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Diaz lifts Braves to sixth straight win

May 8, 2008 - 11:03 PM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) - The Atlanta Braves finally figured out how to win a one-run game.

Matt Diaz hit a walk-off single and Yunel Escobar scored three times to lead the Braves to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the struggling San Diego Padres, completing a sweep of the three-game set Thursday.

Greg Norton drove in two runs with a pinch-hit double for Atlanta, which had dropped its first nine one-run contests this season.

"We got a one-run win and got that monkey off our backs," Diaz said of his club, which is a major league best 14-4 in Atlanta, but a woeful 4-11 on the road. "Hopefully we can get the road monkey off our back tomorrow in Pittsburgh."

With the game tied at 4-4, Escobar led off the ninth with a perfect drag bunt single down the first base line before Chipper Jones singled.

After Mark Teixeira advanced both runners with a groundout, the Padres issued an intentional walk to Jeff Francoeur to load the bases.

That set the stage for Diaz, who followed with the game-winning single off reliever Joe Thatcher (0-4) to send Atlanta to its sixth straight win.

"Diaz couldn't be a better guy up there in the clutch," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He came through for us."

Manny Acosta (1-1), who had his save on Wednesday taken away by Major League Baseball after it was erroneously awarded by the official scorer, retired the final batter in the ninth to record his first win of the season.

Things couldn't be going any worse for the major league-worst Padres (12-23), who entered Thursday last in the league with 107 RBI. San Diego's defense gift-wrapped four runs in the first eighth innings thanks to three defensive miscues.

It's hard enough to defeat the Braves at Turner Field this season. If you give extra outs to Atlanta, it becomes an almost insurmountable task.

The Padres learned that on Thursday while notching their 17th loss over their last 21 games.

"They have a lot of good hitters in their lineup," said Padres second baseman Callix Crabbe, who committed two of the errors. "The hardest thing when you make a mistake is that when a team is hot, they capitalize on it."

With San Diego leading, 4-1, in the sixth inning, Crabbe allowed Diaz's smash, which should have ended the inning, to pass through his legs for an error. Mark Kotsay followed with a single and Corky Miller was issued a free pass to load the bases.

"It's an unfortunate situation," said Crabbe, who grew up in suburban Atlanta. "It was a routine play. I just missed it."

Pinch hitter Greg Norton, who singled in the winning run on Wednesday, came through once again at the plate.

The 35-year-old Norton smashed the 1-0 offering from reliever Cla Meredith the opposite way to left field, plating Diaz and Kotsay to close lead to 4-3.

"It's been alright so far," said the journeyman Norton, who was acquired Monday from Seattle for future considerations or cash. "I'm just lucky. When I was with Colorado, I focused a lot on my pinch hitting. It's something I had to work on when I was in Tampa Bay or Seattle. I'm happy to be able to help the team."

Khalil Greene's two-base throwing error on a grounder by Escobar lead to another unearned run in the seventh when Escobar later scored on a wild pitch, tying the game at 4-4.

The struggling Padres had jumped on Atlanta starter Jo-Jo Reyes right off the bat.

Crabbe singled after Brian Giles reached on Teixeira's fielding error at first base and Kevin Kouzmanoff doubled two batters later, plating Giles and Crabbe to give the Padres a 2-0 lead in the first.

But Reyes left the game after 2 1/3 frames after a blister started to develop on his left index finger. Buddy Carlyle came on in relief before he was knocked out of the game in the fifth with a muscle strain his neck.

Carlyle was injured after colliding with Kouzmanoff, who had smacked a dribbler down the first base line. The journeyman righthander's head collided with Kouzmanoff's left leg when he went to apply the tag. He is listed as day-to-day.

Scott Hairston plated Adrian Gonzalez later in the fifth with a single off reliever Jorge Campillo and then scored on a double by Greene, which gave the Padres a 4-1 lead.