Tapia breaks the tie in the 10th; Rockies beat Braves

ATLANTA (AP) – Raimel Tapia broke the tie with a single off AJ Minter in the 10th inning to push Colton Walker from third base, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 on Wednesday night.

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Dominican Raimel Tapia, of the Colorado Rockies, pushes the winning run in the 10th inning of the game on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, against the Atlanta Braves (Curtis Compton / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Atlanta, the leader of the NL East, allowed its lead over Philadelphia to be reduced to three and a half games. The Braves are trying to win the division pennant for the fourth year in a row.

Coloerado is 28 games away in the NL West.

Robert Stephenson got his first save twice, in the bottom of the 10th, with a strikeout to Austin Riley, a pitch to Adam Duvall, a strikeout to Travis d’Arnaud and a Dansby Swanson lob.

The match was played in a drizzle, and field workers spent much of the night laying dirt and raking the infield, mound and plate area.

Walker, who started the 10th inning as an automatic runner in second base, advanced with a ground out and scored off Tapia’s hit to left field.

Minter (2-6) took the loss. Carlos Estévez (3-4) faced five batters in the ninth and took the win.

For the Rockies, Venezuela’s Elías Díaz 1-0, Antonio Senzatela 1-0 with an RBI, Yonathan Daza 1-0, and Dominican Tapia 1-1 with an RBI.

For the Braves, Cuban Jorge Soler 4-1. Puerto Rican Eddie Rosario 3-2 with one run scored and two RBIs. The Dominican Huascar Ynoa 1-0. Venezuelans Ehire Adrianza 1-0, Orlando Arcia 1-0.