ATLANTA _ Hours after unveiling a new Braves T-shirt bearing his likeness and showcasing his Stone Mountain roots and proud ATLien status, Brandon Phillips did some work to help his squad and Mike Foltynewicz keep their recent surge going in a series-opening win against the Brewers.
Phillips had a home run and an RBI double and Foltynewicz pitched five crisp innings in the Braves' 5-4 win against the National League Central-leading Brewers on Friday night at SunTrust Park. It rained steady for a few innings but there was no rain delay for only the second time in five nights this week.
The Braves have won eight of 11 games including six of eight on the homestand, improving to 13-9 in June and lifting their home record back to .500 (19-19) for the first time since May 1.
Jose Ramirez gave up two runs in the eighth after walking two of the first three batters he faced to get the Brewers to within a run, and Arodys Vizcaino allowed a leadoff double by Eric Thames in the ninth inning to put the tying run in scoring position with none out.
The Braves then got their second clutch defensive play in as many innings when shortstop Dansby Swanson fielded Domingo Santana's grounder near second base and went for the difficult out at third _ and got it.
Swanson made a crisp if slightly high throw to third baseman Johan Camargo, who tagged Thames sliding head-first for the out. Rookie shortstop and rookie third baseman making things happen. And Swanson wasn't done.
Travis Shaw flied out to the warning track and Manny Pina lined out to a diving Swanson for the final out.
Foltynewicz (5-5) had plenty of long counts and threw 104 pitches in five innings, but allowed just four hits, one run and three walks with nine strikeouts. He pitched his last couple of innings in a steady rain and gave up his only run on a Keon Broxton homer in the fourth, reducing the Braves' lead to 2-1. Broxton homered on a thigh-high 96-mph fastball on the outer half of the plate with the count 1-2.
The Braves had Foltynewicz's back, answering with two more runs in the fifth inning on three hits including an Ender Inciarte leadoff single, Phillips' double to the right-center gap and Tyler Flowers' run-scoring single through the right side of the infield to push the lead to 4-1.
Inciarte is second in the major leagues with 96 hits this season and leads the majors with 196 hits since the 2016 All-Star break.
For the second night in a row, the Braves had a homer and two runs on the board before the opposing pitcher recorded his second out. Nick Markakis hit a two-run homer in the first inning of Thursday's series-finale win against the Giants, and Phillips hit a one-out homer Friday off Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson, who was 3-0 with a 2.02 ERA and only one homer allowed in his previous five starts.
Markakis followed Phillips' homer with a walk and Matt Adams singled before Flowers hit a would-be double-play grounder that the Brewers botched. Shortstop Orlando Arcia dropped the throw from second baseman Eric Sogard on the transfer to his throwing hand before Arcia had stepped on the base. Instead of a double play, the Brewers got no outs on the play and Markakis scored for a 2-0 lead.
Nelson pitched five innings and allowed six hits, four runs and three walks with eight strikeouts, his briefest start since May 23.
When the Brewers got a run in the seventh against reliever Sam Freeman, the Braves answered with an RBI single from Swanson in the bottom of the inning.
Ramirez got into trouble in the eighth by walking two of the first three batters and Arcia doubled to drive in both of them and cut the lead to 5-4. Ramirez then hit .115-hitting Lewis Brinson with a pitch and would've given up at least the tying run if not for a tremendous play by Camargo, who went to his knee and snared a sharply hit ball to his right before throwing to second base to start an inning-ending double play and
It was the second time in his past three appearances that Ramirez allowed two runs and the third time he's been scored upon in his past five. Ramirez has issued at least one walk in six consecutive appearances and walking just two batters in his first eight appearances.
