ATLANTA _ Wins over National League West opponents have been rare for the Braves this season, and they let one get away in stunning fashion Saturday night at SunTrust Park.
The Braves led 3-0 with two out and nobody on base in the top of the ninth inning, but they wound up losing the game 5-3 in 10 innings _ surely one of the season's worst losses.
After closer A.J. Minter retired the first two Colorado batters in the ninth inning on ground balls, the next four got hits, tying the game at 3. The Rockies won with two runs off reliever Luke Jackson in the 10th.
The bullpen meltdown dropped the Braves' record against NL West teams to 9-17, much to the disappointment of a SunTrust Park crowd of 42,143.
The loss was the Braves' third in a row to the Rockies.
The Braves took a 2-0 lead on a two-out two-run single by Nick Markakis in the third inning and stretched it to 3-0 in the eighth inning. But Colorado's four straight two-out hits in the ninth _ a double by Trevor Story, a single by David Dahl, a two-run double by Ian Desmond and a one-run single by Gerardo Parra _ wiped out the night's work for the Braves.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Braves stranded a runner at third base when Dansby Swanson chased a 3-2 slider off the plate.
Colorado took the lead for the first time of the game in the 10th inning on a home run to center field by DJ LeMahieu. The Rockies added another run on a double by Carlos Gonzalez and a single by Nolan Arenado.
Before the bullpen collapse, Braves starting pitcher Mike Foltynewicz held the Rockies scoreless on four hits through seven innings, striking out nine and walking none.
The Braves threatened in the first inning after Acuna led off with a single _ the ninth consecutive plate appearance in which he reached base leading off a game, adding to his Atlanta franchise record in that category. Ozzie Albies followed with a single to put runners at first and second with no out, but nothing came of the opportunity.
The Braves loaded the bases with two out in the third inning and cashed in this time when Markakis dropped a two-run single into center field. The Braves have now scored 239 runs this season with two outs, the third most in MLB.
The Rockies stranded runners at third base in both the third and fourth innings.
Acuna doubled off the left-center wall with one out in the fifth inning, barely missing a home run, but was stranded as Albies popped to shortstop and Freddie Freeman struck out.
Foltynewicz made the 2-0 lead stand up through seven innings, departing for a pinch-hitter after throwing 113 pitches.
The Braves end their 11-game homestand _ their longest of the season _ Sunday with the finale of a four-game series against Colorado. After this weekend, the Braves have only two series left against Western Division teams, both on the road: a four-game series at Arizona on Sept. 6-9 and a three-game series at San Francisco on Sept. 10-12.
