Conrad strikes again, grand slam leads eighth-inning rally

“It was huge,” Conrad said. “It’s just the perseverance of our team we have this year. No matter what situation, no matter how we’re playing, we are going to play hard until the end. I think it showed again tonight.”

Conrad got to enjoy his trip around the bases this time, unlike against the Reds when he thought his ball had been caught.

“I knew I had it off the bat,” Conrad said. “It was a pretty good feeling knowing that you had it off the bat, rather than thinking he caught it and making a fool of yourself.”

For the third time this week, the Braves were in danger of losing a series, first to the Brewers and then the Padres. For the third time they came up with something big on offense, albeit a little late in the game this time around.

With his eighth-inning shot and fourth pinch-hit home run of his career, Conrad put the finishing touches on the Braves' second three-run comeback in as many nights against the Marlins.

This time they made it stick.

After a passed ball cost the Braves the tying run and an eventual loss in the bottom of the ninth Friday night, the Braves came back with six unearned runs in the eighth, thanks to a pair of errors in the eighth inning by third baseman Jorge Cantu.

Cantu helped the Braves start their rally with a throwing error on a Chipper Jones grounder and then kept the bases loaded for Conrad with a critical error four batters later.

Cantu's first move on an Alex Gonzalez bunt, with runners first and second, was toward the plate. So he was a step off-balance when catcher Ronny Paulino caught the ball and fired to third. Cantu, not realizing that Gonzalez had stumbled up the first-base line watching the play develop, tried to get the out at third, but he stepped over the bag. Pinch runner David Ross was ruled safe at third base.

After a Nate McLouth groundout, Conrad came up and sent a 3-1 pitch from Burke Badenhop into the right-field seats.

“I went back to the dugout, I said hey did you see that?” Gonzalez said of his fall. “Nobody saw it. It’s kind of funny.”

It was, given the outcome of a second consecutive wild one at Sun Life Stadium.

“I was debating whether or not to let Gonzalez swing,” manager Bobby Cox said. “We needed to get somebody to third, but he’s been hitting the heck out of the ball and he’s got 17 homers. But it worked.”

The Braves had loaded the bases on reliever Taylor Tankersley to start the inning after Brian McCann took a pitch off the elbow. Troy Glaus who worked the count full before drawing a bases-loaded walk to make the score 5-3. Then Eric Hinske tied the score with a two-run single to right.

“We’ve been doing that all year long,” McCann said. “We’ve been fighting until the end all year long. Tonight was no different. We never quit. We’re leading the league in on-base percentage, and we take what the pitcher gives us.”

With one game yet to play today, the Braves were in danger of dropping their first series to a National League team in 2 1/2 months. The only series they have lost in their past 21, dating to May 9, was a three-game sweep by the Chicago White Sox on June 22-24.

“I can’t explain this ball game,” Cox said. “It’s hard enough to explain last night.”