ATLANTA _ A homer by a Freeman gave the Braves a lead in the sixth inning, a homer off a Freeman tied it for Arizona in the seventh, and a wild pitch put the Diamondbacks ahead an inning later.
Ah, but Freddie Freeman and the Braves weren't done, and the momentum they took to the All-Star break continued Friday night with a 4-3 win against the Diamondbacks that was decided by Freeman's beat-the-shift single through the left side with two runners on in the eighth inning.
Ender Inciarte, who had reached on an infield hit to start the inning, scored the tying run from third base on Freeman's hit, and when left fielder Gregor Blanco threw to the wrong (second) base, Brandon Phillips alertly scampered home with the go-ahead run on the play. Phillips had doubled to put two runners in scoring position for Freeman.
Inciarte also made a leaping catch at the center-field wall on A.J. Pollock's long fly off closer Jim Johnson to start the ninth inning.
Freeman hit his 17th homer and third since returning last week from a seven-week stint on the disabled list for a fractured wrist, a solo shot in the sixth inning off Diamondbacks starter Taijuan Walker to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Freeman has three homers in his past four games and 10 RBIs in his past five.
If the late innings revolved around Freemans and an errant pitch, the first six innings were controlled by R.A. Dickey, who shone for the fifth consecutive start but got no decision for the effort. He pitched six innings and gave up eight hits but only one run, with two walks and four strikeouts.
Freeman's 17 home runs have come in just 165 at-bats, a ratio of one every 9.71 at-bats that would lead the majors if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. Yankees phenom Aaron Judge had a majors-leading ratio of one homer ever 10.03 before Friday and the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger (10.28) was the only other major leaguer with a ratio of better than one homer every 11.8 at-bats.
The Diamondbacks scored one run in each of the sixth through eighth innings to take a 3-2 lead, with the tying run scoring on Paul Goldschmidt's seventh-inning homer off left-hander Sam Freeman and the go-ahead run scoring on a Jose Ramirez two-out wild pitch in the eighth.
Dickey got no decision and is 2-0 with a 1.09 ERA in his past five starts, allowing only four runs and 25 hits (no home runs) in 33 innings over that span. This followed a six-start stretch in which he was 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA through June 13, allowing four or more earned runs in four of those six games and 42 hits including six homers in 342/3 total innings.
He's given up one or no runs in five consecutive starts since giving up eight runs and three homers in a June 13 loss at Washington. Also, the 42-year-old continued with splits that are the inverse of Braves starter Julio Teheran, who has struggled all season at SunTrust Park and excelled on the road.
Dickey is 5-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 10 starts at SunTrust Park and 1-4 with a 5.36 ERA in eight road starts, though lately he's pitched well regardless of venue.
Arizona starter Walker's pitch count was already at 85 when he came to bat with bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning of tied game, and manager Torey Lovullo left him in to hit. He grounded into an inning-ending double play, the one outcome that Dickey was looking for.
The Diamondbacks were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position through four innings and trailed 1-0. Put their leadoff guy on in each of the first two innings via a walk and a hit-by-pitch, had two on in each of the first three innings and got a one-out double from Daniel Descalso in the fourth inning. They didn't score in any of those opportunities.
