Atlanta @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 7, 2018 ) Atlanta 5, Milwaukee 1

The Atlanta Braves got exactly what they needed on Saturday and enter Sunday’s series finale at the Milwaukee Brewers with a chance to finish a 10-game road trip with a winning record. The Braves opened their three-city tour with a sweep of St. Louis and a victory over the Yankees, only to lose their next four games before Anibal Sanchez authored a gem and Freddie Freeman busted out of a slump in a 5-1 victory that gives Atlanta a chance to go 6-4 on the trip.

Freeman fell a homer short of the cycle in finishing 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored, his first multi-hit game since June 22, ending a stretch during which the Atlanta first baseman had collected only seven hits in his previous 13 games. Sanchez stymied the Brewers through 6 2/3 innings, allowing only one run on two hits, and the Braves bullpen gave up just one hit over 2 1/3 scoreless innings as Milwaukee’s streak of consecutive games with a homer ended at 12. Second baseman Brad Miller finished 1-for-3 with an RBI, giving him a .317 average with eight RBIs in 13 games since being traded from Tampa Bay. Infielder Jonathan Villar came off the bench Saturday and recorded a hit in his only at-bat, giving him four hits in nine at-bats in his past five games, but the Brewers’ powerful offense finished with just four singles.

TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, TBS, FS South (Atlanta), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves LH Sean Newcomb (8-3, 3.10 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Junior Guerra (5-5, 2.87)

Newcomb seeks to return to form after the shortest start of his season Tuesday in New York, a 2 2/3-inning stint in which he gave up five runs with five walks in a loss to the Yankees. It marked just the fourth time in 17 starts the 25-year-old had surrendered more than three earned runs and set a season high in walks. Newcomb, who posted a 2.33 ERA while going 8-1 in his previous 15 starts, makes his first career appearance against Milwaukee.

Guerra looks to win his third consecutive start after holding Minnesota to two hits with eight strikeouts in five scoreless innings Tuesday. The 33-year-old has allowed three earned runs or fewer 11 times in 16 starts, but Milwaukee is averaging just 2.85 runs per game in his outings. Guerra, who is holding opponents to a .217 batting average, earned a no-decision in his only career appearance against the Braves in 2016.

WALK-OFFS

1. Milwaukee OF Ryan Braun was scratched from Saturday’s starting lineup with right side tightness; he struck out as a pinch hitter to end the game.

2. Atlanta OF Ronald Acuna (left groin tightness) did not play Saturday, but is expected to be available Sunday.

3. Brewers OF Lorenzo Cain, out since June 26 with a left groin strain, could be activated from the disabled list for the series finale, according to published reports.

PREDICTION: Braves 3, Brewers 2