3-base strikeout, 6 home runs highlight 16-13 Diamondbacks win over Braves in one of the wildest games of the season

The Atlanta Braves posted a five-run inning and a four-run inning on a night when they hit three home runs and saw seven different players score. It wasn't enough.

The Arizona Diamondbacks countered with their own offensive outburst and took advantage of multiple Braves mistakes for a 16-13 win Tuesday in one of the wildest games of the MLB season.

The Diamondbacks opened the game with a two-run top of the first. The Braves countered with five runs in the bottom half. Then chaos really took hold in the top of the second, when the most bizarre play of the night arrived courtesy of Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll.

3-base strikeout puts Arizona in the lead

With the game tied 5-5 in the second inning, Carroll faced a 2-2 pitch with one out against Braves starter Bryce Elder. He swung and missed at an 83 mph slider for a strikeout.

But the pitch eluded the grasp of catcher Sean Murphy, who chased the ball down the third-base line. He tracked it down and fired it to first in an effort throw Carroll out. Instead, the ball sailed past first baseman Matt Olson and bounced off the wall. By the time the Braves took control of the ball and the situation, Carroll had reached third base.

Ketel Marte scored on the play to give the Diamondbacks a 6-5 lead. Elder was charged with a wild pitch, and Murphy was charged with a throwing error. Carroll ended up scoring on a single by Christian Walker to extend the lead to 7-5. Walker's RBI capped a five-run Arizona inning that started with a leadoff home run from Emmanuel Rivera.

Miscues costly for Atlanta

The defensive miscues were a sign of things to come for the Braves, who committed three errors Tuesday. The third might've been the most costly. With the game tied 13-13 in the top of the ninth, Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas hit a dribbler toward first base with Jake McCarthy on first and no outs. But Olson whiffed when attempting to field the ball.

Instead of a double-play, McCarthy ended up on third, and Thomas was safe at second with no outs. Geraldo Perdomo doubled to center field in the next at-bat to score both and give Arizona a 15-13 lead. Marte added an RBI single that scored Perdomo for an insurance run that wasn't needed. The Braves didn't score in the bottom half of the inning, and the Diamondbacks came away with a critical victory.

Austin Riley's heroics for naught

Before the Diamondbacks secured the final out, the game saw six lead changes and three ties. Braves third baseman Austin Riley hit not one but two go-ahead home runs. A three-run blast off of Diamondbacks starter Zach Davies gave Atlanta a 9-8 lead in the the fourth. That pitch ended Davies' night.

Riley launched a straightaway two-run home run over the center-field wall off of reliever Austin Adams in the sixth inning to give the Braves a 13-12 lead.

But an unheralded rookie countered Riley's heroics. With the Braves still leading 13-12 in the eighth, Diamondbacks rookie Dominic Canzone got the opportunity of his young baseball career, and he delivered. The 25-year-old designated hitter lined an 85 mph splitter from Braves reliever Kirby Yates into right field. The first hit of Canzone's career scored Walker from third to tie the game at 13-13.

Only a diving catch from left fielder Kevin Pillar on a Rivera line drive saved the Braves from more damage in the inning. But it didn't save them from losing the game.

In the end, the teams combined for 19 runs on 27 hits (Diamondbacks 16, Braves 11). The Diamondbacks used six pitchers, while the Braves employed seven. Each team hit three home runs. Walker matched Riley with two of his own. He finished 3-for-5 at the plate with the two home runs, one walk, five RBI and three runs scored. Riley finished 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and a game-high seven RBI.

The difference in the game played out in the error column. While the Braves posted three, the Diamondbacks committed none. They left the game with a valuable win to improve to 53-42, which was good at the time for third in a tight NL West, 2.5 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. As of game's end, they were safely in the wild-card field, a half-game ahead of the 53-44 Miami Marlins.

The Braves remain firmly in control of the NL East, with baseball's best record at 61-32. But they'd surely like to play a cleaner game next time they take the field.