MILWAUKEE (AP) — Chris Sale struck out a season-high 11 while allowing just one run over seven innings as the Atlanta Braves snapped a seven-game skid by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1 on Monday.
Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Eli White homered to make sure the Braves avoided their first eight-game losing streak since 2016.
Sale (4-4) allowed just five hits and two walks. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has given up just four runs over 33 innings in his last five starts.
Atlanta led 5-1 when Sale left after walking Brice Turang to start the eighth. Raisel Iglesias took over for Sale and got three straight outs to lower his ERA to 6.48 before Dylan Lee worked the ninth.
Iglesias was pitching for the first time since allowing three runs over two-thirds of an inning Thursday in an 11-10 loss to Arizona, a game in which the Braves blew a 10-4 lead in the ninth.
The Braves failed to score after having two on with none out in the second and fourth innings, but they finally broke through in the fifth.
Olson greeted DL Hall with a two-run, two-out homer in the fifth to put the Braves ahead for good after Acuña had tied the game by going deep off Aaron Civale (1-2) earlier in the inning.
White greeted Grant Anderson with a two-run shot of his own in the eighth, and Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run single off Anderson in the ninth.
Milwaukee’s only run came in the third inning. Joey Ortiz hit a leadoff double and scored on William Contreras’ two-out single.
Key moment
The Atlanta bullpen that has struggled so mightily during this slump did its job Monday. Iglesias and Lee retired six straight batters while combining for four strikeouts.
Key stat
Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies got his 1,000th career hit when he singled to left in the eighth inning.
Up next
The second game of this series Tuesday is a matchup of right-handers, with Grant Holmes (3-4, 3.99 ERA) starting for Atlanta and Quinn Priester (3-2, 3.88) pitching for Milwaukee.
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