Braves Drop Fourth Straight in Night of Frustration vs. Brewers

On Wednesday night, the Atlanta Braves lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5.

It was the Braves fourth straight loss – all at home. The Brewers have now snagged the first two games of this series, dropping Atlanta's record to 60-53, while Milwaukee improved to 64-49.

Here are some key takeaways from the game:

It was an umpire clown show

Home plate umpire Brian Walsh was so bad that Braves manager Brian Snitker got ejected for the first time this season.

He missed 20 ball-strike calls in total. 15 of those missed calls favored the Brewers, and only five of them favored the Braves. Snitker got his money's worth, leading to a quick ejection, after a clear-cut low fastball to Jorge Soler was called a strike. That incident proceeded an inning where Walsh was silent on two Pierce Johnson borderline two-strike pitches, leading to a two-out walk.

Next at bat after Snitker was tossed, Austin Riley gave Atlanta another lead with a two-run homer to make it 4-3, but it was a short-lived advantage.

Braves squandered early lead

The Braves pounced out to an early 2-0 lead, ending their previous 24-inning scoreless streak. But that was one of two Atlanta leads that got surmounted.

In the fifth inning, a Blake Perkins RBI single gave the Brew Crew a 3-2 lead. As stated in the section above, Riley then put the Braves back on top with a 428-foot, two-run bomb. Well, that was answered by a 5-0 Milwaukee run.

Jarred Kelenic tried to ignite a comeback with a homer in the ninth inning, but a solo shot was too little, too late. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta got the win despite giving up four runs in five innings, including four Braves extra-base hits.

10 Braves hits, including a 2-for-4 night with a homer and double by Riley, was thrown to waste.

Sale punched out 10 in rare blunder

Chris Sale was pulled from the game before completing five innings for just the second time this season, but not before he struck out 10. Through 4.2 IP, his downfall was consistent traffic on the bases with nine hits allowed and two walks.

However, the southpaw became the second Braves starter with a 10-strikeout performance already in August, following Spencer Schwellenbach. Sale punched out three to work around a pair of singles in the first and never looked back.

That's the his fourth double-digit K performance of the season, and he now ranks third in MLB with 165 strikeouts, trailing just Cole Ragans (166) and Dylan Cease (176).

Can Atlanta avoid sweep at home?

The Braves are now trying to avoid a sweep after taking two of three in Milwaukee just last week. Losing the final two games with the bottom-feeding Miami Marlins has the Braves on a downward spiral.

Now just half a game above the New York Mets for the top Wild Card spot, the Braves need something to change, quick. Charlie Morton, who owns a 4-3 record with a 3.00 ERA at home, will try to help end the homestand on a positive note tomorrow in the series finale at 12:20 p.m. EST.