The Juice: Braves overcome 9-0 deficit to defeat Nationals, A’s earn tenth walkoff victory

The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday (and now on Saturdays) for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.

Chipping and chopping away: The Atlanta Braves made a little history on Friday night, overcoming a 9-0 deficit against Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals to eventually pull out an 11-10 victory in 11 innings.

It's only the third time the Braves have overcome a nine-run deficit in their franchise history. Per Elias, the other two were May 15, 1977 against the St. Louis Cardinals and June 7, 1987 against the San Diego Padres. It was also the largest blown lead in Nationals history, which includes their time as the Montreal Expos.

Atlanta's big comeback began with a four-run sixth inning against Strasburg. That rally was highlighted by Brian McCann's two-run homer. They would add four more in the eighth, cutting it to 9-8. Then in the ninth, Michael Bourn tripled home two runs off Tyler Clippard to give the Braves their first lead.

At that point, it felt like game over with Craig Kimbrel — who had successfully converted 20 saves in a row — coming in to hold the one-run lead. But of course that wouldn't prove to be the case, as Danny Espinosa delivered a game-tying solo home run. It wasn't until Paul Janish's RBI single in 11th that Atlanta finally scored the decisive run in their exhilarating victory.

Walkoff kings: The 2012 Oakland A's have a flair for the dramatic, and that flair was on full display again in their 3-2 win over the New York Yankees. For the tenth time this season, Oakland clinched the victory in a walkoff fashion. This time it came courtesy of a Brandon Moss RBI single in the ninth.

For a while, though, it looked like they wouldn't need their final at-bat to earn the win. Robinson Cano, who extended his hitting streak to a league best 23 games earlier, would change that with a game-tying ninth inning homer. But his dramatic blast would only set up Moss' heroics. Yoenis Cespedes, who contributed a career high four hits for Oakland, scored the game winner.

Prowling Tigers: If the Chicago White Sox didn't feel the Tigers breathing down their neck before, they surely do now after dropping a 4-2 result in Detroit, which cuts their lead in the American League Central to 1/2 game. Justin Verlander led the way for the charging Tigers, throwing eight strong, with the only damage coming on Alelandro De Aza's two-run homer.

All-Star Angels: A big series in the AL West began with some big time performances from three of the Los Angeles Angels' all-stars. Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout, who were both selected to their first midsummer classics, each homered — their 27th and 15th respectively — to lead the offense. Jered Weaver didn't need much help beyond that, allowing one run in his seven innings at the Angels cruised to a 6-1 win over the Texas Rangers.

Post no-hit blues: The struggles of Johan Santana continue in the wake of his 134-pitch no-hitter against the Cardinals back on June 1. The Los Angeles Dodgers weren't about to show any mercy, either, touching up the veteran left-hander for six earned runs in a short three innings. Matt Kemp's two-run first inning homer started the onslaught. Luis Cruz then applied the finishing touches with a two-run homer of his own. That provided enough breathing room for Aaron Harang and a shaky middle relief core to preserve a 7-6 Dodger victory.

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Quote of the Day:

Chicago Cubs starter Ryan Dempster talks about his shaky outing in their 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds struck for three run in the first, emphatically bringing Dempster's streak of 33 straight scoreless inning to an end. And then yes, Matt Holliday delivered a monster 469-foot moonshot to wrap up the scoring in the third.

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Photo of the Day: Rockies Remember

Members of the Colorado Rockies stand arm in arm during a moment of silence for the victims of the Aurora, Colorado shooting. Rockies players also wrote "7-20" on their eye black as a tribute to the victims and a hung uniform in their dugout with the message "We Remember 7-20".

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Three Facts for the Water Cooler:

• Tom Wilhelmson's streak of 24 scoreless innings over his last 20 appearances came to an end in the Mariners 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. And it came to an end at the absolute worst time, as the one run he allowed was the game-winner in the 14th inning.

• Seventh place on the all-time home run list belongs solely to Jim Thome. The 41-year-old slugger hit No. 610 for his career, breaking a tie with Sammy Sosa, and his first as a Baltimore Oriole in their 10-2 victory over Thome's first team, the Cleveland Indians.

• Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker each homered in the Pirates 4-3 victory over the Astros. That brings their season total to 103 homers with 70 games left to go. In 2011, Pittsburgh hit only 107 home runs all season.

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