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ATLANTA (AP) — Already a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove Award winner http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-szczur-jersey , Brandon Phillips learned this summer as a 37-year-old minor leaguer to relish playing baseball “until I wake up.”Added Phillips: “I’m still dreaming.”Phillips’ two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning off A.J. Minter highlighted his long-awaited season debut on Wednesday and capped the biggest comeback by the Boston Red Sox this year for a 9-8 win over the Atlanta Braves.“Honestly that was the most fun I’ve had all season, just watching the last few innings,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.Phillips took a big swing and then rocked back as he watched the ball head toward the left field seats.“My favorite part was the lean-back that he had,” teammate Brock Holt said.Said Minter: “I missed by an inch with the pitch and he made me pay.”After the game Phillips stood at his locker, attempting to untangle chains left knotted when Red Sox players dumped a cooler filled with a sports drink over his head. He kept grinning even when he gave up on solving the knot.“For us to come back like we did, that was amazing,” Phillips said.The Red Sox overcame a late six-run deficit and seesawed past Atlanta to sweep the three-game series between division leaders.Boston, with the best record in the majors, scored six times in the eighth to make it 7-all. After Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer with two outs in the Braves eighth, the Red Sox bounced back for their 97th win this year.Phillips sat out the first half of this year, signed a minor league contract with Boston in late June and was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday. He didn’t play that night, but started at second base in the final game of the interleague set.“When I was in the minor leagues with the guys, they really showed me why I still play this game,” he said. “… Just keep on having fun. You never know what might happen. Your career could be over.”After becoming the first player in Red Sox history to wear No. 0 Craig Stammen Jersey , in one swing the guy with the zero became a gameday hero. Andrew Benintendi singled with one out off Minter (4-3) and Steve Pearce struck out, bringing up Phillips, who homered on the first pitch.Braves left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr., who hit another leadoff homer in the first, didn’t move as Phillips’ shot sailed over his head. Phillips scored three runs, drew two walks and made the most of his first hit with Boston.Braves stadium organist Matthew Kaminski played “Welcome Back” before Phillips’ first at-bat in the second inning. Phillips, a high school star in the Atlanta area who played most of last season with the Braves, tipped his helmet and then walked.“To be in Atlanta in front of my family and friends, that was pretty awesome,” he said.In a game packed with momentum shifts, Freeman hit his tiebreaking homer off Brandon Workman (4-0). Freeman was given his first break from the starting lineup this season before coming off the bench in a defensive switch.Atlanta led 7-1 before Boston scored six times in the eighth to tie the game. Atlanta reliever Dan Winkler gave up four hits and four runs without retiring a batter. Christian Vazquez got two hits in the inning, Blake Swihart hit a two-run double and pinch-hitter Ian Kinsler tied the game with a two-run single. The Red Sox sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning, using five pinch-hitters and batting about 40 minutes against four relievers.Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 38th save.Ozzie Albies hit a two-run triple in Atlanta’s five-run fifth inning that made it 7-1.With the sweep, Boston has won 25 of its last 29 games against National League teams. Boston began the day leading the second-place Yankees by 8 ½ games in the AL East. NL East-leading Atlanta was three games ahead of Philadelphia.The Braves scored five runs in the fifth off reliever Drew Pomeranz, who recorded only one out.TRAINER’S ROOMBraves SS Dansby Swanson didn’t start and struck out as a pinch-hitter after he was hit on his helmet by an 85-mph slider from Rick Porcello in the second inning on Tuesday night. Swanson had ringing in his ears but passed the concussion tests.LEADOFF MAGICAcuna homered off Hector Velazquez’s second pitch http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-trevor-hoffman-jersey , giving the rookie a franchise single-season record eight leadoff homers. Acuna was tied with Marquis Grissom, who hit seven leadoff homers in 1996. Overall, Acuna has 24 homers, including 17 since the All-Star break.NOT FOLTY’S FAULTThe collapse by the Braves’ bullpen wasted a strong start by right-hander Mike Foltynewicz, who gave up only two hits and one run in six innings. He provided stability, with two walks and five strikeouts, one day after Braves pitchers combined for nine walks in a 5-1 loss.UP NEXTRed Sox: LHP David Price, who suffered a bruised left wrist when hit by a line drive in his last start against Miami on Aug. 29, will start when Boston opens a home series against Houston on Friday in another matchup of first-place teams. The Red Sox are off on Thursday.Braves: RHP Anibal Sanchez (6-5, 2.98) will face RHP Zack Greinke when the Braves open a four-game series at Arizona on Thursday night. PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks will play the final five weeks of the season against what the numbers suggest will be their most treacherous array of opponents yet. They shrug at the thought — open their arms, actually. The Diamondbacks will play 27 of their final 35 games — eight series — against teams that not only are above .500 and but also appear likely to stay that way.Article continues below ...On Friday though, the Diamondbacks got off on the wrong foot in a 6-3 loss to AL West contender Seattle. The Diamondbacks remained one game ahead in the NL West when Colorado lost at home to surging St. Louis.Arizona is ready to take on all comers, manager Torey Lovullo suggested.“To be conditioned to play against the best teams, those are conversations we have had since Day 1 here,” said Lovullo Evan Longoria Jersey , in his second season after winning the NL Manager of the Year award when the D-backs were an NL wild-card team in 2017.“We have to be at our best against the best, and they (players) want this. This is the greatest time of the year, and these players in this clubhouse know that. They walked through a very challenging year last year and came out on the right side of it, but we have more work we have to do. We know what we want to get to, and it’s right in front of us.”Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray (3-2, 4.91 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Seattle left-hander Wade LeBlanc (7-3, 4.04) in the second game of the series Saturday.The Mariners‘ final five weeks do not appear quite as challenging. They play seven games against Oakland and three against Houston and the Yankees, but they also have seven games with Texas, three with Baltimore and two with San Diego.Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger, traded with Jean Segura from the Diamondbacks for Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte before the 2017 season, had three hits Friday, including his 21st homer.“You always want to do well against every team, especially a team that traded you,” Haniger said.Haniger, who played sparingly with Arizona in 2016 Andrew McCutchen Jersey , has five homers in 20 career games at Chase Field.A day after making his first major league start at third base, Robinson Cano made his third career start at first, all this season. He could not scoop two one-hop throws when the D-backs scored two unearned runs in the sixth inning, but the Mariners’ bullpen locked it down from there as Edwin Diaz recorded his franchise-record 49th save of the season. Ray was pushed back to start Saturday when Zack Godley was moved ahead to pitch Friday. Ray will pitch on seven days’ rest after giving up three runs and five walks in 4 1/3 innings while receiving a no-decision in an 8-3 victory at San Diego last Friday. Ray is 0-2 with a 5.55 ERA in his last nine starts. He missed two months with a strained oblique and threw six scoreless innings in his first game back June 27, but has not been as effective since.“It gives Robbie an extra day to work on the side with (pitching coach) Mike Butcher,” Lovullo said. “Robbie is throwing the ball well. He feels great. There is no injury whatsoever.”Ray has walked 15 in his last 20 innings over four starts. He has shown flashes of the form that saw him post a 2.89 ERA in a career-year in 2017 but has not found a rhythm this year.“It was all self-inflicted,” Ray said of his last start.Ray is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against Seattle. He won in Seattle on July 27, 2015, giving up two runs in seven innings while striking out eight.He has had difficulty at home this season, going 1-1 with a 7.18 ERA in seven starts at Chase Field. He has allowed 13 homers this season, 12 at home in 36 1/3 innings.LeBlanc joined the rotation in May but has scuffled a bit in August, giving up 15 earned runs in his four starts this month. He gave up three homers in 4 1/3 innings in an 8-3 loss against Houston on Aug. 1 and gave up three more in 4 1/3 innings in an 11-1 loss to the Dodgers on Aug. 17.LeBlanc, who spent the first four seasons of his career with San Diego, is 3-3 with a 4.47 ERA in 13 career appearances (nine starts) against Arizona. He is 1-3 with a 7.20 ERA in six games at Chase Field.