Braves continue slide, lose for seventh time in nine games

MILWAUKEE — The Braves’ now serious — and somewhat alarming — slide continued Saturday with a 4-1 loss to the Brewers, the team’s seventh defeat in nine games as their lead in the NL East dropped to 3.5 games (and could be down to three if the Phillies beat the Cardinals later Saturday).

Another day of lackluster offense sent the Braves (75-55) to their third straight series loss. They have scored 19 runs over the last nine games and are hitting .204 as a team in that span.

Saturday, they left six men on base and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Braves are now 12-for-69 with runners in scoring position in their previous nine games (and one of those games they went 0-for-0 in that category).

With the Brewers (81-49) now leading the season series 3-2, the Braves will try to avoid a sweep at 7:10 p.m. Sunday when the two squads meet at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the Little League Classic.

The Braves jumped on Milwaukee starter Logan Henderson in the first inning Saturday, getting an RBI double into the left field corner off the bat of Michael Harris II. Harris’ hit gave the Braves runners at second and third with one out, but Ozzie Albies fouled out to third and Mauricio Dubón flied out to right.

The failure to add on there loomed large as the afternoon waned.

Braves starter Martín Pérez didn’t allow a hit until the third, but it was a costly one.

Nine-hole hitter Cooper Pratt had begun the inning by hitting a check-swing dribbler to the right side of the mound that Pérez tried to scoop with his glove but fumbled instead for an error. Pratt went to second on a swinging bunt by Jackson Chourio, to third on Brice Turang’s grounder to first and scored on William Contreras’ RBI single to left.

That brought Jake Bauers to the plate, and the Brewers’ first baseman crushed a 92-mph fastball, the 12th pitch of the at-bat, 413 feet over the center field wall for a two-run homer. It was Bauer’s 23rd homer of the season.

Indicative of the Braves’ recent offensive struggles, they couldn’t cash in back-to-back singles by Albies and Dubón, respectively, to begin the fourth. Mike Yastrzemski hit into a 4-6-3 double play and Austin Riley flied out softly to right to end the inning.

That stung even more in the bottom of the fourth when Pérez gave up a double, single and sacrifice fly to left, giving the Brewers a 4-1 lead.

Pérez (8-8) battled through four innings and threw 97 pitches. Only one of the four runs he allowed was earned, and he gave up only four hits, but walked three and only 59.7% of his pitches were strikes.

Henderson (8-2) threw 100 pitches in six innings of work. The righty struck out four and walked two while allowing just the first-inning run.