Miller takes no-hitter into 8th, Braves top D-backs in 10th
After losing his no-hit bid in the eighth inning, Shelby Miller's winless streak now sits at 16 games and extends over three months.
No matter. Miller still beamed after the game like a 20-game winner.
Cameron Maybin led off the 10th inning with a home run, lifting the Atlanta Braves to a 2-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Miller, an NL All-Star last month, is only 5-9 despite ranking among the league leaders with his 2.43 ERA. He hasn't won since May 17 at Miami. The winless streak is Atlanta's longest since Jo-Jo Reyes went 18 games without a win in 2009.
It was Miller's 10th start in which he didn't win despite allowing no more than one run — the most in the majors. Instead of criticizing the lack of offense, he praised the fielders who helped extend the no-hit bid.
"I tip my cap to the defense," Miller said. "We had a ton of great plays that kept the no-hitter going through the seventh. It was a fun day for all of us."
Michael Bourn, acquired from Cleveland earlier this month, made a diving catch on David Peralta's drive in foul territory down the left-field line in the first. The catch helped Miller survive walks to Ender Inciarte and Aaron Hill to open the game.
"That play is one of the best catches I've seen ever playing baseball," Miller said. "Guys were diving all over the place for us. That's how this team is. Obviously we're not where we want to be in the division, but this team is still playing its heart out."
Leading 1-0, Miller's no-hit try ended when Nick Ahmed led off the eighth with a bloop single to right field. Pinch-hitter Jarod Saltalamacchia followed with another single that finished Miller, and Arizona soon tied it at 1.
Miller, who struck out 10, has a 3.03 ERA and eight losses during his drought. He had four walks.
Maybin opened with the 10th with a drive over the left-field wall on a 1-2 pitch off David Hernandez (0-3).
"I felt like I made a pretty good pitch," Hernandez said. "He just made a better swing and hit it well."
Maybin said he wasn't aiming for the fence. "I was just trying to put the ball in play," he said.
David Aardsma (1-1) struck out the side in the top of the 10th.
Atlanta had runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth when center fielder Inciarte made a leaping catch of Bourn's drive to the right-center gap to send the game to extra innings.
Inciarte drove in the tying run in the eighth with a grounder off Ross Detwiler.
LOOK WHAT I FOUND
Miller helped himself in the field in the sixth when he snared Inciarte's sharp grounder behind his back before throwing to first for the out.
"I kind of got a little lucky," he said.
MOYLAN RETURNS
Braves right-hander Peter Moylan, promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game, recorded the final two outs in the eighth in his first major-league appearance since 2013 with the Dodgers.
Moylan, 36, played his first seven seasons in the majors with the Braves. He has been beset by two Tommy John surgeries, along with back and rotator cuff trouble.
"I wanted to prove to everyone that I still have a little something left in the tank," he said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Diamondbacks: RHP Randall Delgado (sprained right ankle) struck out two in a scoreless inning for Double-A Mobile on Saturday night, pushing himself into consideration for a return to Arizona. "He threw the ball really well," manager Chip Hale said. "We're talking about whether we should add him going forward with this long stretch of games." ... With RF Yasmany Tomas (strained calf) back after missing three games, Hale gave A.J Pollock a break.
Braves: 1B Freddie Freeman (strained right oblique) was to begin a rehab assignment with Gwinnett on Sunday night. He is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: RHP Jeremy Hellickson will look for his first road win since May 30 at Milwaukee when Arizona opens a series at Pittsburgh on Monday night.
Braves: RHP Williams Perez, coming off a complete-game win at Tampa Bay in his last start, will start as the Braves begin a seven-game road trip at San Diego on Monday night.
