Arizona Fan Helps Braves Win This One

Andruw Jones hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning into the glove of a fan reaching over the left-field fence and Brian Jordan also homered as the Atlanta Braves rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2, Tuesday night.

“It’s frustrating. I’m mad,” said Luis Gonzalez, in position to try to make the catch. “If it happens on the road you can live with that. But when it happens at home, it makes it harder to swallow. I don’t think the fan realized how big an outcome there was on that one particular play.”

Arizona’s seventh loss in 10 games dropped the Diamondbacks out of at least a share of the National League West lead for the first time since April 5. San Francisco beat Milwaukee, 13-8, to take a one-game lead.

The Braves’ Wally Joyner had a pinch single in the eighth for his 2,000th hit.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth and the Braves down, 2-0, Jones lifted a fly ball to left field off Armando Reynoso. Gonzalez tracked the ball to the wall and leaped to make the catch. But the ball landed in the glove of a fan reaching just over the fence, giving Jones his 26th homer and allowing the Braves to tie it.

The man who caught Jones’ homer was eventually moved to another section of the stadium by security guards because he was being hassled by other fans.

Despite being the first meeting between the division leaders, there were nearly 14,000 empty seats.

Chipper Jones then singled off reliever Greg Swindell (2-4) and Jordan hit a more conventional homer, his 14th, six rows into the left-field stands off Johnny Ruffin to give the Braves a 4-2 lead.

Kevin Millwood (7-8) retired the first 13 Diamondback batters and faced the minimum through six innings, giving up two runs and two hits in seven innings.

Steve Finley ended Millwood’s no-hit bid with a single in the fifth but was retired on a double play.

John Rocker walked two batters in the ninth before being replaced by Mike Remlinger with one out. Remlinger got two outs for his 10th save in 12 chances.

Reynoso was nearly as sharp as Millwood, allowing two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings. He retired 12 consecutive hitters between the fourth and seventh innings.

In the second inning, B.J. Surhoff, acquired by the Braves from Baltimore on Monday, hit a one-out double in his first NL at-bat.