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Braves-Brewers Preview

Julio Teheran is already in Milwaukee as he tries to end his eight-start road winless stretch Wednesday, although his manager suggested maybe he should have spent the night in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Braves starter owns a lower ERA against the Milwaukee Brewers than versus any NL opponent heading into this three-game series finale.

Teheran (6-4, 4.60 ERA) is 0-4 with an 8.23 ERA in his last eight road outings. It's a completely different story compared to how he has pitched at home, where he lowered his ERA to 2.04 after yielding an unearned run in seven innings in Friday's 2-1 win over Philadelphia.

Teheran's road ERA is an NL-worst 7.40.

"It's one of those things you can't explain," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Maybe we'll fly him in the day of his (road) start. Maybe if he sleeps in his bed, that'll help."

The right-hander is 2-2 with a 1.59 ERA in four career starts versus the Brewers, though both losses are at Miller Park. He will have to be wary of Jonathan Lucroy, who is 4 for 6 with two doubles against him, and Jean Segura, who is 4 for 9 with a homer.

Of less concern to Teheran is Ryan Braun, who is 1 for 9 in this matchup, Carlos Gomez (2 for 12 with eight strikeouts), Gerardo Parra (3 for 14 with six strikeouts) and Khris Davis (0 for 6).

Teheran allowed one run in seven innings to earn a 10-1 win over the Brewers (36-50) on May 21.

Atlanta (42-42) seeks its first three-game sweep in Milwaukee since May 10-12, 2010. The Braves have taken 10 of the last 12 matchups after Tuesday's 4-3 victory.

A.J. Pierzynski had a homer among his three hits to improve to 7 for 9 in this series and 10 for 13 in his last three games, though it appears he will give way to backup catcher Ryan Lavarnway for this day game.

''Some of us 38-year-old guys need breaks every once in a while,'' Pierzynski said.

Parra struck out as a pinch-hitter after going 13 for 26 in six straight multi-hit efforts to start July for Milwaukee, which entered this series on a season-high, eight-game win streak.

Lucroy hit his first homer at home and second of the season. He is 13 for 32 in his last eight games after struggling for most of the year.

"That's the way it's been going, man," he told MLB's official website. "Just keep hitting the ball hard and hopefully they fall more than they're caught."

Milwaukee has won the last three outings by Mike Fiers (4-7, 3.83), who has a 1.35 ERA in that span and earned his first win in that stretch Friday with seven scoreless innings in a 12-1 rout at Cincinnati.

The right-hander's lone career start against Atlanta was on May 23 when he surrendered two runs in five innings in a 3-2, 11-inning loss.

The Braves hitter with the most at-bats against him is Cameron Maybin, who is 2 for 6 in this matchup. Maybin is 12 for 28 during a seven-game hitting streak.

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