Atlanta Braves Clippings Sunday, August 16, 2015 Braves.Com
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Atlanta Braves Clippings Sunday, August 16, 2015 Braves.com Braves' late charge falls short vs. D-backs By Mark Bowman and Steve Gilbert / MLB.com | 12:33 AM ET ATLANTA -- Patrick Corbin produced one of his finest starts since returning from Tommy John surgery and David Peralta helped build a lead that proved comfortable enough for the D-backs to preserve during Saturday night's 8-4 win over the Braves at Turner Field. Corbin surrendered three hits and notched eight strikeouts over 6 2/3 scoreless innings. The D-backs southpaw retired 18 of the 21 batters he faced through the first six innings. He showed some fatigue as he neared the end of his eighth start since returning from the elbow surgery. But he was not harmed by the two two-out walks he issued before exiting the seventh inning with the bases loaded. "Today I felt like I had my best fastball since I've been back," Corbin said. "It felt really good. Just keeping the ball down and mixing it up and in and then just working off my slider. It just seemed like everything was clicking today. It's getting better and [I hope to] just continue to improve." The Braves made things interesting with a four-run eighth inning that was highlighted by Nick Swisher's two-run homer off Daniel Hudson. But the D-backs managed to preserve the contributions made by Peralta, who began the fourth inning with a homer and capped his three-RBI night with one of the two sacrifice flies Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz surrendered during the decisive fifth inning that gave Arizona a 6-0 lead. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Staying hot: Peralta continues to make a case for everyday playing time with his performance at the plate. Over his last five games he is a combined 13-for-21 with 11 RBIs. Peralta has settled into the cleanup spot in the lineup behind Paul Goldschmidt. "I'm feeling pretty good," Peralta said. "Yesterday, we didn't have a good game, but we just turned the page. We came with the same attitude and the same energy and tried to win the game. We're just going to keep doing what we're doing now." More growing pains: Foltynewicz displayed good life with his fastball, which touched 99 mph twice as he ended the top of the third with his second strikeout of Goldschmidt. But Atlanta's hard-throwing hurler struggled with fastball command, and his slider began to flatten out as he surrendered four hits and two sacrifice flies while facing just six batters in the fifth inning. He was charged with six earned runs and nine hits in just 4 2/3 innings. "You see some good glimpses coming out of [Foltynewicz's arm]," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Now we've got to get the whole thing together -- the pitches, the location, his pitchability and getting through innings." Putting out the fire: David Hernandez, who underwent Tommy John surgery around the same time as Corbin, helped his rehab partner secure the win when he came on in relief with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh and struck out Joey Terdoslavich to end the threat. "It's always tough there in the seventh not to finish it and get out of it myself," Corbin said. "But Dave did a great job coming in with the strikeout." Two-out rally: The Braves had been limited to just four hits before Jonny Gomes delivered a two-out single that accounted for the first of Atlanta's four runs in the eighth inning. Adonis Garcia followed with an RBI double and Swisher capped the rally when his two-run homer rattled the right- field foul pole. But after cutting their deficit to 6-4, the hosts saw their hope to claim a comeback win evaporate as the D-backs widened their lead in the ninth inning against Jake Brigham. QUOTABLE "There are a lot of good things I can take from this to the next start. I threw a lot of good sliders tonight. I've just got to get to where I throw that consistently down and away, instead of leaving it over the middle of the plate. I threw a couple good [split-finger fastballs] tonight, too. So there are some little positive things that keep me going into the next bullpen and next start." -- Foltynewicz, on allowing six runs over 4 2/3 innings vs. the D-backs SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Edwin Jackson recorded four strikeouts and completed 2 1/3 perfect innings in his Atlanta debut. Jackson became the 55th player and 28th different reliever used by the Braves this season. The previous franchise record was 50 different players, set by the 2007 club. WHAT'S NEXT D-backs: The D-backs will send Rubby De La Rosa to the mound in Sunday afternoon's series finale (10:35 a.m. MT) at Turner Field. De La Rosa is coming off a win against the Phillies and is 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA over his last five starts. Braves: Atlanta will counter with Shelby Miller in Sunday's series finale that will begin at 1:35 p.m. ET. Miller has posted a team-best 3.16 ERA (minimum nine starts) while going winless in his past 15 starts. His run support has been 1.38 during this frustrating stretch. Braves show character with 8th-inning surge Swisher's HR caps 4-run frame in loss to D-backs By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | 12:01 AM ET ATLANTA -- Though it proved to be a rally that fell short, the two-out offensive surge the Braves produced during the eighth inning of Saturday night's 8-4 loss to the D-backs provided Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez some proof that his players have not quit despite facing the reality that their playoff hopes essentially disappeared over the course of the past month. "It's so great to be part of a team that wants to compete and just fight until the last out," Braves first baseman Nick Swisher said. "We have a lot of young guys that are very talented. Just being here for a week, the sky is the limit for this team in the future. I think if we just continue to go out and give it everything we have every single day, things are going to turn in our favor." When the Braves acquired Swisher from the Indians last week, they were aware of the concerns surrounding his surgically-repaired knees. But at the same time, they viewed him as a high-energy, respected figure who had the potential to enrich their clubhouse and possibly prove that he does indeed have something left in the tank. Swisher's two-run homer off Daniel Hudson capped the four-run, eighth-inning eruption that allowed the Braves to walk away from this latest loss with some energy. The veteran first baseman had been just 1-for-17 since being acquired by Atlanta before the home run. "It was nice to get out on one and really let it fly a little bit," Swisher said. "When you come to a new team, you just want to get hits." The Braves had totaled just three hits when they exited Saturday's seventh inning trailing the D-backs 6-0. Instead of looking like a club that had lost 21 of its previous 31 games, they instead showed some fight with the help of Cameron Maybin, who fueled the rally by recording a one-out hustle double. Maybin scored two batters later, when Jonny Gomes recorded an RBI single off left-handed reliever Keith Hessler. Adonis Garcia, who was targeted to spend most of this season with Triple-A Gwinnett, followed with a RBI double -- his ninth extra-base hit since being recalled to Atlanta's roster on July 25. After Swisher's homer cut Atlanta's deficit to 6-4, the D-backs tallied a pair of insurance runs off Jake Brigham in the ninth inning. Still, Gonzalez walked away from this setback with the sense his club still has some fight left in it. "These guys are professional and they love playing the game," Gonzalez said. "When they get a chance to play, they do well and they bring it. When they don't get a chance to start, they're getting after it and supporting their teammates. Those are great qualities to have with your players." Though Swisher has been around this club for just a week, he has already gained a sense of what kind of players Braves president of baseball operations John Hart has been targeting. "They're bringing in guys that just grind it out each and every single day," Swisher said. "Regardless of whatever the score is, it seems like we don't stop coming, which is great. Even though we lost tonight, that was something to build on." No regrets from Freeman on return from wrist injury By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | August 15th, 2015 ATLANTA -- As Freddie Freeman has missed most of these past two weeks because of a minor right oblique strain, there has certainly been reason to wonder if he might have avoided this injury had he played more than one Minor League rehab game before returning from a right wrist injury that sidelined him for five weeks. But Freeman is not among those who buy into this theory. The Braves' first baseman views the oblique strain he suffered on Aug.