Kelly Johnson is back with the Braves and hitting again. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
MILWAUKEE — Kelly Johnson hit his seventh home run of the season, and Matt Wisler struck out six over 5 2/3 innings as the Atlanta Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 Monday night at Miller Park.
The Brewers saw their eight-game winning streak end. They came into the game with 99 hits over a just-concluded, seven-game road trip, but they struggled early against Wisler (3-1), who allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in his fourth career start.
Jason Grilli, the fourth Atlanta reliever of the night, threw a perfect ninth inning for his 23rd save of the season.
Catcher A.J. Pierzynski had four hits, while first baseman Johnson, right fielder Nick Markakis, center fielder Cameron Maybin and third baseman Juan Uribe had two each for the Braves, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Most of that damage came at the expense of Brewers right-hander Kyle Lohse, who was unable to earn a third win in a row.
The Braves struck quickly, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Johnson’s seventh home run of the season — the 20th allowed by Lohse in 2015.
Center fielder Gerardo Parra led off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run, his eighth of the year, but right fielder Nick Markakis’ two-run double in the fourth gave the Braves a three-run lead.
Lohse (5-10) threw three scoreless innings to close out his day, then gave way after five innings, having allowed four runs on 11 hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
Center fielder Shane Peterson, pinch-hitting for Lohse in the fifth, got Milwaukee within two with an RBI single, but the Brewers missed a chance to make it a one-run game when Peterson was thrown out easily at home on Parra’s double to left.
The game was delayed for nine minutes in the ninth inning when a fan was struck in the face by a foul ball hit by Atlanta left fielder Eury Perez.
NOTES: Brewers RHP Matt Garza was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to tendinitis in his right shoulder, but thanks to the All-Star break and two scheduled off days over the next 10 days, Garza is only expected to miss one start. His next turn was scheduled for Tuesday, but RHP Tyler Cravy will get the start instead. … Atlanta signed 16-year-old Dominican SS Juan Morales. To avoid going over their spending allotment, the Braves shipped minor league RHP Aaron Kurcz to Oakland for the 113th bonus-pool slot, worth an estimated $167,000. … The Braves also acquired LHP Mitchell Lambson from the Houston Astros in exchange for cash considerations. Lambson had a 2.60 ERA in 24 relief appearances with the Astros’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this season.
