Kyle Taylor, Valdosta Today Sports
MILWAUKEE – Tuesday night brought a matchup of rookies on the hill for both the Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Manny Banuelos (NR) got the call for Atlanta, and Tyler Cravy (0-1) for Milwaukee. Both pitchers were seeking their first career wins in game two of the series at Miller Park.
On Monday night, the Braves snapped the Brewers eight game winning streak with a 5-3 victory, and defeated the NL Central last place team once again on Tuesday by a score of 4-3.
Banuelos pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up one run on three hits to earn his first MLB win after preserving through Tommy John surgery early on his career.
The game did not get off to a great start for the 24-year-old pitcher. Jonathan Lucroy hit his second home run of the season to right center field for a solo shot in the bottom of the first inning.
The offense for Atlanta early on was produced by the vet and leader of the team, A.J. Pierzynski. A.J. hit his sixth home run of the season in the top of the second and drove in Kelly Johnson on a base hit in the fourth. Pierzynski finished the game going 3-4 at the plate. That gives him a stretch of 10-13 in his last three contests, and a season batting average of .289.
The score was 2-1, Atlanta, heading into the top of the fifth. Banuelos was still in line to get the win. Cameron Maybin continued his strong season Tuesday night with a triple that scored Eury Perez. Maybin has recently made it known that he desires to finish his career as an Atlanta Brave.
Nick Markakis put the Braves up 4-1 in the seventh on a base hit that scored Jace Peterson. The hit came off Braves old pine tar friend, Will Smith.
The Brewers would attempt a comeback in the late innings. Mike Foltynewicz was recently called back up to take a spot in the bullpen and made an appearance in the bottom of the seventh. Shane Peterson delivered a double that scored Khris Davis.
Adam Lind followed with a home run in the eighth inning off David Aardsma, which made the score 4-3.
Jason Grilli once again came on to close out the ballgame to record his 24th save of the season, and second in as many nights. Grilli struck out the side to secure the Braves sixth win in their last seven games.
A.J. Pierzynski spoke with MLB.com about Banuelos’ first career win, “We talked about needing to get more than one or two pitches over the plate, so we started throwing some more curveballs and some sliders. [Banuelos] threw them for strikes and they had to change their game plan because they were going up there looking for first-pitch heaters and swinging.”
Banuelos told reporters, “I’m excited to get my first [win]. That was pretty fun.”
Everything is going just the way Braves fans had hoped as we get closer to the All-Star break. With Washington’s loss to Cincinnati, Atlanta now sits four games back of first place in the division and only a half game behind the second place Mets. The Braves now find themselves back at .500 with a 42-42 record.
The teams will match up in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon at Miller Park. First pitch for the afternoon game will come at 2:10 ET. Julio Teheran (6-4) will look to improve his road ERA as he takes on Mike Fiers (4-7) of the Brewers.
The Braves will head to Colorado after the game for a final series with the Rockies before the All-Star festivities next week.
