Braves cap late comeback, beat Arizona as d’Arnaud drives home winning run in 10th

ATLANTA (AP) — Travis d’Arnaud singled off the left-field wall to drive home the winning run in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves, who scored twice in the ninth, rallied late to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 on Friday night.

After the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker said right-hander Spencer Strider will have an MRI on Saturday after complaining about discomfort in his elbow. Strider allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in four innings, leaving his ERA at 7.00 after two starts.

“He was complaining about his elbow,” Snitker said. “He was uncomfortable with how it was feeling.”

Strider led the majors with 20 wins and 281 strikeouts in 2023.

The hit by d’Arnaud off Scott McCough (0-2) knocked in pinch-runner Forrest Wall from second base. Wall scored easily as d’Arnaud began celebrating after rounding first.

“Any comeback, especially in a home opener in front of a sellout, is a lot of fun,” d’Arnaud said.

Arizona led 5-2 after four innings and 5-3 before the Braves scored two runs off Kevin Ginkel in the ninth. Matt Olson’s double drove in Austin Riley, who reached on shortstop Blaze Alexander’s fielding error. Pinch-hitter Jarred Kelenic’s bloop double to shallow left field drove in Olson to tie the game.

“We were in a really good position to win this game and we just didn’t execute,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s really the bottom line. The Braves are a good team. When you give them extra outs in a key situation, they’re going to react accordingly.”

Olson also homered for Atlanta. Pierce Johnson (2-0) pitched a scoreless 10th.

Arizona left-hander Tommy Henry made a bid to keep his spot in the rotation by allowing two runs in five innings.

Henry’s spot could be in question within two weeks. Jordan Montgomery, who agreed to a $25 million, one-year deal only days before the start of the season, is expected to be ready to make his Diamondbacks debut on April 19. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is on the 15-day injured list with a strained left shoulder.

Ketel Marte hit a leadoff homer against Strider, and Eugenio Suárez added a two-run double in a three-run first inning.

The Braves had a sellout crowd of 41,426.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: OF Randal Grichuk, 32, was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Grichuk, a right-handed hitter, is expected to start in the outfield or as the designated hitter against left-handers. OF Jorge Barrosa was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Wednesday. OF Alek Thomas (strained left hamstring) was placed on the IL on April 1. … SS Geraldo Perdomo was held out with a sore right knee but participated in agility drills on the field before the game.

Braves: C Sean Murphy (strained left oblique) has not been cleared to swing after landing on the injured list March 30. “It’s a tough injury, even as slight as that one was,” Snitker said.

UP NEXT

Braves left-hander Max Fried (0-0, 40.50 ERA) will try to bounce back from an ugly 2024 debut when he faces Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (1-0, 1.80) on Saturday night. Fried gave up three runs on two hits and three walks while getting only two outs in the Braves’ 12-4 win at Philadelphia on March 30.

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