Three Cuts: Peterson walk-off hands Braves 11th-inning win over Brewers

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves continued their winning ways and guaranteed themselves a series split with a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in 11 innings on Saturday evening. Here are three observations from the extra-inning affair:

Standing in front of his locker after another shutdown performance, starting pitcher Shelby Miller relinquished the night's crown: "Jace is the man of the hour."

The Braves' rookie second baseman delivered his second career milestone this month, following up his first home run (a grand slam against the Marlins) with his first walk-off hit, taking the first pitch he saw in the 11th inning into left field, pushing the Braves back to .500. He was sitting on it the entire way.

"First home run or first walk-off? They're both great. It's awesome to have both," Peterson said following his 2 for 6 day. "I don't know if one's better than the other. I'll take both either day."

On a relatively quiet evening for the offense overall -- its scored just three runs over the past 20 innings -- the final inning was a snapshot of the improvement the middle infield has shown at the plate.

Though Peterson and shortstop Andrelton Simmons combined for just three hits, the final two came in the game's crucial moments. After Alberto Callaspo walked in the 11th inning, Simmons sent a rocket down the third-base line, a quality plate appearance that should have set up the Braves with runners on second and third ... except for one problem: The hit struck umpire Chad Fairchild in the leg. Simmons was only credited with a single. Peterson entered the box after an Eric Young Jr. groundout advanced the runners with two outs, and the rest is on his personal milestone.

"Good at-bats throughout the game, really. We did a nice job," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Simmons had a great at-bat (in the 11th inning), umpire gets hit with the ball there and instead of having second and third there with the possibility of winning the game it doesn't happen. But (Peterson) had a great at-bat. First pitch, got him, base hit. When you play that long, especially at home, it's nice to win those games."

Offensive production from second base and shortstop were problems last season for Gonzalez's club.

Simmons seemed to lose his way at the plate. He his just .244/.286/.331 for a well-below average 71 weighted runs created plus (wRC+). His walk and strikeout rates went in the wrong directions and his power numbers fell off the map. Things have changed thus far in 2015. His defense remains Gold Glove-quality, but he's improved his hitting numbers across the board, currently producing at the level that made him a four- to five-win player in 2013.

Peterson didn't have to fill his own shoes, but he did not have to live up to much either. Braves second basemen combined for sub-replacement level production last season: .234/.303/.305, negative-0.3 wins above replacement, 73 wRC+, ugly stuff. Much like Simmons, Peterson has bumped those marks up considerably. Looking back at the Pena-Gosselin-La Stella-Pastornicky-Uggla combination from 2014, Peterson's current 0.5 WAR is a milestone unto itself.

The Braves offense is still going through its share of issues, but an improved middle infield has helped.

The Brewers blooped and dinked their way to seven hits and two walks, but never really solved this month's top run-preventing machine. Shelby Miller has still not allowed more than two earned runs in his nine starts as a Braves pitcher -- his two runs allowed on Saturday raising his ERA to 1.50, dropping him to only fourth-best in the majors.

The 24-year-old continued along his All-Star pace by going six innings deep with five strikeouts. Miller allowed just one extra-base hit on the day, a leadoff double from All-Star Carlos Gomez, and spread out the damage: Ryan Braun singled in Gomez in the first inning, while light-hitting Martin Maldonado found a window with an RBI single in the fourth.

"He competes. He got himself into that bases loaded situation (in the sixth inning), fundamentally that double-play got him out," Gonzalez said. "Today he wasn't as sharp as we've seen him -- obviously anything less than a complete game or two-hit shutout it's not as good. But we'll take it."

Miller will take it, too.

"It's always a grind," Miller said. "Did I have my best stuff today? No. My teammates did a good job of hanging in there with me making some great plays. A.J. (Pierzynski) did his job behind the plate. I didn't have my sharpest stuff, but I just tried to go out there every inning and battle and put up zeros."

Miller finishes the month of May with an 0.86 ERA and 28 strikeouts, not to mention coming one out shy of a no-hitter. Yeah, he's doing just fine.

While his peripheral numbers continue to suggest Miller's excellence will regress over time -- despite his fast start he ranked in the mid-20s in both WAR and FIP entering Saturday's action, far behind the likes of Max Scherzer (Nationals) and Jake Arrieta (Cubs) -- his consistent greatness has been the highlight of the Braves' season to date.

Atlanta has won eight of his nine starts.

"If he doesn't have his best stuff and gives up two runs, I'd say that's a pretty good day. He's been doing that all year. He's pitching like a Cy Young Award winner and hopefully he can keep doing it."

The Braves' third-base spot has devolved into a bit of a mess due to injuries and a lack of production from Alberto Callaspo, so the pending return of Chris Johnson is worth tracking.

Johnson was placed on the disabled list with a fractured left hand on April 30, but he could join the Braves roster as soon as next week. The 30-year-old is set for a three-game rehab assignment at Triple-A Gwinnett before potentially joining the big-league club in San Francisco on Thursday. Though Johnson's 2015 numbers aren't dazzling, he was hitting right above league average (.279/.347/.372, 101 wRC+) and it's the best injury news for the position of late.

The team's most productive third baseman (Kelly Johnson) is on the disabled list with an oblique injury at the moment. As soon as Phil Gosselin took hold, he injured his thumb badly enough to require surgery. Pedro Ciriaco has seen limited time while Callaspo has taken a promising start and molded it into a quarter-mark wreck.

The veteran free-agent signing has been a sub-replacement player this season -- posting a negative weighted runs created plus over the past two weeks with a .129/.200/.129 splits. Still, even with such paltry hitting numbers (and negligible work with the glove) Callaspo has received the starting nod in 11 of the past 15 games.

Callaspo had a decent game against the Brewers, finishing 1 for 4 with a walk, but also stranded a team-high four runners.

Chris Johnson's return gives Gonzalez more options.