Atlanta Braves left fielder Martin Prado (14) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run to put the Braves ahead of of the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth inning of a baseball game in Atlanta Thursday, May 5, 2011. Atlanta won 2-1. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA - Brandon Beachy picked up another no-decision Thursday night, and that was just fine with him.
It was enough to be on the winning side in an impressive four-game sweep.
"Sweeping a team is never going to get old, no matter how you do it," Beachy said.
Beachy pitched six impressive innings and Martin Prado hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 2-1 victory over the slumping Milwaukee Brewers.
The Braves' first four-game sweep of the Brewers in franchise history left Milwaukee with a six-game losing streak. Atlanta has won five straight.
Beachy received his fifth no-decision in seven starts, yielding an unearned run in six innings. The rookie matched his career high with nine strikeouts while allowing four hits and a walk.
He has a 1-1 record to go along with a solid 2.98 ERA.
"He's just not getting the wins, but for me he's pitched well enough to have at least four wins," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Prado led off the eighth with a drive to left off Kameron Loe (2-3) for his third homer. Prado was Loe's first batter in relief of Shaun Marcum, who pitched seven strong innings.
There was more bad news for the Brewers after the game. Nyjer Morgan broke the middle finger on his left hand only two days after returning from the 15-day disabled list.
A pitch from Jonny Venters hit Morgan's finger as the speedy center fielder executed a sacrifice in the eighth.
Manager Ron Roenicke said Morgan could miss two to four weeks.
Venters (2-0) gave up one hit in the eighth and Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save. Eric Hinske, making only his third start of the season at first base, also homered for Atlanta.
Marcum was just as tough as Beachy, giving up five hits and a walk. He finished with eight strikeouts.
Gonzalez tweaked his lineup, resting shortstop Alex Gonzalez and first baseman Freddie Freeman. Fredi Gonzalez started Hinske at first base, even though he was only 1 for 9 with five strikeouts in his career against Marcum.
Hinske made his manager look good in the second, pulling an 0-2 pitch into the right-field seats for his second homer.
"He was due," Fredi Gonzalez said of Hinske.
The Braves outscored the Brewers 24-6 in the sweep. The Brewers, held to one hit by Tim Hudson in an 8-0 shutout on Wednesday night, scored one run in the last two games of the series. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun combined for two hits in 30 at-bats.
"For the series?" Fredi Gonzalez asked when told the sluggers were 2 for 30. "We got lucky. We might have gotten them when they were cold. Those are two real good hitters."
While Hinske's start paid off, Alex Gonzalez's absence hurt the Braves in the fifth. Fill-in shortstop Brandon Hicks threw low to first base for an error after fielding Yuniesky Betancourt's one-out grounder. Betancourt raced to third on Corey Hart's single and scored on Jonathan Lucroy's fly ball to center field to tie the game.
Atlanta slugger Chipper Jones had two doubles, giving him 504 for his career to tie Roberto Alomar for third place by switch hitters.