(SportsNetwork.com) - Santana will try to rebound from his worst outing of the season and pitch Atlanta to a fifth straight victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday evening as the Braves and Brewers resume a four-game series.
Santana won each of his first four decisions this season, pitching to a 1.99 earned run average over his initial six starts. Atlanta lost just once in that span, but the right-hander struggled over a season-low five innings on Friday in St. Louis.
Santana gave up season highs of five runs and 10 hits in the 5-2 setback, while his ERA went up to 2.76.
"He's allowed a tough start," Braves third baseman Chris Johnson said of Santana, "He's been so good for us."
The 31-year-old Santana should be glad to return home after the rough outing in St. Louis as he is 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA in three starts at Turner Field this year.
Santana will face the Brewers for the second time in his career, with the first coming back on June 15, 2010 while with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He took a loss, pounded for six runs over five innings.
The Brewers will counter with Kyle Lohse, who has not lost since a setback to the Braves on April 1 in his first outing of the season. Lohse yielded three runs over seven innings, giving up homers to Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman while falling to 4-2 lifetime versus Atlanta with a 4.22 ERA in 12 meetings.
Lohse won four straight starts following that loss, then did not factor into three straight outings before beating the Chicago Cubs on Friday. The 35-year- old righty allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk over seven innings of a 4-3 decision.
The victory improved Lohse to 5-1 on the year with a 2.88 ERA.
After winning the final two contests of a three-game set in Milwaukee from March 31-April 2, the Braves have claimed the first two games of this series. They pounded out nine runs to win Monday's opener, then got a gem from Julio Teheran in claiming a 5-0 win lat night.
Teheran, coming off his worst outing of the season, struck out eight and worked around six hits and a pair of walks to record his second career shutout. He had matched a season high by yielding five runs and walking five over 3 1/3 frames in his previous outing.
"He's usually always on his game," Johnson said of Teheran. "He's really good. We enjoy playing behind him. He works fast and he goes right after people."
Justin Upton homered for the third time in three games and knocked in three runs for the Braves, who have taken three straight overall. Andrelton Simmons also homered and Teheran helped his cause with an RBI in the win.
Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo allowed four runs on four hits with three walks over 3 1/3 innings before being taken out due to a sprained left ankle. He was hurt trying to make a leaping snap of Teheran's high chopper up the middle
"It's a sprain. He's day-to-day," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said of Gallardo's injury. "We'll see about his next start. He is questionable."
Milwaukee has now lost a season-high four straight games.