plate, Corbin Carroll hit his own home run in the top of the eighth to give the Diamondbacks some insurance runs.

After two outs and a double from Michael Harris II, the Braves were staring down the barrel of being three outs away from their longest losing streak since 2017. Miguel Castro then threw four straight sliders to Austin Riley, the fourth hanging just enough for Riley to hit it 432 feet to center to give the Braves the lead back. For good measure, Matt Olson extended his lead over the rest of the NL with his 32nd home run in the next at-bat to give Atlanta more cushion.

Raisel Iglesias took care of the Diamondbacks in the 9th to pick up his 17th save of the year and give the Braves the much-needed victory.

Atlanta is back on the road starting Friday, with a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers on tap for the weekend.