Major League Baseball

Pierzynski, Banuelos lead Braves over Brewers

Published Jul. 7, 2015 11:22 p.m. ET

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MILWAUKEE (AP) No matter how hot A.J. Pierzynski has been at the plate, he knows it's time for a day off.

Pierzynski homered among his three hits, Manny Banuelos earned his first major league win and the Atlanta Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 Tuesday night.

Pierzynski hit his sixth homer and drove in two runs. He is 10 for 13 in his last three games, and it's the first time in his career he has finished with at least three hits in three straight games.

But before the series began, Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez told his catcher he was not going to play Wednesday afternoon.

''Some of us 38-year-old guys need breaks every once in a while,'' Pierzynski said.

Banuelos (1-0) gave up one run and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. The left-hander, who made his big league debut last week, started in place of the injured Williams Perez.

''I'm pretty happy and it's pretty exciting,'' Banuelos said. ''Getting my first `W' was pretty fun.''

Jason Grilli got his 24th save to give Atlanta its seventh victory in nine games.

Tyler Cravy (0-2) started in place of Matt Garza, who went on the disabled list Monday. Cravy gave up three runs in six innings in his second major league start.

''I think I was a little better the last time,'' Cravy said. ''I made too many mistakes tonight and they took advantage of them.''

One day after tying his season high with four hits, Pierzynski got hits in his first three at-bats. His homer made it 1-all in the second.

Pierzynski added a run-scoring bloop single in the fourth for a 2-1 lead and singled in the sixth.

Jonathan Lucroy hit his second home run of the year and first since June 5, connecting in the first off Banuelos. In his debut against Washington, Banuelos did not allow a run and gave up two hits in 5 2-3 innings before leaving with cramping and dehydration.

''I thought he did a nice job of mixing and matching,'' Gonzalez said. ''After the first inning, I thought he settled down really well.''

Adam Lind hit a solo homer in the Milwaukee eighth, his 15th.

NOT WARM ENOUGH

It was partly sunny, but the Miller Park roof was closed because it was 65 degrees at the start of the game. It was the 43rd home game and the roof has been open just nine times.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

With Khris Davis starting in left field, Gerardo Parra was forced to the bench despite being the first Brewers' player since Brady Clark in 2005 to have six multi-hit games in a row. Parra entered the night seventh in the NL with a .311 batting average.

MORE MOVES FOR ATLANTA

One day after making four roster moves, the Braves recalled RHP Mike Foltynewicz from Triple-A Gwinnett and optioned OF Joey Terdoslavich to the G-Braves. Foltynewicz was with Atlanta from May 1-June 17 and was 3-2 with a 5.19 ERA in nine starts.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Braves: Banuelos was making another start in place of Perez, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since June 27 with a bruised left foot.

Brewers: Davis was reinstated from the disabled list before the game and RHP David Goforth was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Davis went 1 for 3 with a walk and scored.

UP NEXT

Braves: Julio Teheran (6-4) defeated Milwaukee on May 21 by allowing two hits and one earned run in seven innings.

Brewers: Mike Fiers (4-7) is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA over his last three starts.