Regeln » Ender Inciarte failed to execute a sacrifice bunt in the nin

PHOENIX (AP) — th inning. It worked out just fine for the Atlanta Braves.Facing a 3-2 count with two men on Keith Hernandez Jersey , Inciarte swung away and hit a go-ahead, three-run homer during a six-run rally, and the Braves went on to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-5 and increase their NL East lead to 4½ games.The Braves took advantage of a loss by Philadelphia to match their biggest division edge of the season. Atlanta took three of four in the series.“I was just trying to hit it hard up in the air somewhere, because I wanted to move the runners however I can and I didn’t want to hit a ball into a double play,” Inciarte said. “I got a good pitch to hit and I was able to hit the ball like that.”The third-place Diamondbacks have lost seven of nine. They stayed 2½ games behind NL West-leading Colorado.Atlanta didn’t have a hit until Ronald Acuna Jr. homered off Robbie Ray in the sixth. The Braves trailed 4-3 going into the ninth before Tyler Flowers and Ozzie Albies opened with singles off Brad Boxberger (2-7) and Inciarte, a former Diamondbacks fan favorite, went deep.“Fastball, just pulled it over the plate a little bit, and (Inciarte) was on it,” Boxberger said. “It’s definitely frustrating. Nothing is kind of going my way. Balls are being hit just out of the reach of our defenders and the ball is kind of bouncing the opposite direction of where I want it to go.”Braves manager Brian Snitker was glad he canceled the bunt order.“Bunting is easier said than done,” Snitker said. “After two strikes, the last thing I wanted him to do was foul a ball off. So I just took it off and thank God I did.”After Boxberger left to boos from the crowd at Chase Field, Lucas Duda greeted reliever Yoan Lopez with a long home run to right. Acuna then tripled and Johan Camargo hit his 18th homer.Lopez failed to record an out in his major league debut as Arizona’s bullpen imploded. Manager Torey Lovullo elected not to use a group of his preferred relievers to give them rest.“I know we have a very capable group down there who has pretty much done it all year long http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey ,” Lovullo said. “I believe in that group. They are going to get some big outs for us down the stretch.”Sam Freeman (3-5) got the win with an inning of scoreless relief.The Diamondbacks led 4-3 going into the ninth after Nick Ahmed and David Peralta delivered key hits in a four-run sixth inning.Acuna scored three runs and Touki Toussaint pitched 5 2/3 innings for Atlanta. Toussaint left with a 2-0 lead against the team that originally drafted him.“Had a lot of walks, but other than that felt pretty good,” Toussaint said.Ray lost his no-hit bid when Toussaint singled sharply to left with one out in the sixth. Acuna followed with an opposite-field homer to right.Braves reliever Luke Jackson faced four hitters and didn’t get an out, allowing two runs charged to Toussaint to score and two of his own.The Braves made it 4-3 in the eighth against reliever Jake Diekman. Freddie Freeman’s two-out single drove in Acuna.WALKING TO A RECORDArizona star Paul Goldschmidt drew a walk in the third inning, surpassing Luis Gonzalez for the Diamondbacks’ all-time record for walks with 651. Goldschmidt made it 652 with another walk in the seventh.POSITIVE SPINThe Diamondbacks are in the midst of a tough stretch, with the next five series against postseason contenders Colorado, Houston, the Chicago Cubs, the Rockies again and the Los Angeles Dodgers.“I still believe we’re in a really good spot,” Lovullo said. “We’re not that far off. We’re 2½ games out of first place? Sign me up. I would take that every day of the week.”TRAINER’S ROOMDiamondbacks: Peralta has a minor left ankle injury and was originally held out of Sunday’s lineup until coming off the bench to pinch hit.UP NEXTBraves: LHP Sean Newcomb (11-8, 3.92 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game set at San Francisco on Monday night. The Braves are 14-13 in his 27 starts this season.Diamondbacks: RHP Zack Godley (14-8, 4.51) opens a four-game series at Colorado on Monday. Godley is 4-0 with a 2.56 ERA in five career starts against the Rockies, including three wins at Coors Field. ST. PETERSBURG Willie McGee Jersey , Fla. (AP) — No one has tell the Houston Astros how good Charlie Morton can be.The 35-year-old right-hander was solid in his debut for the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night, pitching five innings and striking out eight against his former team in a 4-2 victory.“It was an awesome experience,” Morton said, noting it was every bit as “weird” as he envisioned facing the club he helped win a World Series two seasons ago.“It was the fact I was out there against my former team. I was a little emotional, and it was the first start of the season,” he added. “To get it out of the way and come out with a great team win, it was a big deal.”Morton (1-0) allowed two runs and three hits in his first outing since signing a $30 million, two-year contract as a free agent. In 2017, he won Game 7 of the World Series and Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.Yandy Diaz lined an impressive solo homer off Astros starter Gerrit Cole (0-1), who also yielded three unearned runs in the third, when shortstop Aledmys Diaz’s throwing error paved the way for Tampa Bay. Diaz has two errors in two games filling in for injured regular Carlos Correa.Tommy Pham’s RBI single trimmed Houston’s lead to 2-1, and Ji-Man Choi followed with a two-run single to put the Rays ahead 3-2.Morton, who gave up a two-run double to Michael Brantley in the third Red Schoendienst Jersey , walked three and also hit a batter during an 85-pitch outing.“The same stuff we’ve seen for a couple years,” Astros manager AJ Hinch. “He had a really good breaking ball, a pretty good fastball. Mixed in some splits late, swing and miss breaking balls. He’s tough.”Cole was impressed, too.“He was sharp. He looks good. About right where we expected him to be,” the Houston pitcher said. “Worth every dollar of that 30-million contract.”Four relievers combined to pitch four scoreless innings for the Rays, with Jose Alvarado striking out Tony Kemp with two runners on in the ninth for his first save.It’s not the first time Morton faced a former team in his first outing with a new one. He also did it in 2009 after being traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Pittsburgh Pirates.The right-hander went 29-10 with a 3.36 ERA in 55 starts for Houston over the past two seasons. He was a first-time All-Star a year ago, when he won 15 games and posted a career-best 3.13 ERA.Cole allowed five hits and four runs — one earned — while striking out 10 over six innings.According to StatCast, the 420-foot, sixth-inning homer he yielded to Yandy Diaz on a 2-0 count left the bat at 112 mph. The low liner to straightaway center field rose just enough to hit the top of the wall and skipped over.“I challenged Diaz with a fastball and lost that one,” Cole said. “It was out of a cannon, man.”BREGMAN’S STREAKWhen Houston’s Alex Bregman went 0 for 4 in Thursday’s season opener, it ended his 56-game road on-base streak. It was a franchise best and the longest of any player since Derek Jeter’s 59-game run in 2006-07. Bregman also had a 17-game hitting streak against the Rays stopped. The third baseman was 0 for 4 again Friday.THAT HURTSPlate umpire Dan Iassogna recovered quickly to a call a strike after getting hit by a pitch on the knee in the third inning. Iassogna briefly went down when Rays catcher Mike Zunino was crossed up and failed to catch a pitch from Morton to Jose Altuve. After taking a moment to collect himself Enos Slaughter Jersey , Iassogna got back to work and called the pitch a strike.TRAINER’S ROOMAstros: Correa missed his second straight game with neck stiffness and is not expected to play Saturday, either. “I think we’re getting to the point where he’s going to have to do a full workout before he’s ready to play,” Hinch said. “Hopefully that’s tomorrow, which makes Sunday more likely. I will wait a day too long rather than a day too short.”Rays: Alvarado rolled an ankle while running but was able to walk back to the clubhouse after sitting on the warning track in right field for several minutes.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Collin McHugh (6-2, 1.99 ERA in 2018) will start the third game of the four-game series Saturday night. He’s 1-4 with a 2.12 in seven career appearances against Tampa Bay, including five starts.Rays: RHP Tyler Glasnow (2-7, 4.27 ERA last season) faces Houston for the first time in his career. He made 11 starts for the Rays after being acquired from Pittsburgh last July, allowing one run or fewer in five of those outings.