Brewers 4, Braves 3: Two-man show leads the way
A two-man show saved the Milwaukee Brewers from a series sweep Sunday.
Domingo Santana homered twice to provide all the offense and Matt Garza turned in a strong 6 2/3-inning start to push the Brewers past the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, at Miller Park.
Santana hit a solo homer in the fifth inning to break up a budding no-hitter by Atlanta starter Mike Foltynewicz, and then his three-run shot off Foltynewicz in the sixth helped seal it. The multi-homer game was just the second of Santana's career and a positive sign from a hitter who'd entered the day just 2 for 24 on the homestand.
"He made a difference in this game," manager Craig Counsell. "He drove the bus offensively, for sure. To break out in a game is one thing, but in a game where you’re doing all the damage, that’s a satisfying feeling.
"It puts all the struggles behind you, hopefully.”
Garza, meanwhile, earned his first victory of the season in his second start after being reinstated from the disabled list. The 88-pitch outing was his second-longest in the past two seasons; he went seven innings last Aug. 31 to beat the St. Louis Cardinals.
BOX SCORE: Brewers 4, Braves 3
RELATED: Patience pays off for Matt Garza
NOTES: Jonathan Villar right back on it
The victory left the Brewers with a 13-13 record in April. The 13 wins equal the team's total from the previous two Aprils combined (13-32), a positive sign for a team in the second year of a major rebuild.
“We’re sitting at .500," Counsell said. "Obviously, offensively we’ve been really good. I think we have to prevent runs better. That’s probably the next step for us. But we know the season runs in valleys and cycles and different phases. We’ve had some good pitching performances in the first month. The guys in the bullpen have been really, really good.
"I think you earn your record, and I’ll always say that. We’re at .500 right now and I think that’s what we’ve earned.”
Ender Inciarte manufactured the Braves' first-inning lead by singling on Garza's first pitch, stealing second and third and then scoring on a two-out bloop single to right-center by the sizzling Matt Kemp.
Garza surrendered three singles in all in the frame but allowed just the lone run and settled in from there.
Foltynewicz, however, was dealing from the outset.
He struck out the side in the first inning, two more in the second and retired the first 11 batters overall until Ryan Braun reached with two outs in the fourth on an error by third baseman Adonis Garcia.
Santana finally got the Brewers on the board with a long homer to straightaway center to open the fifth, a drive that represented the Brewers' first ball out of the infield against the right-hander.
Garza had retired 15 consecutive batters after Nick Markakis' first-inning single before Freddie Freeman hit a two-out, solo homer to right in the sixth to put the Braves back in front, 2-1.
Eric Thames started a Brewers rally in the bottom half by singling to right with one out, then after Braun reached on a fielder's choice Dansby Swanson booted what should have been a surefire ground-ball out from Hernán Pérez to put two on for Santana.
Santana, first-pitch swinging, sent a slider over the wall in right for his second career two-homer game and put Milwaukee back in front, 4-2. It marked the 24th time in 26 games this season the Brewers had taken the lead in a game.
Garza got the first two outs in the seventh before consecutive singles knocked him from the game. The first out turned out to be a key play, as Markakis lined a shot off Garza's foot and was ruled safe by first-base umpire Brian O'Nora on a bang-bang play after Jonathan Villar fielded the carom.
Counsell challenged the call and it was overturned. After Counsell replaced Garza with Corey Knebel, pinch-hitter Brandon Phillips singled to cut the lead to 4-3 instead of tying the game. Knebel then got Inciarte to foul out to end the threat.
Garza's line was solid: 6 2/3 innings, three runs (earned) and no walks with seven strikeouts. He'd gone just four innings in his season debut April 24 and failed to earn a decision.
Knebel used a strikeout-caught stealing to end the eighth after hitting Freeman and putting him on with one out, and Neftali Feliz threw a scoreless ninth to record his first save since April 17.
Braun left the game in the seventh with right trapezius tightness, and he didn't sound optimistic he'd be in the lineup Monday when the Brewers open a four-game series in St. Louis.
"Nothing too serious, nothing that I’m overly concerned about," Braun said. "In all likelihood I think I’ll miss a couple days."
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
* Freeman made some interesting comments about Miller Park to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before Saturday's game, calling it a "bad-lit Little League field." Freeman went on to go 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI in an 11-3 Braves victory, and was hitting .400 with that double, a homer and three RBI through the first two games of the series.
Counsell deferred to his players when asked about Freeman's comments, and third baseman Travis Shaw lent some credence to what Freeman had to say.
“I mean, it is a little darker here than it is in most places," said Shaw. "I still see the ball OK here, but I do get what he’s saying. It is kind of dark in here compared to some places. Which, you would think in a dome it would be more bright, but for some reason – I don’t know what it is – it does seem a tad dark. But I don’t not see the ball well, so it’s not something that I worry about.
“The backdrop here is nice, it’s just the lighting. It’s a little bit dark, but it’s not been an issue in my mind.”
* Junior Guerra emerged from his second bullpen session Saturday on track to begin agility work on the field at the outset of the team's seven-game trip to St. Louis and Pittsburgh. He's also expected to throw to live batters as he continues his recovery from a right-calf strain.
"Junior’s doing good," Counsell said. "Really, the running and the agility stuff is the more important steps here. He’ll work up to the throwing; that’s not going to be an issue. He’ll get up quickly in that.
"But the running and the agility and the health of the calf is first on our list of things we’ve got to get."
STAT SHEET
* Milwaukee has homered in 22 of its 26 games this season, and 45 times in all to lead the major leagues and set a franchise record for the month of April.
* The Brewers head into their four-game series against the Cardinals having not won a series from them since winning two of three from April 28-30, 2014 at Busch Stadium. Milwaukee has gone 0-15-2 in series play against St. Louis since then.
TAKEAWAY
Several Milwaukee hitters who started the season slowly are finally coming around. Santana looks like he could be the latest to join that group for an offense that really hasn't had much trouble scoring runs anyway. Garza's start also was encouraging; his mix of fastballs and off-speed stuff kept Braves hitters off-balance most of the day.
RECORD
This year: 13-13 (7-10 home; 6-3 away)
Last year: 10-15
ATTENDANCE
Sunday: 24,395
2017 total: 484,665 (28,510 avg.)
Last year: 463,811 (27,283 avg.)
NEXT GAME
Monday: Brewers at Cardinals, 7:15 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Zach Davies (2-2, 6.57) vs. St. Louis RHP Michael Wacha (2-1, 2.55). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: 620-AM.