Austin Riley grounded a go-ahead two-run single in the top of the seventh inning to lift the Atlanta Braves to a 6-2 victory over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon.
After Milwaukee reliever Jared Koenig walked Jorge Soler to load the bases with two outs in the seventh, Elvis Peguero took over on the mound. Riley quickly found himself in a hitter’s count, then smoked a 3-1 sinker into left field to break a 2-2 tie.
Pierce Johnson (4-2) came away with the win thanks to Riley. Johnson logged 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Koenig (8-3) took the loss, yielding two unearned runs in two-thirds of an inning. Third baseman Joey Ortiz’s fielding error with one out in the seventh sparked the Braves’ tiebreaking rally.
Matt Olson and Travis d’Arnaud hit back-to-back solo shots in both the fourth and eighth innings for Atlanta. The second set of homers provided the Braves with some insurance, giving them a 6-2 lead.
Gary Sanchez and Jackson Chourio each had two hits as the Brewers dropped the rubber match of a three-game series.
Sanchez’s RBI single and Blake Perkins’ sacrifice fly put Milwaukee up 2-0 in the first.
Atlanta erased its deficit in the fourth thanks to the first pair of solo shots from Olson and d’Arnaud. With their two-homer performances, Olson now has 17 long balls on the season, while d’Arnaud has 11.
It looked like the Braves were going to move in front in the fifth, but Perkins reached over the center-field wall to take a home run away from Jarred Kelenic.
Perkins doubled with two outs in the home half of the sixth before Sal Frelick and William Contreras drew walks to load the bases. The Brewers failed to bring home the go-ahead run, though, as Johnson struck out Andruw Monasterio to end the frame.
Braves starter Chris Sale lasted 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out six.
Freddy Peralta got the start for Milwaukee and went six innings, allowing two runs and three hits. He issued two walks and fanned seven.
–Field Level Media
