Atlanta cranked three home runs in a nine-run sixth inning in support of Max Fried and rolled to a 12-8 win over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, posting their sixth win in the last seven games.
Atlanta entered the sixth with a three-run lead and put it away with the long ball. Dansby Swanson snapped an 0-for-17 skid with his seventh home run, a three-run shot, to get it started. Josh Donaldson added a solo homer, his seventh. Tyler Flowers finished it with his fourth home run, a two-run blast to center field.
The Braves completed the rally on Ronald Acuna Jr.'s two-run single. Acuna was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Atlanta improved to 6-1 since he moved into the leadoff position.
Fried (6-2) pitched six shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks, with five strikeouts.
Fried has six wins in the team's first 45 games. Only Hall of Famer Tom Glavine (seven in 2000) has had more than six at this point.
Only three of the runs were charged to loser Jhoulys Chacin (3-5), who pitched five innings and allowed eight hits. Reliever Corbin Burnes was charged with seven runs in two-thirds of an inning, as he allowed five hits -- three of them homers -- and two walks with two strikeouts.
Atlanta scored a run in each of the first three innings. Acuna Jr. scored on Freddie Freeman's infield grounder in the first. Nick Markakis scored on Ozzie Albies' sacrifice fly in the second. Freeman hit a solo homer, his ninth, in the third.
The Brewers scored four runs against reliever Josh Tomlin. Orlando Arcia had an RBI single in the seventh. Ryan Braun got an RBI on an infield grounder and Jacob Nottingham hit a two-run homer, his first, in Milwaukee's three-run eighth. It was Nottingham's first career homer.
Milwaukee added four runs in the ninth. Braun singled to drive home two against Jonny Venters and Nottingham delivered a two-run single against Wes Parsons. Luke Jackson, Atlanta's current closer, entered with two runners on base and struck out Hernan Perez to end the game and earn an unlikely sixth save.
--Field Level Media
Milwaukee | Atlanta | |
Jhoulys Chacin | Player | Max Fried |
Loss | W/L | Win |
5.0 | IP | 6.0 |
3 | Strikeouts | 5 |
8 | Hits | 2 |
5.40 | ERA | 0.00 |
Milwaukee | Atlanta | |
Jacob Nottingham | Player | Ozzie Albies |
2 | Hits | 3 |
4 | RBI | 1 |
1 | HR | 0 |
5 | TB | 4 |
.667 | Avg | 1.000 |