Braves 8, Brewers 1: Dansby Swanson hits two homers with seven RBI as Atlanta pulls away in late innings
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ATLANTA – Brandon Woodruff has been throwing the ball as well as any starting pitcher in the major leagues this season but the Milwaukee Brewers haven’t had much to show for it lately.
That trend has had more to do with a lack of run support but that was only part of the problem Saturday night at Truist Park.
With Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson blasting two homers and driving in a career-high seven runs, the Braves pulled away after Woodruff exited to an 8-1 victory that snapped the Brewers’ winning streak on this trip at four games and their road winning streak at eight games, their longest since 2008.
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The Brewers have lost four of Woodruff’s last five starts while scoring a total of only five runs in those defeats. Entering the game, the support of 2.47 runs per nine innings for Woodruff was the lowest of any qualified starting pitcher in the majors, a good reason for his 7-6 record despite a 2.26 earned run average.
The Brewers scored first with a run in the second off young lefty Kyle Muller. Avisaíl García led off with a single to center and moved up on Lorenzo Cain’s one-out hit to left. Luis Urías was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting up a run-scoring grounder to third by Manny Piña, resulting in an out at second.
The Braves took a shot at tying the score in the bottom of the inning when Jorge Soler blooped a broken-bat hit into shallow left and Stephen Vogt singled to right with two down. But Woodruff struck out Muller and the 1-0 lead remained intact.
García led off the Brewers fourth with a walk but was erased on a double-play grounder by Tyrone Taylor. Cain followed with his second hit and stole second ahead of a walk to Urías but Piña took a called third strike and that was that.
Atlanta finally broke through for a run in the fourth to tie it and as happens so often, it started with a leadoff walk to Austin Riley. With one down, Soler singled up the middle and Swanson followed with a run-scoring single to left-center to make it 1-1.
Woodruff stopped it from going further by retiring Vogt on a fly to center and striking out Muller again.
The Braves’ fifth inning started with Joc Pederson getting nicked on the foot with a pitch, which the Brewers weren’t sure actually happened. Ozzie Albies sent a drive high off the wall in right-center and Pederson tried to score from first but a relay from García to second baseman Kolten Wong to Piña nipped him at the plate.
Albies went to third on the throw home but had to stay there when Freddie Freeman tapped out to Piña in front of the plate. Riley then flied out to left and the game remain tied.
With one down in the top of the sixth, Taylor reached on a walk and Cain reached base when veteran reliever Jesse Chavez dropped a throw from Freeman covering the bag on a grounder to first. That rally fizzled when Urías lined out to deep right and Piña bounced out to third.
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BOX SCORE: Braves 8, Brewers 1
The game turned in the seventh on a missed ball-strike call by home plate umpire CB Bucknor. Adam Duvall led off with a single before Woodruff won a nine-pitch battle with Soler by striking him out.
On a 1-2 pitch to Swanson, Woodruff threw a curveball that caught enough of the inside corner that Swanson took a step across the plate toward the dugout. Bucknor called it a ball, however, and Woodruff grooved the next pitch over the middle of the plate and Swanson blasted it out to left-center to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead.
A furious Woodruff barked at Bucknor, who seemed oblivious. When manager Craig Counsell came out to remove Woodruff, the pitcher gave the umpire another piece of his mind with no response again.
Newcomer Daniel Norris came on to retire the next two batters but the Brewers’ other new reliever, John Curtiss, had a nightmarish debut in the seventh.
After Albies reached on an infield hit with one out, Freeman singled to left and Riley walked to load the bases. Duvall flied out to right but Soler hit a smash to the left of second base that shortstop Willy Adames snagged with a diving attempt. He could have flipped to second for the third out but chose to throw to first and Eduardo Escobar – playing his first game at first base – could not hang on to his wide, one-hop throw as a run scored.
Curtiss and the Brewers paid dearly for failing to record the third out because Swanson followed with a grand slam off the left-field foul pole, blowing the game wide open, 8-1.
RECORD
Overall: 62-43
Home: 29-24
Away: 33-19
COMING UP
Sunday: Brewers at Braves, 12:20 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Brett Anderson (3-5, 3.86) vs. Atlanta RHP Charlie Morton (10-3, 3.72) Bally Sports WI 12:20
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Braves 8, Brewers 1: Dansby Swanson hits two homers with seven RBI as Atlanta pulls away in late innings