Chris Sale scores his twelfth win for the Atlanta Braves, making him the MLB leader

PHOENIX – Chris Sale struck out Zac Gallen in 5.5 solid innings, Adam Duvall hit a three-run home run and the Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.

Duvall hit his three-run hit in the sixth inning to extend Atlanta’s lead to 5-0. The 441-foot home run was hit deep into the left-field seats, ending Gallen’s night in frustration.

“We’re getting some hits at the right time,” Duvall said. “We had a lot of runners on the field tonight. So we definitely applied pressure and hopefully we can continue to do that.”

It was a good moment in a difficult season for Duvall, who entered the game with only a .184 batting average and seven home runs.

Sale (12-3) struggled through his first inning, walking Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno and loading the bases with two outs, but he elicited a groundout from Jake McCarthy to end the threat.

The next four innings were much easier before the left-hander ran into trouble in the sixth, allowing a single by Moreno before McCarthy hit an RBI triple. Sale – who leads the MLB with 12 wins – allowed two runs on five hits and three walks and struck out nine players.

“It was a tough battle tonight,” Sale said. “After I got through the first inning, I thought, ‘Okay, let’s take a deep breath, refocus and move on.'”

The 35-year-old has bounced back from several injury-plagued seasons to become one of the best pitchers in the major leagues this year and will represent the Braves on the National League All-Star team next week.

Sale is expected to pitch again for Atlanta on Sunday, meaning he will almost certainly be unavailable for the All-Star Game two days later on July 16. But since this is his eighth All-Star appearance, Sale said that won’t be a problem.

“The most important thing is this team and this team winning games,” Sale said. “We have our eyes on the prize and that’s the most important thing.”

Gallen (6-5) allowed five runs, four of which were earned. The right-hander allowed seven hits and one walk and struck out four times.

“The gears were grinding all day,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I felt like Zac had some really good stuff, but he got penalized for a couple of runs and extended the pitch count.”

The Braves took a 2-0 lead in the second. Sean Murphy’s RBI groundout brought Marcell Ozuna home for the first run, and then Atlanta took advantage of a defensive error when All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte dropped a line drive by Orlando Arcia that allowed Eddie Rosario to score.

Eli White hit a pinch-hit, RBI triple in the seventh inning to give Atlanta a 6-2 lead. Duvall, Ozuna and Jarred Kelenic all had two hits. Jesse Chavez threw two scoreless innings in relief.

“What Jesse did, coming in and pitching multiple (innings) like that, helped us win,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.