Teheran, JUpton lead Braves past Brewers 5-0
ATLANTA - Julio Teheran pitched a six-hitter for his second shutout of the season, Justin Upton had three RBIs and the Atlanta Braves won their third in a row, beating the slumping Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 Tuesday night.
It was another laugher in the matchup between first-place teams, the Braves jumping ahead with three runs in the third and cruising to victory after opening the series with a 9-3 rout.
The Brewers have lost four in a row overall, their longest skid of 2014.
Teheran (3-3) bounced back from the shortest start of his career at San Francisco, where he lasted just 3 1-3 innings in a 10-4 loss. The right-hander pitched his first career shutout last month, beating Philadelphia 1-0 with a three-hitter.
Upton had a two-run single in the third and his 12th homer in the fifth, a solo shot.
Yovani Gallardo (2-3) took a painful loss. He left the game in the fourth after twisting his left ankle jumping for a high chopper up the middle, extending his winless streak to more than six weeks.
Gallardo hasn't been credited with a win since April 6 at Boston, his second start of the season. Since then, he is 0-3 with five no-decisions, despite allowing no more than four earned runs in any of those appearances.
Andrelton Simmons put the Braves ahead in the third with his fourth homer, a drive into the left-field seats. Simmons was in the middle of things again in the fourth, pulling off a heads-up play on the basepaths.
After B.J. Upton worked Gallardo for a walk, Simmons hit a high bouncer off second base, the ball rolling into short left field. Second baseman Scooter Gennett chased it down, then lazily threw it in to the third baseman. Simmons took off from first and appeared to get a hand in ahead of the tag with a tumbling slide.
The umpire initially called Simmons out, but the call was overturned after Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez challenged. The review took 2 minutes, 15 seconds.
Teheran followed with another hopper over the mound, the ball bouncing away when Gennett and shortstop Jean Segura got tangled up trying to make the play. Upton came in to score, Gennett was charged with an error, and Gallardo came up limping after leaping for the ball and coming down awkwardly on his left foot. He was done for the night.
Notes: The Braves scratched C Evan Gattis, who had been scheduled to hit cleanup, just before the first pitch because of "viral symptoms." Ramiro Pena moved up from eighth to second in the revised batting order, with Justin Upton sliding down to hit cleanup. Gerald Laird took over at catcher, hitting eighth. ... Brewers RHP Jim Henderson (shoulder) is scheduled to make a rehab appearance Friday for Double-A Huntsville (AL). The tentative plan is for Henderson to make three outing in the minors so he can go multiple innings as a long reliever for Milwaukee. ... Braves IF Tyler Pastornicky will need a few more days to get over a left calf injury. The problem flared up again when he took batting practice Monday. ... Milwaukee 3B Aramis Ramirez (left hamstring) ran for a second straight day but still feels some pain. "I think it's encouraging," manager Ron Roenicke said. Ramirez is on the 15-day disabled list. ... A child sitting behind the Braves dugout was struck when Carlos Gomez fouled off a line drive in the seventh inning. Teheran grimaced and sank into a crouch when he saw what happened, and Gomez also looked toward the stands with concern. The child was hustled out of the stands for medical treatment. There was no immediate word on the condition.