ATLANTA (Interstat) — Ian Happ hit a solo home run and five Chicago Cubs pitchers combined for a 2-0 shutout of the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night, snapping a four-game losing streak in front of 36,367 at Truist Park.

Ben Brown made his second straight start after beginning the season with 12 relief appearances and continued his dominant stretch, allowing only one hit over four innings with seven strikeouts on 65 pitches. In his two starts, he has not allowed a run in eight innings. Hoby Milner earned the win with two scoreless innings, Phil Maton and Jacob Webb each threw a scoreless frame and Daniel Palencia struck out two in the ninth for his third save.

The Braves, who lead the majors in runs scored, were shut out for the second time this season and managed just five hits on the night.

Chris Sale took the loss for Atlanta despite a strong outing, pitching six innings and allowing five hits with no earned runs while striking out eight. The Braves’ offense could not capitalize on Sale’s effort, stranding runners in scoring position in the third and sixth innings.

The Cubs broke through in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Happ drew a walk. Seiya Suzuki reached on a fielder’s choice and Happ advanced to third on a throwing error by shortstop Ha-Seong Kim. Matt Shaw grounded into a force out, shortstop Kim to second baseman Ozzie Albies, and Happ scored to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. The Cubs added an insurance run in the eighth when Happ homered to right-center field off reliever Reynaldo López, his 10th home run of the season.

Happ finished 2 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Atlanta threatened only once, in the seventh inning against Webb. After Austin Riley struck out swinging, Dominic Smith singled to left field, but Kim struck out to end the inning. The Braves also had a chance in the third when Mike Yastrzemski walked, moved to third on a groundout, but Matt Olson struck out to strand him.

Brown set the tone early, retiring the first seven batters he faced. He allowed a one-out single to Michael Harris II in the second inning but stranded Harris at second after a hit by pitch and a strikeout of Dominic Smith. Brown retired the side in order in the first and third innings, striking out the side in the first and striking out two in the third.

Sale matched Brown, retiring 10 of the first 11 Cubs he faced. Nico Hoerner reached on a walk in the fifth inning but was caught stealing to end that threat. Sale struck out six through five innings, allowing just three hits.

The Cubs’ six hits came from Alex Bregman, Happ, Miguel Amaya, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, and Happ again. Chicago had opportunities in the second inning when Amaya and Crow-Armstrong singled, but Hoerner flew out to end the inning.

Atlanta’s five hits were distributed among Harris, Olson, Smith, and two singles in the eighth and ninth innings. Yastrzemski walked once. The Braves struck out 11 times as a team, with Olson striking out three times and Harris, Baldwin and Dubón each striking out twice.

Palencia worked a clean ninth for his third save of the season, allowing a single to Riley but getting Smith to line out to center field to end the game.

The game was the final contest of a three-game series between the National League rivals. The Braves won the first two games by scores of 4-1 and 5-2. With the victory, the Cubs improved to 28-16, while the Braves fell to 30-14.

The Cubs now travel to Chicago to face the White Sox in a three-game weekend series starting Friday. The Braves will host the Boston Red Sox for a three-game set beginning Friday at Truist Park.

Hoby Milner earned his first win of the season, improving to 1-0, while Chris Sale dropped to 6-3. Daniel Palencia notched his third save.

The most pivotal moment of the game came in the top of the sixth inning. With the score still scoreless, Cubs starter Ben Brown had been lifted after four innings, and the Cubs bullpen had inherited a tight game. Happ drew a leadoff walk against Sale, then advanced to third on a throwing error by Kim on Suzuki’s fielder’s choice. Matt Shaw then grounded into a force out that brought Happ home, giving Chicago the only run it would need. The play not only broke the deadlock but also shifted momentum firmly to the Cubs, who had lost four straight and had not scored more than two runs in any of those games.

The Cubs’ top star of the game was Ben Brown. He threw four innings of one-hit, no-run ball with seven strikeouts, extending his scoreless streak to eight innings over two starts. Brown had not allowed a run against Texas on May 8 in his previous start, and his emergence as a reliable starter has been a key development for a Cubs team that had been struggling from the mound.

In the previous games between the two teams this season, the Cubs were swept in the two-game series earlier this week, losing 4-1 on Wednesday and 5-2 on Tuesday. The Cubs had also been shut out twice in their previous three games against Texas before arriving in Atlanta.

The Braves came into Thursday leading the majors in runs scored but were held in check by a combination of Brown’s sharp breaking ball and a steady stream of effective relievers. The Braves had not been shut out since April 30 against Detroit, a span of 12 games.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta Braves 7, Chicago Cubs 6. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Atlanta with a 51.00 percent probability to win. Atlanta was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 2 went over the over/under line of 7.5.