Geraro Parra Saves Day With Two-Run Homer That Stays In Park, Leads To Outfield Collision

Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) – Gerardo Parra hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning thanks to a miscommunication and collision in the right-field gap between Nate McLouth and Jason Heyward, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks pull out a 2-1 comeback win over the Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta broke a scoreless tie in the eighth when Heyward led off with a double and scored on Brian McCann’s one-out liner to the right-field corner.

Peter Moylan (2-1) started on the hill in the home half and hit Mark Reynolds to lead off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt, Parra hit a line drive to right-center that stayed in the air for quite some time. Both McLouth and Heyward converged on the ball and it appeared as if no one called it.

The ball hit the heel of McLouth’s glove just as Heyward slid in and upended the center fielder, causing the ball to skip away from the laid-out outfielders and towards the wall.

Parra never stopped running and slid in behind Reynolds for the go-ahead run.

Chad Qualls walked Yunel Escobar to open the ninth before striking out the next two hitters and inducing a game-ending groundout off the bat of Martin Prado to record his 12th save of the season.

It was an unlikely pitchers’ duel between Arizona’s Ian Kennedy and Kenshin Kawakami, though neither factored in the decision.

Kennedy hurled seven scoreless frames, giving up just three hits while walking five to go with six punchouts, but the win went to Aaron Heilman (2-1) despite giving up a run in his inning of relief.

Kawakami threw six innings of shutout ball but remains winless on the season, as the second-year starter scattered four hits and four walks while striking out eight.

Adam LaRoche Gets Day Off, Rusty Ryal To Start

Fox Sports Arizona is reporting that Adam LaRoche will get the day off, and Rusty Ryal will get the start in his place.

LaRoche probably needs to time to clear his head of his dry spell, having gone 2-for-20 during the current homestand.

Join Our Own Jim From AZ Snakepit On Fox Sports Chat

Join Jim for a chat!

Jim McLennan, manager of AZSnakePit.com, joins Jack Magruder at Chase Field for an online chat during Wednesday’s telecast of the Diamondbacks vs. Braves. So tune in to FOX Sports Arizona at 6:40 p.m. to watch the action, and fire up your laptop to share your thoughts and comments with our experts.

Diamondbacks Kennedy Faces Braves, Will Attempt To Channel Inner Strasburg, 6:40 p.m. AZT

(Sports Network) - While Troy Glaus has put his slow start to the season behind him in a big way, Kenshin Kawakami has seen his losing streak reach double digits.

The Atlanta Braves starter will try to put that 10-decision slide to an end tonight in the continuation of a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Kawakami hasn't won since Aug. 31 of last season in Florida and is 0-8 with a 4.91 earned run average in 11 starts this year. He is getting just 3.25 runs per game of support, but he didn't keep his club in the game early during Friday's loss to the Dodgers. The right-hander matched a season high by allowing five runs over 6 1/3 innings to become the first Braves hurler to lose his first eight decisions since Rosy Ryan did so for the 1925 Boston Braves.

"He struggled a little early, got some pitches up in the zone. Then he pitched well after that, gave us a chance to win," said Braves catcher David Ross.

Kawakami hasn't had much luck on the road this year, losing all seven of his starts away from Atlanta while posting a 5.58 ERA. He got a no-decision against the Diamondbacks on May 14, giving up four runs -- three earned -- over 4 1/3 innings, and is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in two lifetime starts versus Arizona.

He can only hope for the same kind of turnaround that Glaus is having. The offseason pickup was hitting just .194 at the end of April, but Glaus has posted a .326 average, nine homers and 36 RBI since May 1 and drove in the go- ahead run in last night's 7-5 victory.

Glaus plated Omar Infante with a two-out double in the eighth inning and Melky Cabrera added an insurance run in the ninth when he scored on a wild pitch. Cabrera and Infante both ended with three hits and an RBI beforeBilly Wagner sealed the win in the ninth with his 10th save.

Atlanta snapped a two-game slide despite losing starter Kris Medlen in the sixth inning after he hurt his shoulder while sliding at the plate.

"It hurt way worse like when it first happened," Medlen said. "It feels way better now. Just a little tight in the back. But I was just trying to make things happen."

Glaus' heroics overshadowed former Brave Kelly Johnson, who had one of three Arizona homers on the night and ended with three hits and three RBI against his old club. Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds also went deep as the Diamondbacks fell to 3-2 on a 10-game homestand after winning Monday's opener.

"We get the home runs, that was good," Johnson said. "But then to scratch across a couple extras, we just came up short. They had a few more opportunities and they cashed in."

Arizona's Ian Kennedy started opposite of Kawakami back on May 14 and will do so again tonight. The right-hander also got a no-decision despite allowing only three runs over 6 1/3 innings in what was his first ever appearance versus the Braves.

Kennedy is 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA this year and is coming off a start versus the Rockies on Friday in which he did not factor into the decision of a 7-6 victory. Though just half of his six runs allowed over six innings were earned, he also yielded three homes while striking out eight.

The Braves have won five of their last seven versus the Diamondbacks.