Braves offense comes up short again in 4-1 loss to Cubs

For the second straight night, the Atlanta Braves were powerless against the Chicago Cubs' pitching in a 4-1 loss at Turner Field.

Jake Arrieta picked up where Jon Lester left off on Saturday tossing seven shutout innings for the Cubs to earn his 11th win of the season. Arrieta didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning when A.J. Pierzynski doubled to right center. However, Pedro Ciriaco struck out to end the threat which was a familiar theme for the Braves who were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the game.

Braves starter Shelby Miller ran into some trouble early in the second inning as his defense faltered behind him. Chris Coghlan singled with one out and later took second on a throwing error by Jace Peterson on a ground ball by Starlin Castro. Miller then loaded the bases with a walk to David Ross before striking out Arrieta for the second out of the inning. Before Miller could escape with no damage, Jonathan Herrera singled to center scoring both Coghlan and Castro to put Chicago in front 2-0.

The Cubs tacked on another run off Miller in the third thanks to a solo home run to straight away centerfield by Jorge Soler. Miller's winless streak increases to 11 straight starts after allowing three runs (1 earned) and four hits over six innings of work.

Chicago tacked on another insurance run in the ninth off of reliever Arodys Vizcaino. Anthony Rizzo reached on an infield single and later scored on a Coghlan double to deep left. The Braves finally scratched across a run in the ninth on a double by Andrelton Simmons that scored Eury Perez.

Atlanta suffers its second straight loss and seventh in the last eight games. They are back at it on Monday when they open a three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers.