All goes right as offense returns

MILWAUKEE --- The roll the Braves are riding right now means one little shutout can become a distant memory. After taking a one-game hiatus from scoring against Yovani Gallardo and the Brewers on Saturday night, the Braves got right back to it with a 10-2 pounding Sunday afternoon. Sandwiched around Saturday's shutout loss, the Braves took two out of three from the Brewers by amassing 19 runs, 29 hits and six home runs. They did everything right Sunday to win their third consecutive series, taking their eighth of 11 games coming out of the All-Star break. On the mound, the Braves got six strong innings from Derek Lowe. In the field, Yunel Escobar played his usual great shortstop of late and center fielder Nate McLouth got a workout in the sixth inning making a pair of highlight catches. As for the hitting? Where to begin? Brian McCann got it started with the first of his two doubles to drive in a run in the first inning and added a home run in the seventh. Casey Kotchman broke the game open with a three-run home run in a four-run sixth inning. And Kelly Johnson got back in the act in his first start at second base in almost a month by hitting two doubles and a homer. Johnson and McCann both went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a homer, two RBIs, a walk and two runs scored. The difference between the two is that Johnson has been away for a few weeks, after losing his starting job to Martin Prado and resting his sore wrists in Class AAA Gwinnett. Since he's been back he's noticed a big change in the Braves . "It's like a swagger," Johnson said. "It's just a feeling, being in the clubhouse. Everybody is a little louder, having a little bit more fun. When teams play good, they gel." For all their trouble, the Braves had to hold steady in the standings. The Phillies beat the Cardinals to stay 6 1/2 games ahead of the Braves in the NL East. But the Braves can separate themselves in their next series. After an off day, Atlanta opens a series with the Florida Marlins Tuesday in Miami. The two teams are tied in second place behind the Phillies. "We've got a tough team in Florida," manager Bobby Cox said. "Just got to keep winning series." They did it Sunday by not panicking over lost opportunities. Escobar got caught stealing off first base in the first inning and then the Braves spoiled a pair of leadoff doubles with nobody out. But they stayed with it and got their chances. Soon enough they were making it look easy, like McCann did in the seventh inning when he launched a ball a few feet foul of a home run only to come back three pitches later and keep one fair into the second deck. That drew a sarcastic yawn and a smile from Chipper Jones who could rest easy on a day off. Lowe was all smiles, too, after watching McLouth go to work in the sixth inning. McLouth leapt at the center field fence to take at least extra bases from Prince Fielder. Then, after Lowe gave up a two-run homer to Corey Hart on the next batter, McLouth saved him again. McLouth had to bust it from right center to left center to catch a flyball from Jason Kendall that would have scored two runs. "The play of the game is the Kendall ball," Lowe said. "... Nate makes a great play. We come back, great win." Braves 10, Brewers 2 Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO AVG. McLouth cf 3 1 0 0 2 1 .259 Prado 3b 4 0 0 1 0 1 .315 Y.Escobar ss 3 0 0 1 2 0 .307 McCann c 4 2 3 2 1 0 .306 G.Anderson lf 4 1 2 0 1 0 .292 M.Diaz rf 5 1 1 1 0 0 .302 Kotchman 1b 4 3 2 3 1 0 .279 K.Johnson 2b 4 2 3 2 1 1 .226 D.Lowe p 3 0 1 0 0 0 .206 M.Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- Norton ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .122 Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Di.Hernandez ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .145 Medlen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 36 10 12 10 8 5 Milwaukee AB R H BI BB SO AVG. F.Lopez 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .305 Counsell 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .298 Braun lf 4 1 2 0 0 1 .312 Fielder 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .304 C.Hart rf 4 1 1 2 0 1 .259 Hardy ss 4 0 2 0 0 0 .231 Gerut cf 4 0 2 0 0 0 .196 Kendall c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .240 Looper p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .162 DiFelice p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hall ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .202 Burns p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111 C.Smith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Catalanotto ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .281 Totals 36 2 10 2 0 5 Atlanta 100 004 122 --- 10 12 0 Milwaukee 000 002 000 --- 2 10 1 E: Gerut (1). LOB: Atlanta 8, Milwaukee 7. 2B: McCann 2 (25), K.Johnson 2 (17), Gerut (7). HR: Kotchman (5), off Looper; McCann (11), off DiFelice K.Johnson (6), off C.Smith C.Hart (10), off D.Lowe. RBIs: Prado (26), Y.Escobar (58), McCann 2 (49), M.Diaz (26), Kotchman 3 (38), K.Johnson 2 (22), C.Hart 2 (38). SB: McLouth (15), K.Johnson (5). CS: Y.Escobar (3). SF: Prado. DP: Atlanta 1, Milwaukee 2. Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO ERA D.Lowe W, 10-7 6 9 2 2 0 3 4.20 M.Gonzalez 1 0 0 0 0 1 3.18 Moylan 1 0 0 0 0 1 3.98 Medlen 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.11 Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO ERA Looper L, 9-5 6 7 5 5 4 2 4.79 DiFelice 1 2 1 1 0 1 1.83 Burns 1 2 2 1 2 1 6.30 C.Smith 1 1 2 2 2 1 4.18 IBB: off Burns (McLouth). WP: Looper 2. T: 2:47. A: 43,471 (41,900) Next for Braves Who: at Marlins When: 7:10 p.m. Tuesday TV; radio: SportSouth; 640 AM, 96.1 FM Braves notes * Hot-hitting Johnson makes most of his return. C3