MILWAUKEE _ Mike Foltynewicz had his second awful inning of the season Friday and it proved decisive in sending the Braves to their season-high fourth consecutive loss. But for a while all that mattered for much of Braves Country was not the score of the game against the Brewers but the condition of rookie sensation Ronald Acuna, who left with an injury after stumbling while coming out of the batter's box on an infield hit in the seventh inning.
Acuna had just returned from the disabled list one week ago after missing one month with a left-knee sprain and knee and lower-back contusions, and already hit two home runs in the first seven games of the current trip including a game-winner in the 11th inning Monday at Yankee Stadium. The thought of losing him again was enough to make even Foltynewicz's five-run third inning Friday seem trivial by comparison.
Some relief came via an announcement from the Braves an inning later: Acuna exited the game due to left-groin tightness. Not a knee or hamstring injury and apparently not a significant groin strain. Just tightness. A collective sigh from across the Southeast.
Meanwhile, the Braves' late rally Friday fell short in a 5-4 loss at Miller Park, where the Braves scored in the first inning for the second straight night and couldn't hold the lead for even one-third of a game. The Braves need to win the last two games of the series to salvage a split of the four-game series and a winning record on a 10-game trip that started with such promise in their sweep at St. Louis.
The Braves seemed poised to pull off another of their late-inning comeback wins after getting three runs in the seventh inning against reliever Jacob Barnes, who left without recording an out. But with the Brewers' lead cut to 5-4 and two runners in scoring position with none out, reliever Dan Jennings retired three in a row beginning with the biggest out of the game, a strikeout of Danny Santana when a fly ball would've been enough to bring in the tying run.
Jennings got Ender Inciarte and Ozzie Albies on ground-outs to end the inning.
The Braves had been the last National League team without a losing streak of longer than three games this season. Now there are none. They've dropped four since their series-opening win at Yankee Stadium, where Acuna's two-run homer was the difference.
Foltynewicz (6-5) allowed six hits and five runs in six innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts. It was just the second time he yielded more than two earned runs this season and the first time he gave up multiple homers since the Phillies hit two against him in his March 30 season debut.
He had served up just four homers in 15 starts since then, but Foltynewicz gave up half that many in the third inning to Tyler Saladino and Jesus Aguilar.
Foltynewicz allowed one or no runs in 11 of his first 16 starts before Friday including each of his past three. The only time he'd given up more two earned runs was a May 4 start against the Giants when he gave up nine hits and six runs in five innings. All six runs against him in that game came in the second inning, and all five that he allowed Friday came in the third inning.
Since May 4, Foltynewicz had strengthened his All-Star resume by compiling a 0.87 ERA and .146 opponents' average in his past nine starts before Friday, the best marks among major league qualifiers in both categories during that period. And for a while Friday it looked like his surge might reach 10 games, as he retired the first six batters.
Inciarte covered a lot of ground in center field to make catches on fly balls just in front of the wall for the second and third outs of the second inning, at which point Foltynewicz had his overall ERA whittled to 1.98. But those loud and long outs were a harbinger for the next inning, as the surging NL Central leaders were about to tee off.
Saladino and Aguilar each had multi-run homers in the third before Foltynewicz had even recorded a second out in the inning. After Manny Pina's soft leadoff single to left, Saladino homered on an 0-2 slider after looking at two fastballs for strikes.
Foltynewicz struck out pitcher Freddy Peralta for the first out of the inning before the Brewers resumed damage. Eric Thames singled through the right side and Foltynewicz hit Christian Yelich in the knee with an 0-2 pitch. Aguilar then delivered the crushing blow, squaring up a 98-mph fastball for his 20th home run, a three-run, no-doubt-about-it drive that stretched the Brewers' lead to 5-1.
The scored stayed that way until the seventh inning. Peralta allowed just three hits, one run and three walks in six innings, the run coming in the first on an Inciarte leadoff walk and Albies double with a Brewers error on the play.
The Braves only got one hit in the second through sixth innings against Peralta. But in the seventh, their bats woke quickly against Barnes. Nick Markakis hit a leadoff single, Kurt Suzuki walked and Johan Camargo singled to load the bases before Acuna topped a slow ground ball to the left side for a hit, bringing in the first run of the inning.
Dansby Swanson followed with a two-run single and the Braves had trimmed the lead to 5-4. But that was all for Barnes, and for the rally.
