Three homers help Brewers beat Braves
MILWAUKEE -- Roberto Hernandez's second major league start of the season was spoiled by home runs from Chris Carter, Scooter Gennett and Hernan Perez as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Atlanta Braves 11-3 to earn a split of their four-game series at Miller Park.
Hernandez (1-1), formerly known as Fausto Carmona, lasted only four innings against Milwaukee, allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out a pair.
For the Brewers, Matt Garza (4-4) worked six innings and only allowed two runs despite giving up six hits and three walks with two strikeouts. But it was the offense that shined Thursday, collecting for 14 hits and scoring in every inning.
Jonathan Villar and Perez had three hits apiece for Milwaukee, while Gennett and Manny Pina each finished with two hits.
Carter hit his second home run in as many days in the first inning, a two-run shot that scored Orlando Arcia and gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead.
Keon Broxton made it a 3-0 game in the second when he scored while Pina was thrown out trying to steal second, and Gennett put the Brewers up 4-0 in the third with his 10th home run of the year.
Perez followed with a solo homer in the fourth and Gennett added an RBI single in the fifth to give the Brewers a 6-0 lead.
Garza took advantage of the early cushion and kept the Braves off the board until the sixth when Erick Aybar ended the shutout with his second home run of the season. Freddie Freeman doubled and scored to cut the deficit to three.
Aybar finished with three hits on the day, falling a triple short of the cycle.
Pina broke the game open with a bases-loaded double in the sixth, Perez added an RBI single in the seventh and Arcia drove in another with an RBI triple in the eighth.
NOTES: Milwaukee C Manny Pina got the start and spelled Martin Maldonado, who had gone the distance in seven of nine games - including a pair of extra-inning affairs - since Jonathan Lucroy was traded to Texas on Aug. 1. ... Brewers 3B Jonathan Villar came into the contest batting .406 (13-for-32) since moving from shortstop on Aug. 2. ... RHP Roberto Hernandez - formerly known as Fausto Carmona - was the 14th different starting pitcher used by Atlanta this season. ... A victory Thursday would give the Braves their third consecutive series victory for the first time since June 30-July 8, 2015 when the Braves took two of three from Washington, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. ... Milwaukee batters had homered in a season-high 13 consecutive games coming into play Thursday. It's the team's longest stretch of contests with a home run since going 16 games during the 2010 season.