Blake Perkins has 3 of the Brewers' 16 hits in an 8-5 victory over the slumping Braves

ATLANTA (AP) — Blake Perkins was 3 for 5 with three RBIs and the Milwaukee Brewers had 16 hits in an 8-5 victory over the slumping Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.

Joey Ortiz went 3 for 5 with a double, two RBIs and a run to help the NL Central-leading Brewers beat the Braves for the second straight game to open the series.

“I’m just trying to keep my head down and stay healthy and be available,” Ortiz said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. I just need to compete.”

Gary Sánchez was 2 for 5 with two runs and an RBI. Jackson Chourio and Rhys Hoskins had three hits each as the Brewers had 24 baserunners.

“When you talk about how relentless our offense was, today it was ridiculous,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We didn’t have a lot of extra base hits, but it was relentless. You look at guys like Ortiz, Perkins, (Andruw) Monasterio and Chourio. They had a lot of quality at-bats.”

The Braves have lost four straight and have dropped into the NL’s third wild-card slot after leading the wild-card race for much of the season.

Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta (7-6) allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings. Nick Mears, Joel Payamps, Jared Koenig and Devin Williams each pitched an inning of relief.

Atlanta’s Chris Sale lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up three runs (two earned), nine hits and two walks. He also struck out 10, giving him 85 career double-digit strikeout games to pass Steve Carlton for eighth place on the career list.

“We were facing one of the best in the game, and he made big pitches at big times,” Murphy said. “But we hung in there and ran the pitch count up and we had some things go our way.”

Pierce Johnson (4-4) was the loser.

Austin Riley was 2 for 3 with a home run, two runs and three RBIs for the Braves. His 428-foot blast to left field scored Whit Merrifield in the fifth inning. Orlando Arcia was 2 for 4 and extended his on-base streak to a career-high 19 games. Jared Kelenic hit his 13th home run in the ninth inning.

Perkins broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth with a two-run single to center field that knocked in William Contreras and Willy Adames. Earlier in the inning, Sánchez hit a single to right field that scored Chourio and tied it. The Brewers tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth.

Braves manager Brian Snitker was ejected in the fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes with plate umpire Brian Walsh. It was the first ejection of the season for any member of the Braves.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: LHP Bryan Hudson (oblique) threw 24 pitches in 1 1/3 innings in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Nashville. He gave up three hits, one run and struck out two.

Braves: OF Michael Harris II (hamstring) was 3 for 4 with a walk and an RBI in his second rehab appearance with Triple-A Gwinnett and remains on track to rejoin the team on its upcoming 10-game road trip. The target for him to return is Aug. 14 at San Francisco. ... The Braves recalled LHP Dylan Dodd from Triple-A Gwinnett after starter Bryce Elder was sent down Tuesday.

Brewers RHP Frankie Montas (5-8, 5.03) was set to make his second start since being acquired from Cincinnati. RHP Charlie Morton (6-6, 3.94) was scheduled to start for Atlanta in the series finale.

___