None of the pregame math held up once first pitch hit. Atlanta grabbed an early lead and then went quiet for six straight innings while Arizona's lineup kept finding holes.
The Braves scored twice in the first and looked like the team the price said they were. Then Arizona answered with 3 runs in the 2nd and 3 more in the 3rd, and Atlanta's offense simply stopped showing up — six shutout innings sandwiched around a single run in the 9th. Arizona tacked on 3 more of its own in the 9th to turn a comfortable lead into a laugher, finishing with 13 hits to Atlanta's 6.
This was the second leg of the set, and Arizona had already taken game 1 by a 2-0 score. Two wins in, the Diamondbacks have full control of the series after arriving off a mixed stretch against Colorado. Atlanta, which had taken 2 of 3 from the Mets its last time through a series, now has to find its offense again in a hurry.
Rodriguez didn't need his best command to shut this lineup down for a second straight game — Arizona's bats made sure of that well before he had to. For Atlanta, the ugly middle innings and a bullpen already down two key arms are the bigger concern than one bad start from Holmes.