Milwaukee Brewers: What happened on Thursday night against the Braves?

The Milwaukee Brewers sent their most effective starter, Jhoulys Chacin, against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night. They needed Chacin to deliver against an effective and young Braves lineup.

What happened in the first inning?

With studs such as Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna. Jr and Freddie Freeman headlining Atlanta’s lineup, Jhoulys Chacin clearly had his hands full.  The game started a little shaky for the Milwaukee Brewers hurler in the first inning.

After Ender Inciarte was hit by a pitch, Albies would deliver the game’s first hit. He stung a triple down the right-field line. Now Chacin allowed Albies to score on a groundout from little league field aficionado, Freeman.

After the first inning, Chacin settled in and ended up pitching seven innings. He only allowed three hits and struck out seven batters.

How did the Brewers start the night on offense?

Max Fried took the mound for the Braves, and he would not have a great night.

The Milwaukee Brewers were down by two runs in the first inning. Fried had to face the top of the order. Leadoff man Jonathan Villar got things started with a double in the gap.

Christian Yelich came to the plate with Villar at second base. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for Yelich. The good news was that Jesus Aguilar came up next. Villar swiped third base, and Aguilar would hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second inning.

What happened in the second inning?

The Milwaukee Brewers were still down 2-1 in the second. Hernan Perez started the inning with a lead off triple down the right-field line. Now Keon Broxton got a chance to tie the game up.

Broxton took ball four for a walk and brought up Tyler Saladino, returning from the D.L.  Saladino lined a fastball up the middle to drive in Perez and knot the score at 2-2.

After a double steal by Broxton and Saladino, Erik Kratz came up to the plate. A groundout to third base drove in Broxton, and  then a wild pitch to Chacin scored Saladino.

Fast-forward to the eighth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers added a few insurance runs. Yelich delivered his first hit of the night, a double down the right-field line to score Villar.

To cap off the game Perez, who was a single short of the cycle, launched a two-run blast to dead center. The Milwaukee Brewers reigned supreme in the first game against a very potent Atlanta squad.

Next: Is Nate Orf up with the Brewers for good?

A great take away from tonight’s game was the way the Milwaukee Brewers played small ball to generate runs. Once again, with determination and fundamentals, the Brewers show why they are currently the best team in the National League.