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Prado's single in 9th lifts Braves over Arizona

May 15, 2010 - 4:12 AM By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA(AP) -- Another blown save was painful for the Arizona Diamondbacks, but it was a big lift for the Atlanta Braves, who are suddenly on a roll.

Martin Prado's bases-loaded bloop single drove in two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Braves to a 6-5 win over Arizona on Friday night, extending the Diamondbacks' bullpen woes.

Arizona opened a five-game road trip with its seventh straight loss. Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch called it "a dagger in the heart."

"I'm at a loss for words. It's a tough one," he said.

The Braves trailed 4-0 before rallying with four runs in the seventh. They rallied again when Arizona closer Chad Qualls (0-2) couldn't hold a 5-4 lead in the ninth. It was his third blown save in nine chances, and the Diamondbacks' bullpen is only 7 for 15 in save opportunities.

The Braves have won four straight for the first time this season and are 9-4 since a nine-game losing streak.

Eric Hinske led off the ninth with a single against Qualls. After Omar Infante's fourth hit, a bunt single, moved pinch-runner Brandon Hicks to second, Nate McLouth's sacrifice left runners on second and third with one out.

Qualls issued an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Melky Cabrera to load the bases before Prado reached out and punched the game-winning hit into shallow right field.

"In that situation, with one out, I knew I would get a pretty good pitch to hit," Prado said. "He threw me a slider. I just put the bat on it. Fortunately, it was a good result for us."

Prado was surrounded by teammates in a celebration near first base as the Diamondbacks were left to look for answers following another blown lead.

"It's really disappointing," Qualls said. "I felt like we were in control of the game."

Qualls said his hope after walking Cabrera was to end the game with a double-play grounder from Prado.

"There was no doubt in my mind we were going to win the game," Qualls said. "I felt like I threw good pitches the whole inning."

The loss left Qualls with a 7.62 ERA.

"He didn't execute his pitches," Hinch said.

The Braves trailed 4-0 before pulling even on seventh-inning homers by Brian McCann and McLouth.

"The way we won, this was big," McCann said. "It just shows that we can come back from four or five runs down and win games."

Arizona took a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth. Conor Jackson hit a double off Billy Wagner (2-0). Justin Upton, who had his first three-hit game since April 14, drove in Jackson with a single.

McCann's leadoff homer ended Ian Kennedy's shutout bid. McLouth's three-run shot off Juan Gutierrez tied the game.

Upton, who took a .224 batting average into the game, drove in two runs and stole a base. He also had a run-scoring double in the first inning off Kenshin Kawakami.

Mark Reynolds' two-run double gave Arizona a 4-0 lead in the fifth.

Kennedy gave up seven hits and three runs in 6 1-3 innings.

Kelly Johnson, making his first return to Atlanta after four seasons with the Braves, had two hits and scored two runs. Johnson reached on a fielding error by first baseman Troy Glaus to lead off the game and scored on Upton's double.

Chris Snyder's fourth-inning double drove in Reynolds for a 2-0 lead. Reynolds' fifth-inning double drove in Johnson and Upton.

Kennedy struck out Glaus after McCann's homer in the seventh but was pulled after giving up singles to Hinske and Infante.

Gutierrez gave up McLouth's tying homer into the right-field seats, leaving the right-hander's ERA at 9.20.

Kawakami gave up five hits and four runs, three earned, in 4 1-3 innings in his first no-decision after six losses.

Each center fielder made a nice catch early in the game.

Arizona's Chris Young raced back to grab a long drive by Prado in front of the wall in the first inning.

In the second, McLouth, running toward left field, took an extra-base hit away from Young by making a running catch before crashing into the wall. McLouth appeared to be dazed for a few seconds but remained in the game.

NOTES: Braves RHP Jair Jurrjens said an MRI on his strained left hamstring showed blood in the muscle. He had the test Thursday after a setback Monday in Milwaukee while trying to run. He has been out since April 30 and could miss at least two to three more weeks. ... The first-inning bobble by Glaus ended his streak of 26 games without an error. ... Braves LHP Jo-Jo Reyes (right knee) gave up one hit in two scoreless innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett.