Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Alex Wood used his bat and his arm to lead the Atlanta Braves to an 8-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
Wood (4-2), who hit a two-run single in the second inning, gave up one run on seven hits with four strikeouts and zero walks over eight full frames. The left-hander improved to 4-0 on the road this season.
"I commanded the fastball pretty well," Wood said. "I got some early contact and moved in and out (of the zone)."
Freddie Freeman went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and three RBI for the Braves, who have won three in a row. Andrelton Simmons also had three hits to go along with an RBI and a run scored.
Archie Bradley (2-3) allowed five runs on eight hits with three walks over five innings for the Diamondbacks, who were coming off a 7-6, 17-inning loss to the Brewers on Sunday.
"I have to stay positive," Bradley said. "I trust in myself, but the results aren't there."
The Braves scored three runs in the second. A.J. Pierzynski singled, Jonny Gomes doubled and Todd Cunningham was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs. Wood helped his own cause with a two-run single to center. After Jace Peterson walked to fill the bags again, Simmons hit an RBI single to center.
Freeman's two-run homer in the fifth made it 5-0. Simmons led off with a double and crossed the plate on Freeman's blast to right-center field.
Arizona finally got on the board in the bottom half. Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled and advanced to third on Nick Ahmed's bunt single. Saltalamacchia got caught between third and home on pinch-hitter Yasmany Tomas' chopper back to Wood, but he got back to third safely and scored on Ender Inciarte's sacrifice fly.
Atlanta tacked on two more runs off Oliver Perez in the sixth. Cunningham was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third and scored on Peterson's double to left. Peterson crossed the plate two batters later on Freeman's single to right.
Juan Uribe's RBI single in the ninth accounted for the final margin.
Game Notes
Simmons extended his hitting streak to 10 games ... Wood has won his last three starts ... Bradley fell to 0-3 over his last five starts ... The D-backs had homered in a season-high nine straight games ... The Braves recalled pitcher Cody Martin from Triple-A Gwinnett and designated pitcher Donnie Veal for assignment ... Arizona activated pitcher Matt Stites from the 15-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Reno.
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