Paul Goldschmidt crushed the second pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-8 walkoff win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night in the series opener between the two teams at Chase Field.
Freddie Freeman tied the game in the top of the ninth with a blast of his own, but Goldschmidt wasted no time murdering a hanging changeup from Braves reliever John Gant to send the fans home happy.
Freeman had a monster evening, putting to rest any questions about his right finger. He missed Sunday’s game, but came back to Phoenix with a vengeance. He began the game’s scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning, and his solo shot to right in the ninth was his 25th of the year, a career high.
He finished the night 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Everyone remembers how Chipper Jones’ prolonged success at the Mets’ Shea Stadium resulted in him naming his son, Shea. Freeman may need to consider something similar, as he now has eight homers, 23 RBIs, and a .433 batting average in 16 career games at Chase Field.
Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz got plenty of run support and pitched well enough to win, leaving the game with a 7-4 edge after six innings. That lead evaporated in the seventh inning, as former closer Arodys Vizcaino was torched for four runs.
Arizona scored a run and loaded the bases with one out, before Welington Castillo cleared the bases with the go-ahead double. Vizcaino has appeared in three games since returning from the disabled list, and the results haven’t been pretty. Monday was the second time in those three appearances that he’s allowed four runs.
Foltynewicz pitched well enough to win, only because of the run support. The Braves provided him with five runs over the first two innings, but a Yasmany Tomas two-run bomb in the fourth pulled the D-backs within a run at 5-4.
Adonis Garcia hit his 10th homer of the year in the second inning, to put the Braves ahead 5-0. The blast pushed Garcia’s season number above the 9 that he hit last season.
The Braves had no trouble getting to Arizona starter Zack Godley, as they touched him up for nine hits and seven runs in five innings.
Nick Markakis was locked in, ripping three hits and driving in a run in the fifth.
Matt Kemp had a less than pleasant evening. He reached base three times, but during his at-bat in the fifth inning, he fouled two balls off himself, one to each leg. He hobbled around the bases and eventually scored on Chase d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly.
Dansby Swanson faced the team that drafted him in 2015 for the first time, and went 1-for-4. Ender Inciarte was also playing his first game in Arizona since being traded, going 2-for-4 and scoring a run.
Jean Segura, former Brave Michael Bourn, and Goldscmidt — the D-backs 1-3 hitters — each registered three hits in the game.
The two teams play again tomorrow at 9:40 p.m. ET.