ATLANTA — Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo’s thoughts drifted to a different level of baseball as he watched Arizona put together a shocking seven-run rally in the ninth inning to beat the Atlanta Braves 11-10 on Thursday.
“I was like a proud dad, right? Just watching a bunch of Little Leaguers go out there and have some fun and get the job done,” Lovullo said. “That’s what I can honestly say I felt in the dugout.”
Third baseman Eugenio Suarez completed the D-backs’ comeback from a 10-4 deficit, lacing a two-out, two-run double to left field against struggling Braves closer Raisel Iglesias that made it 11-10.
According to ESPN Research, the Diamondbacks entered Thursday’s game with a record of 0-334 when trailing by six or more runs entering the eighth inning and 0-418 when trailing by that margin in the ninth.
“You have 27 outs, you have to play 27 outs hard,” Suarez said. “I mean, that ninth inning tells how we play this game today. We’re never gonna give up.”
On the flip side, the Braves had won 766 consecutive games when leading by six or more runs entering the ninth inning. The last time they failed to hold a lead of that size was against the New York Mets on July 17, 1973.
On a leaguewide scale, MLB teams had been 0-1,461 when trailing by six or more runs entering the ninth inning since the Cleveland Guardians rallied past the Chicago White Sox on May 9, 2022.
The Braves had a 99.9% chance of winning when Suarez struck out to lead off the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks, per ESPN Research.
The Diamondbacks swept the three-game series and won their fourth straight overall.
Suarez began the inning by striking out against Braves reliever Scott Blewett. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a homer, Tim Tawa walked and Alek Thomas added another home run to get the Diamondbacks within 10-7.
After Blewett walked the next batter, Braves manager Brian Snitker brought in Iglesias (3-5), who allowed hits to four of the next five, blowing a save for the fourth time this season.
Suarez felt as if he might get another opportunity.
“That was when I say, ‘OK, we might have a chance over here,'” he said. “Because we got Corbin [Carroll], we got [Ketel] Marte and [Geraldo] Perdomo behind him. And I know they’ve had really good at-bats. … And I was right.”
Carroll doubled off Iglesias, who has given up a run in eight of his past 11 appearances, and Marte followed with a run-scoring infield single. Perdomo popped up for the second out, but Ildemaro Vargas extended the game with an RBI single that cut the lead to 10-9, bringing up Suarez.
“All of a sudden, you’ve got Geno, one of our top run producers, in the box with the tying run on base, and he comes through,” Lovullo said. “So it was a magical moment for this team.”
Shelby Miller worked the bottom half to pick up his sixth save for Arizona. Kendall Graveman (1-0) pitched the eighth.
Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna hit into a game-ending double play to boos from the Truist Park crowd.
Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley and Drake Baldwin homered for the Braves, who have lost four straight and 11 of 14. Atlanta had scored just five runs in its previous three games but finished with 12 hits, eight for extra bases.
After losing 9 of 10 in late May, the Diamondbacks entered June with a 27-31 record. Thursday’s rally put them back at .500 — still disappointing for a team with playoff aspirations.
Arizona, however, has reason for optimism.
“It’s really cool, just to see how much work and time we put in, in the cage and on the field, and for it to show up when it matters is really special,” Thomas said. “And it just shows how much we care and how much we want to win.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
