LDN - Sports

Braves' Wisler sharp in victory over Diamondbacks

[August 26, 2016] PHOENIX -- Funny what a short stop in the minor leagues can do to get a guy back on track.

Atlanta right-hander Matt Wisler took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and gave up only one run and two hits through eight in the Braves' 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday at Chase Field.

Wisler spent a month at Triple-A Gwinnett before being recalled for the Thursday start.

"There were some things I needed to fix," said Wisler, who had allowed 26 earned runs in 26 1/3 innings in five July starts before optioned.

"It just allowed me to go pitch without too much worrying about anything. I felt a lot better on the mound than I have in a while. My whole focus was to complete every pitch and not give in in any situations."

Paul Goldschmidt broke up the no-hitter by hitting a single to center field to open the seventh inning, and he moved up on a walk and fly ball and scored on a groundout to make it 3-1.

But Wisler (5-11) gave up only one more hit, Jean Segura's two-out single in the eighth inning. Wisler struck out four, walked three and threw 103 pitches

"He was on the attack and was the aggressor," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "The rhythm was going. He probably could have pitched all night. He was feeling it."

Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis drove in runs in the second inning off left-hander Robbie Ray (7-12) for a 2-0 lead and Gordon Beckham's RBI double in the sixth made it 3-0.

Freeman has a career .388 average with 24 RBIs in 19 games at Chase Field.

He survived a scare in the second inning, when he tumbled over a padded railing chasing a foul ball down the right-field line. He flipped, and his back struck the top of a hard plastic seat.

Freeman walked to the Atlanta dugout and then returned to the field. He had his RBI single the next half inning.

"I'm just glad I didn't hit my head," Freeman said. "My back's a little sore, but not enough to take me out. I wish there were some people there and I would have fell on them. I'm going to be pretty sore tomorrow, probably."

Ender Inciarte had two hits for Atlanta (47-81), which salvaged a split of the four-game series.

Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his 12th save.

Ray gave up two runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out seven and walked four.

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Atlanta rookie shortstop Dansby Swanson, who was the first overall pick by Arizona in the 2015 draft before being traded in the offseason, kept Wisler's no-hitter alive with sparkling defensive plays in the second and third innings.

Swanson back-handed Chris Owings' grounder in the hole and threw him out at first for the second out of the second inning. He dove to his left to catch a line drive headed to center field by Tuffy Gosewisch for the first out of the third inning.

"We knew he was going to be a great player," Arizona manager Chip Hale said. "He has a nice future in the major leagues."

Inciarte singled to open the third inning and scored after consecutive singles by Adonis Garcia and Freeman for a 1-0 lead off Ray.

After a fly out, Markakis beat out a potential double play ground ball after a hard slide by Freeman into second base to enable Garcia to score and give Atlanta a 2-0 lead.

NOTES: Arizona CF A.J. Pollock (elbow) will be activated from the disabled list Friday and is expected to play about two of every three games in the early stages of his return, manager Chip Hale said. Pollock, an All-Star in 2015, has not played this season after re-fracturing his elbow on a play at the plate April 1. He was 8-for-18 with four doubles, a homer, eight RBIs and a stolen base in four rehab games at Triple-A Reno, his final stop in a 12-game rehab assignment. ... Arizona optioned OF Mitch Haniger to Reno after the game to make room for Pollock. ... Arizona OF Yasmany Tomas (back) missed his second straight start, although he entered in a double-switch in the sixth inning. He was 0-for-2. He was removed in the eighth inning Monday when he first felt mid-back stiffness. ... Atlanta RHP Rob Whalen (shoulder) was placed on the disabled lis before the game, and IF Brandon Snyder was recalled to fill the opening created when OF Jeff Francoeur was traded to Miami on Wednesday evening. Atlanta also optioned RHP Madison Younginer to Gwinnett and recalled RHP Brandon Cunniff. ... Arizona recalled RHP Silvino Bracho from Triple-A Reno and RHP Vicente Campos from Double-A Mobile and optioned LHP Steve Hathaway and RHP Dominic Leone to Reno.

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