Major League Baseball

Kemp scores on dropped sac fly, Braves top Brewers 4-3 in 12

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:07 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

MILWAUKEE (AP) Gordon Beckham's fly ball in the 12th inning Monday night was deep enough in center field to make for an easy scorer's decision.

Matt Kemp scored from third after Keon Broxton dropped Beckham's fly, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3.

''Man, he put a good swing on that ball,'' Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. ''He knocked the heck out of it. It was almost a great catch in center field. He did exactly what he needed to do, get the ball in the air right there.''

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Beckham ripped Carlos Torres' pitch to the warning track, and Broxton dropped it. An error was given to Broxton, but Beckham was awarded a sacrifice fly and an RBI.

''I faced him the last at-bat and hit a ball decent,'' Beckham said. ''I just tried to duplicate that. I got a pitch over the plate and was able to get it done.''

Kemp drew a walk off Torres (2-2) to start the 12th and went to third on a ground-rule double to right-center by Nick Markakis. An intentional walk to Adonis Garcia loaded the bases.

Brewers reliever Blaine Boyer came on to work out of the bases-loaded jam with no further damage.

Brandon Cunniff (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to earn his first win. Jim Johnson stranded the tying run at second base for his ninth save. Relievers Jose Ramirez, Mauricio Cabrera, Cunniff and Johnson combined for six scoreless innings.

''Ramirez was dialed in,'' Snitker said. ''So was Brandon. They all were good. They have been. They have been handing the ball off to each other and picking each other up for awhile now.''

Rookie Rob Whalen made his second start this season and pitched six innings of three-run ball, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out seven. Whalen got the win in his major league debut on Aug. 3 despite allowing four runs in five innings against the Pirates.

''I pitched with a lot more confidence,'' Whalen said. ''I wasn't as nervous or jittery. I was just trying to be as relaxed as possible.''

Zach Davies allowed three runs and eight hits over seven innings. The right-hander gave up homers to Markakis and A.J. Pierzynski.

''The 0-2 (pitch) to Markakis wasn't high enough or in enough for 0-2,'' Davies said. ''It was a good pitch but not for that count. The one to Pierzynski was a good pitch but he's a strong enough guy that if he sits on it, it's out. Frustrated a little bit with my outing but at the same time, I can take some positives from it.''

Milwaukee catcher Martin Maldonado tied it 3-3 with a two-run homer in the fifth inning.

''I was a little ticked off about that,'' Whalen said. ''I made a decent pitch. A lot of times that sinker gets hit into the ground there, but these are big league hitters. I got too much of the plate and he put a charge on it.''

STILL STREAKING

Braves CF Ender Inciarte extended his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games with a two-out single off Davies in the fifth. SS Erick Aybar pushed his hitting streak to 13 games with a single off Corey Knebel in the eighth.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Braves: RHP Chris Withrow went on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation. He was sent back to Atlanta for further examination.

Brewers: RHP Junior Guerra was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation. RHP Wily Peralta was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs to take Guerra's scheduled start Tuesday. ... OF Domingo Santana went 0 for 4 in his first game of a rehab assignment with Class A Wisconsin.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Tyrell Jenkins (1-2, 4.33 ERA) will make his sixth career start when he faces the Brewers on Tuesday. The rookie has allowed just one earned run over 12 innings in his last two starts.

Brewers: Peralta (4-7, 6.68 ERA) will be making his first start in the majors since June 11. Milwaukee's opening day starter had just two quality starts in 13 outings before being sent to Triple-A.

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball