Braves’ two-out rally stuns Phillies, 9-8

ATLANTA -- The Braves will have a hard time making the playoffs, so they went ahead and celebrated as though this victory was for a championship.

Matt Diaz capped an improbable rally Wednesday with a two-out, three-run double in the ninth inning, giving Atlanta a 9-8 victory over Philadelphia.

The Phillies squandered leads of 5-0 and 8-2, giving up four runs in the eighth and watching in disbelief as Diaz’s liner skidded off the tip of Chris Robertson’s glove with the bases loaded.

The Braves’ chances looked slim when Brett Myers (3-6) retired the first two batters in the ninth with an 8-6 lead.

But Jeff Francoeur and Martin Prado hustled to beat out infield hits, and Yunel Escobar walked to load the bases.

That brought up Diaz. He went the opposite way with a liner that eluded Roberson’s lunging attempt and stuck at the base of the wall. Roberson hit the relay man, but the throw home was up the first base line. Escobar slid across with the winning run.

“It didn’t look good,” Braves Manager Bobby Cox said. “But we did it.”