Luis Avilan issues game-winning blast as Atlanta Braves fall short of sweep in Milwaukee

Things were going so well.

Enter Carlos Gomez.

Gomez cranked a three-run home run against Luis Avilan in the eighth inning on Wednesday afternoon, and on the strength of that swing (his second blast of the day), the Milwaukee Brewers avoided a sweep by topping the Atlanta Braves by a final score of 6-5.

Prior to Gomez's heroics, the Braves held a 5-3 lead and the visiting team had been control for the balance of the game. Atlanta struck first with four runs in the top of the third inning, as Cameron Maybin blasted a three-run home run that was quickly followed by another bomb from Kelly Johnson.

From there, Julio Teheran performed admirably, navigating seven innings (using 115 pitches) while allowing only three earned runs on two hits and three walks and striking out eight members of the Brewers. Like Avilan, Teheran was also bitten by the gopher ball, as he allowed long balls to Khris Davis and Gomez, but he was able to limit damage to keep the Braves in the driver's seat.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. The Braves added an insurance run on an RBI double from Nick Markakis in the seventh, but after Teheran exited, Avilan was victimized by Gomez to turn the tables. Atlanta went quietly in the top of the ninth, and seemingly in the blink of an eye, the Braves fell short of what would have been a sweep.

There is plenty of room for discussion about tactics, especially in light of Teheran's pitch count and the use of Avilan against a right-handed batter in a high-leverage situation, but for now, the Atlanta Braves will exit Wisconsin licking their wounds a bit. The team will be back in action on Thursday evening, as they travel to Denver to take on the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

Stay tuned.