Little too sloppy
Errors come back to haunt in close loss
ATLANTA – The Milwaukee Brewers’ first game in SunTrust Park was not an enjoyable one.
They made two costly errors. As usual, they did little against Atlanta right-hander Mike Foltynewicz. And, in what has become an ongoing theme on the road this season, it rained a lot.
The outcome was a 5-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves that got interesting late when the Brewers scored twice during an eighth-inning rally in which white-hot Eric Sogard left the game for a pinch-hitter.
The Brewers were trailing, 5-2, in the eighth when Orlando Arcia doubled in a pair of runs with one out. Lewis Brinson, who entered the game in a double switch, then was hit on the hand by reliever Jose Ramirez and stayed in the game despite being in obvious pain.
It was Sogard, who was hit in his previous at-bat, who exited as Jesus Aguilar was sent to bat for him with two on and one out. Aguilar sent a sharp grounder down the third-base line that Johan Comargo snared to start a huge double play.
The Brewers had another chance in the ninth when Eric Thames led off with a double to right. He tried to advance to third when Domingo Santana hit a grounder to the left of second base but shortstop Dansby Swanson gloved it and threw him out.
Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson got off to a shaky start in the first inning but he was only partially at fault. With one down, Brandon Phillips — a familiar foe from his years with the Reds — sent a drive just over the
wall in left for his sixth homer of the season.
Nick Markakis walked and Matt Adams singled, putting runners on the corners. Tyler Flowers then hit a grounder to Sogard for what should have been an easy, inning-ending double play but Arcia dropped the feed for a run-scoring error.
The Brewers scored their only run off Foltynewicz (1.80 career ERA aginst them) with one swing of the bat in the fourth inning. With one down, Keon Broxton got all of a 1-2 fastball right down the middle and launched it out to center for his 12th homer.
It started raining shortly after that blast and it was quite wet when the Braves scored two more runs off Nelson in the fifth. Ender Inciarte, who struck out in his first two at-bats, led off with a single and raced around to score when Phillips lashed a double to right-center.
Nelson retired the next two hitters but Flowers punched a single through the right side to score Phillips and make it a 4-1 game. BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Left-handed reliever Sam Freeman pitched the seventh inning for the Braves and allowed a run on Santana’s two-out RBI single. Freeman pitched briefly for the Brewers last year but was cut loose after posting a 12.91 ERA in seven outings. He has a 2.78 ERA in 17 games for Atlanta entering.
Lefty Brent Suter followed Nelson to the mound, making his seventh appearance of the season. Those outings have been stretched over five different stints with the Brewers while shuttling back and forth from Class AAA Colorado Springs. STAT SHEET
Entering the game, the Braves had scored 120 runs, most in the NL, in 21 games in June (5.71 per game). They were batting .285 as a team, second in the league.
“They’ve done a real good job scoring runs, especially the last month,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s a very aggressive team, so we have to be aware of that.”
The Brewers have hit home runs in 11 consecutive games, going back to the second game of a doubleheader in St. Louis on June 13. They homered in 13 consecutive games earlier in the season (April 8-21). TAKEAWAY
This was a game the Brewers could have won. But they gave away two runs on errors and watched the Braves make some defensive plays at the end that made a difference. The result was a frustrating loss. RECORD
This year: 40-36 (2122 home; 19-14 away)
Last year: 34-42 NEXT GAME
Saturday: Brewers at Braves. 3:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Matt Garza (3-3, 4.42) vs. Atlanta RHP R.A. Dickey (5-5, 4.91) TV: FS Wisconsin/ FOX Sports 1. Radio: 620-AM.