EditorsNote: fixes to "second start after missing the first three weeks" in 11th paragraph
Santana, Garza lead Brewers over Braves
MILWAUKEE -- For the first month of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers got big contributions from the core players in the middle of the order to lead the major leagues in home runs. As more players' bats come alive, they may become even more dangerous.
Domingo Santana, who entered the game hitting just .176, provided all of Milwaukee's offense with two swings, and Matt Garza turned in his best start of the season to lead the Brewers to a 4-3 victory Sunday over the Atlanta Braves.
Santana forged a 1-1 tie with a long blast leading off the fifth, Milwaukee's first hit of the game against Mike Foltynewicz (0-3).
After Freddie Freeman put the Braves bac k on top with a homer in the top of the sixth, Santana delivered again.
An error by shortstop Dansby Swanson gave the Brewers an extra out, and Santana made it hurt immediately. He put a charge into a first-pitch, 82-mph slider, sending it to the Braves bullpen in right center to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.
The Swanson error loomed large, but Braves manager Brian Snitker wasn't about to blame Swanson. The Braves hadn't committed an error in the previous eight games.
"That's going to happen," Snitker said. "Shoot, that kid has saved us so many runs. He's got us off the field with tough plays and everything. That's just one of those things. I don't think anybody feels any worse than he does."
Garza ran into two-out trouble in the seventh, and Brandon Phillips pulled the Braves within 4-3 with an RBI single off reliever Corey Knebel. But Knebel got the final out of the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth. Neftali Feliz pitched the ninth for his sixth save of the season.
Santana homered Friday night to end an 0-for-18 slump on Friday night with a homer, and Sunday's performance raised his average to .197.
"I was just looking to put a good swing on everything, like I've done," Santana said. "I'm so glad that I had a great game and the team won. I've been battling the whole season, so I was really happy."
Garza stopped the Braves, allowing three runs on six hits through 6 2/3 innings after Atlanta scored 21 runs on 32 hits the previous two nights. Garza (1-0) earned his first victory in his second start after missing the first three weeks of the season with a strained groin.
"Last outing, I was trying to knock the cobwebs off and I didn't feel good rhythmically until the fourth inning," Garza said. "Today, again right out of the gates, first pitch, the guy was swinging. It was, jump right back in the fire. So I battled that first inning and then finally found the groove and kept running with it. I told (catcher Jett) Bandy, 'Just follow me here. I got th is.'"
After posting 20 hits Saturday night, the Braves jumped to a quick lead in the first. Ender Inciarte singled and stole second and third. Inciarte scored on Matt Kemp's soft liner just out of the reach of second baseman Jonathan Villar. Nick Markakis followed with a single, but Garza prevented further damage by getting Kurt Suzuki to pop out.
Garza settled from there, with Suzuki's popup being the first of 15 straight batters set down.
Foltynewicz, meanwhile, was even better. He set down the first 11 Milwaukee batters -- six via strikeouts -- before Ryan Braun reached on an error when third baseman Adonis Garcia's throw pulled Freeman off the base.
Despite lowering his ERA to 2.81, Foltynewicz was disappointed by the result.
"I think I did OK," he said. "But the team gave me the lead twice and I gave it right back up. At the end of the day, that's what happened."
Santana's fifth-inning homer tied it, and his sixth-inning homer delivered all the offense Milwaukee would need.
"He drove the bus offensively, for sure," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. 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."
NOTES: Braves 2B Brandon Phillips did not start but still extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI single in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter. Phillips' single pulled the Braves within 4-3. ... Atlanta RHP Mike Foltynewicz lowered his ERA from 3.20 to 2.81 but still fell to 0-3 thanks to three unearned runs. He has yet to allow more than two earned runs in any of his four starts. ... Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman homered Sunday and finished the Braves' road trip 10-for-30 with three home runs. Freeman hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the ninth on Friday. ... After hitting three homers Saturday night, Atlanta OF Matt Kemp delivered an RBI single in the first inning. Kemp finished the series going 5 for 15 (.357) with three homers, a double and nine RBIs. ... Milwaukee 3B Travis Shaw was not in the starting lineup Sunday after being hit on the right hand by a Jaime Garcia pitch Saturday night. X-rays taken Saturday were negative, and Shaw said before the game he felt much better Sunday. He stayed in the game Saturday after being hit, but left two innings later. ... Milwaukee INF-OF Hernan Perez made his fourth start of the season at third base Sunday after starting in center field Saturday night. Perez also has started four games at shortstop, four in right field and three in center. He started games at six different positions in 2016. Perez has forced himself into the lineup by going 9-for-15 over a four-game span with two homers, two triples and three doubles in a four-game span before going 0-for-3 Saturday night. ... Milwaukee LF Ryan Braun left Sunday's game after six innings with tightness in his right trapezius -- the muscle that extends from the back of the shoulder to the spine. Brewers manager Craig Counsell called Braun's status "day-to-day," but Braun suggested he might miss a few days. "In all likelihood it'll be more than a day but hopefully it's not too long," he said.
Source: www.bing.com
