ATLANTA -- Julio Teheran pitched seven strong innings and the Atlanta Braves took advantage of Milwaukee reliever Will Smith's seventh-inning ejection for allegedly using pine tar in a 10-1 victory Thursday night.
Play was stopped briefly with Atlanta leading 2-1 and the bases loaded with one out in the seventh when Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez successfully argued to umpires that Smith had pine tar on his right forearm.
Crew chief Jim Joyce walked over to the mound, touched a shiny substance on Smith's arm and ejected the pitcher from the game. Gonzalez claimed that Smith was breaking the rules after the left-hander threw a pitch that bounced in front of the plate and hit pinch-hitter Pedro Ciriaco, the only batter he faced, in the leg.
The Braves have won five of six. Milwaukee has dropped four of six.
Teheran (4-1) allowed two hits, one run, one walk and struck out eight in seven innings. He pitched past the sixth inning for the first time in 10 starts, the longest stretch of a career that spans 95 starts.
Christian Bethancourt's RBI single chased Brewers starter Matt Garza (2-6) with one out in the seventh. After Smith hit Ciriaco, the next two pitchers -- Neal Cotts and Michael Blazek -- combined to allow RBI singles to Jace Peterson and Freddie Freeman, Cameron Maybin's two-run single and Nick Markakis' RBI double.
Freeman scored the last run of the inning when Jonny Gomes, batting for the second time in the seventh, reached on a throwing error by second baseman Hector Gomez.
Garza allowed five hits, four runs, two walks and struck out three in 6 1-3 innings, dropping to 0-4 with a 4.93 ERA in six career starts against Atlanta. He was coming off a 14-1 loss last Saturday in which he allowed 10 hits and 10 runs at the New York Mets.
Teheran had allowed 32 hits in his last four starts, a span of 22 1-3 innings. He let the Brewers force a 1-all tie in the fourth when Carlos Gomez walked, advanced to third on Gerardo Parra's single and scored on Ryan Braun's sacrifice fly.
Teheran improved to 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA in four starts at Turner Field this year.
Atlanta went up 1-0 in the first on Markakis' RBI single.
The Braves made it 10-1 in the eighth when Bethancourt scored on Brandon Kintzler's wild pitch and Freeman had an RBI single.