Brewers shoot for series win over Braves

The Milwaukee Brewers attempt to get back to .500 on Tuesday when they continue a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves at Miller Park.

Milwaukee's slim postseason hopes were helped with a win in Monday's opener, as Norichika Aoki's two-run double highlighted a four-run seventh inning that propelled the Brewers to a 4-1 win

Carlos Gomez added a sacrifice fly for the Brewers, who have won seven straight home games and are now five games back of the final wild card spot in the National League.

With another win Milwaukee will be at .500 for the first time since it was 9-9 on April 24.

Wily Peralta limited the NL wild card-leading Braves to one run on seven hits over six innings in his second major league start. The Brewers' late offensive surge made a winner out of Jose Veras (4-4), who escaped a bases-loaded jam on a Michael Bourn flyout in the top of the seventh.

Atlanta threatened again in the eighth, but Martin Prado was gunned down trying to reach third base on a Freddie Freeman single to end the inning.

John Axford tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 28th save of the season.

"A lot of good things happened without getting a lot of hits," said Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke.

Mike Minor gave up two hits, walked two and struck out eight in 5 2/3 scoreless innings for Atlanta, which had its winning streak stopped at five games.

Getting the call for the Braves on Tuesday will be righty Tim Hudson, who is 14-5 with a 3.59 ERA. Hudson was brilliant in beating Colorado on Thursday, as he scattered six hits over seven scoreless innings.

"It definitely wasn't my best stuff," Hudson said. "I smoke-and-mirrored them a little bit." ] Hudson has faced the Brewers nine times and is 4-3 with a 3.09 ERA.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, will counter with righty Marco Estrada, who lost to Miami his last time out. Estrada surrendered four runs and seven hits in five innings of that one and fell to 2-6 on the year, while raising his ERA to 3.99.

"It was brutal," Estrada said. "I felt all out of whack. I just wasn't making my pitches and even when I did they got hit."

Estrada is 1-1 in seven games (2 starts) against the Braves with a 7.02 ERA.

Atlanta had won seven straight against the Brewers before bowing in Monday's opener.