Taking three cuts after the Braves' 2-0 loss to the Brewers in Friday night's series opener at Miller Park.
1. RISPy business for Atlanta
Despite the efforts of Freddie Freeman, the Braves ability to drive in runners in scoring position continues to be a struggle.
They went 1-for-8 in Friday's loss, with that one hit coming as Chris Johnson pushed B.J. Upton to third base in the fifth inning. But they couldn't capitalize, as a batter later Upton was thrown out at the plate as Julio Teheran's bunt on a safety squeeze was tracked down by Brewers pitcher Wily Peralta.
"It's frustrating, but I mean there's not much you can really do about it, we're playing hard," Upton said. "It's just part of the game. If you play long enough you're going to hit stretches like this. Just got to find a way."
In their last six games, Atlanta is 9-for-50 (.180), stranding 59 runners and as a whole its 26th in MLB at .225 (122 of 541). But it's a number that becomes all the more astounding when you consider what Freeman has been able to do in those situations.
The first baseman ranks second in the National league and third in the majors, hitting .441 (26 of 59) with RISP, with six doubles and 35 of his 48 RBI. But the next closest Brave is 139th, Evan Gattis at .222 and Justin Upton (170th; .167) and Dan Uggla (179th; .130) are the only Atlanta regulars among qualified hitters.
Those struggles were at their most glaring in the third inning when Uggla and Johnson opened with walks, but the next three batters failed to capitalize. Teheran's bunt resulted in a force out of Uggla at third, then Andrelton Simmons flied out and Jason Heyward grounded out.
It would be the only time in the game that the Braves had runners in scoring position with no outs.
And of those eight opportunities with RISP the Braves had on the night, not one of them came with Freeman at the plate.
"We got two hits, got some base runners, walked six guys, but we didn't get any runs," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "That's the column you want, that first column (in the box score)."
2. Peralta continued to make Miller Park the Braves' house of horrors
The right-hander came into Friday leading the NL with 54 earned runs and he was 1-6 in his past eight starts. It got even worse at home, where he was 2-5 on the year with a 7.34 ERA and 22 walks in 38 innings.
No matter. He overwhelmed the Braves, allowing just two hits, while striking out four and walking four to move to 5-8.
Atlanta didn't break through for its first hit until B.J. Upton's single in the fifth inning, with the only other one coming in the same frame via Johnson.
It was the 10th time this season Atlanta had been shut out -- the most of any team -- and it marked the eighth time in 10 games that the Braves were held to below three runs.
The loss also continued a strange trend in this series.
Since the Braves won 2-1 on April 4, 2011 at Miller Park, the home team has gone on to win the last 14 games and in those seven losses in Milwaukee, Atlanta has been outscored 27-9.
3. If you love shortstops, this is the series for you
At 23 years old, they are among the best young players in baseball at the position and Simmons and the Brewers' Jean Segura showed what they do best.
Simmons struggled at the plate, going 0-for-4 and seeing a total of 13 pitches in those at-bats, but he did show off his slick fielding skills.
Simmons is first among all players with a staggering 20 defensive runs saved, three more than the Orioles' Manny Machado and Brewers' Carlos Gomez and 11 more than the next closest shortstop.
Segura has a plus arm and he made a couple of impressive backhand plays Friday, but he gets no love from the numbers when it comes to his glove work. He's 20th in DRS with minus-2 and is 19th UZR/150 at minus-0.7, but the rookie is making his name at the plate.
He went 3-for-4, with his 11th home run, a single to right and he beat out a bunt for an infield hit. He's now hitting .336/.370/.531 with 31 RBI.
