ATLANTA _ Kevin Gausman made his SunTrust Park debut with the Braves on Friday night, and his teammates made sure he enjoyed the occasion.
The Braves' hitters staked Gausman, a starting pitcher acquired at the July 31 trade deadline, to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and a 7-0 cushion after four innings. The Braves went on to rout the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-1, as Gausman worked eight efficient innings, allowing one run on six hits, striking out eight and walking none.
All in all, the night was a rousing opener of an 11-game homestand, the Braves' longest of the season.
Gausman finds himself in the thick of a pennant race after gaining a mind-boggling 41{ games in the standings when the Braves acquired him from the lowly Baltimore Orioles. At the time of the trade, the Orioles were 42 games out of first place in the AL East and the Braves { game out of first place in the NL East.
Friday's win again put the Braves within { game of first place, pending the result of the Phillies' late game at San Diego.
Gausman's only previous start with the Braves was on Aug. 4 against the Mets in New York. In that game, he allowed six hits and three runs over five innings in a game the Braves lost, 3-0.
There was no shortage of offensive support Friday.
Johan Camargo had four hits and Ronald Acuna three. Ender Inciarte had four RBIs and Nick Markakis three.
The Braves' first-inning rally came after two outs, with RBI doubles by Markakis and Camargo and an RBI single by Inciarte producing the early 3-0 lead for Gausman.
In the third inning, doubles by Camargo and Inciarte after a walk by Markakis made it 5-0. The Braves scored two more runs in the fourth and three in the sixth.
Brewers starter Freddy Peralta, who entered the game with a 3.54 ERA, had an awful night, departing after the first three Braves batters reached in the fourth inning. Peralta allowed seven runs (all earned) on seven hits and five walks (one intentional) in his three-plus innings of work.
The Brewers' only run came in the sixth inning, when Mike Moustakas doubled with two outs and was driven home by a Jesus Aguilar single.
Gausman got through eight innings on 94 pitches, throwing 71 strikes and just 23 balls.
Relief pitcher Chad Sobotka, making his big-league debut after being promoted by the Braves from Gwinnett earlier in the day, held the Brewers hitless in the ninth inning.
Friday's game started a three-game weekend series against a Milwaukee team that won three of four from the Braves in Milwaukee early last month.
