When the lackluster Braves defense helped the Brewers score two runs in the third inning Wednesday, it looked as if Jorge Campillo might endure the same fate as Atlanta starter Charlie Morton the night before.

But something happened on the way to a would-be Brewers sweep: The Braves shored up the defense and produced some timely hits, including two by Campillo.

Jason Getz/Staff (ENLARGE)

Atlanta Braves' second baseman Kelly Johnson (2) follows through on a two-RBI double in the third inning.

Jason Getz/AJC (ENLARGE)

Atlanta Braves' starting pitcher Jorge Campillo helped his own cause with two hits.

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Kelly Johnson drove in three runs, and Campillo pitched seven strong innings in a 4-2 win at Turner Field. The Braves completed a modest 3-3 homestand and found reasons for optimism, including the continued work of Campillo (3-2).

"Jorge — he won the game all-around," Johnson said of the right-hander, whose 2.54 ERA includes a 3.15 mark in eight starts since moving from the bullpen to the rotation. "He's been awesome. Can't say enough about him."

Campillo had singles in the third and fifth innings and scored both times on hits by Johnson. But it was his mound work that had teammates and manager Bobby Cox taking turns praising the obscure 29-year-old pitcher.

"He's been excellent every time out," Cox said of Campillo, a former Mexican League pitcher who signed with the Braves as a minor-league free agent — on the day after Christmas, fittingly enough.

"It's amazing that he fell in our laps," Johnson said.

"He's legit," Cox said. "When he stuck him in the rotation, we didn't know for sure. Every start he's had has been on the excellent side. He looks like a class, very pitcher to me."

Mike Gonzalez had two strikeouts in the ninth inning and recorded his second save in his third game since coming back from ligament-transplant elbow surgery.

In the Brewers' third inning, Campillo made a throwing error, rookie left fielder Brandon Jones lost a ball in the sun for an RBI double, and rookie shortstop Brent Lillibridge had a ball carom off his glove for an RBI double.

Instead of becoming frustrated on a hot afternoon, Campillo went to work and retired the next 12 batters before Corey Hart's seventh-inning double.

"I was trying to keep the game close, for the team to have a chance to come back," Campillo said through a translator. "I feel really good, really confident in all my pitches, and thankful for the chance the Braves have given me."

The Braves won two of six games against the Brewers in the completed season series, and Campillo got both wins. He held them to one run and four hits in five innings in a May 29 win at Milwaukee.

As a starter, Campillo has allowed 41 hits and seven walks with 36 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings, including six strikeouts with no walks Wednesday.

"He's got three or four different changeups and three or four different curveballs," catcher Brian McCann said. "He can do so many things with pitches that other guys can't do. He's been special. He's no fluke."

Asked about his two hits Wednesday, Campillo blushed and said, "I was lucky the pitcher [Jeff Suppan] threw me two fastballs down the middle."

The Braves will fly to Toronto on their off day Thursday before a three-game weekend series with the Blue Jays.

"I think everybody in this locker room feels like we've got to start picking it up, like these are must-wins," Johnson said. "We're not that far out of it. Let's win these games, get everybody healthy, and then see what happens."

Johnson hit a tying two-run double in the third inning and an RBI single in the two-run fifth from the No. 3 lineup spot usually held by Chipper Jones, whose quadriceps injury limited him to pinch-hitting duty in the series.

Chipper struck out in his only at-bat Wednesday, dropping his major league-leading average one point, to .394. He'll likely be the Braves' designated hitter in the Toronto series.