Blake Perkins went 3 for 5 with three RBIs, and the Milwaukee Brewers totaled 16 hits in an 8-5 win over the struggling Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.
Joey Ortiz also had a strong game, going 3 for 5 with a double, two RBIs, and a run, helping the Brewers, who lead the NL Central, win their second consecutive game against the Braves to start the series.
“I’m just trying to keep my head down and stay healthy and be available,” Ortiz said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. I just need to compete.”
Gary Sánchez was 2 for 5 with two runs and an RBI. Jackson Chourio and Rhys Hoskins each had three hits as the Brewers had 24 baserunners.
“When you talk about how relentless our offense was, today it was ridiculous,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We didn’t have a lot of extra base hits, but it was relentless. You look at guys like Ortiz, Perkins, (Andruw) Monasterio, and Chourio. They had a lot of quality at-bats.”
The Braves have now lost four games in a row and have fallen to the NL’s third wild-card spot after leading the wild-card race for much of the season.’
Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta (7-6) gave up four runs on eight hits over five innings. Nick Mears, Joel Payamps, Jared Koenig, and Devin Williams each pitched one inning in relief.
Atlanta’s Chris Sale pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned), nine hits, and two walks while striking out 10, which moved him to eighth place on the career list for double-digit strikeout games.
“We were facing one of the best in the game, and he made big pitches at big times,” Murphy said. “But we hung in there and ran the pitch count up and we had some things go our way.”
Pierce Johnson (4-4) was charged with the loss. Austin Riley went 2 for 3 with a home run, two runs, and three RBIs for the Braves. His 428-foot home run to left field in the fifth inning scored Whit Merrifield.
Orlando Arcia was 2 for 4, extending his on-base streak to a career-high 19 games. Jared Kelenic hit his 13th home run in the ninth inning.
