The Braves were two strikes away from winning on Thursday night. They ended up losing 3-2.
Josh Donaldson launched a homer in the top of the 9th to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. After two quick outs in the bottom of the inning, Luke Jackson hung a slider to David Peralta that was crushed 20 rows deep into the right field bleachers.
Fast forward to the 10th. The Braves had two on and only one out. Tyler Flowers and Ozzie Albies both struck out swinging.
Brian Snitker brought AJ Minter in for the bottom of the 10th to face three right-handed batters. He walked the first batter and gave up line drive single to the next to put runners on the corners. A pop fly into shallow right field found grass. Game over.
The Braves are 18-20.
They’re 9-14 since starting 9-6.
Arizona scored its first run in the second inning as Christian Walker tripled and was brought home on a fielder’s choice groundout. The Braves would answer back in the next frame as Ender Inciarte was hit by a pitch and came around to score on an Ozzie Albies double.
It was a pitcher’s duel between Mike Soroka and Luke Weaver before the bullpen shenanigans began. Soroka made history tonight, doing something no player has done before — or at least since 1913, when the earned run became an official statistic. From the Braves’ official account:
.@Mike_Soroka28 allowed 1 run over 6.0 innings tonight & has now allowed 1 earned run or fewer in 8 of his first 10 starts. Since earned runs became an official statistic in both leagues in 1913, no other pitcher in history had as many such starts among his first 10 career games. pic.twitter.com/HsQTrvnF4y
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 10, 2019
Soroka did not have his best stuff on Thursday evening, but he continued to battle and worked in and out of jams throughout. He recorded yet another quality start as he surrendered just one run on four hits and three walks. He struck out four. His ERA sits at 1.21.
The Braves and Diamondbacks will continue their four-game series in the desert on Friday night as Julio Teheran (2-4, 4.63 ERA) takes the mound against Zack Greinke (5-1, 3.42). First pitch will be at 9:40 p.m. ET.