SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — The Milwaukee Brewers erupted for eight runs in the second inning Sunday afternoon at Truist Park and rode a strong start by left-hander Robert Gasser to a 9-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves, splitting the three-game series after dropping the first two contests.

Milwaukee improved to 46-29, while Atlanta fell to 48-28 in front of 39,344 fans. The game lasted 2 hours, 33 minutes.

The decisive inning began with William Contreras lining a sharp single to center field off Braves starter Bryce Elder. Jake Bauers followed with a ground-ball single to left, and after Garrett Mitchell grounded out to shortstop, moving both runners into scoring position, Sal Frelick ripped a double down the left-field line, scoring Contreras and Bauers to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead.

Cooper Pratt then grounded out, but David Hamilton drove in Frelick with a double to the gap in center. Christian Yelich walked and then stole second, putting runners at second and third with one out. Jackson Chourio singled up the middle, plating Hamilton and sending Yelich to second. Brice Turang singled to right, scoring Yelich and advancing Chourio to second. Contreras then stepped to the plate and launched his seventh home run of the season to left, a three-run blast that cleared the bases and pushed the Brewers’ lead to 9-1.

The outburst—on seven hits, including two doubles and the homer—chased Elder from the game after he recorded only one out in the second inning. Elder (5-5) was charged with eight earned runs on six hits and one walk, striking out one. Three of the runs scored after he left, but all were inherited by reliever Reynaldo López, who quieted the Brewers over three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three.

Gasser, meanwhile, delivered his second consecutive quality start. The left-hander worked six innings, scattering four hits and allowing two earned runs while striking out seven. He walked one batter. Gasser improved to 1-3 on the season, following up a win against Cleveland on June 16 in which he threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He retired the side in order in the second, third and fifth innings after Atlanta had taken an early lead.

The Braves had struck first in the bottom of the first. Mauricio Dubón led off with a ground-rule double down the left-field line. After Drake Baldwin grounded out to second, moving Dubón to third, Ozzie Albies lifted a sacrifice fly to right fielder Sal Frelick, scoring Dubón for a 1-0 lead.

Atlanta trimmed the deficit to 9-2 in the fourth inning. Michael Harris II doubled to right and moved to third on a groundout by Austin Riley. Joey Bart then grounded out to third baseman David Hamilton, scoring Harris.

The Braves mounted a late threat in the ninth. Chad Patrick, who entered in the seventh, allowed a single to Albies to lead off the inning. Rowdy Tellez, pinch-hitting for Eli White, then crushed his first home run of the season to center field, a two-run shot that made it 9-4. Patrick struck out Riley and induced groundouts from Bart and Dubón to end the game, earning his fourth save of the season. Patrick worked three innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs while striking out two.

Milwaukee’s offense finished with 13 hits. Contreras went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Frelick was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Hamilton added two hits and an RBI. Dubón went 3-for-4 for Atlanta, and Albies had a hit and an RBI.

The Brewers’ eight-run second inning marked the most runs by either team in any inning during the series and broke open what had been a tight game. Milwaukee had lost the first two games of the set by scores of 4-3 and 3-2, so the offensive explosion provided a much-needed boost.

Gasser’s performance was particularly encouraging for the Brewers, who had seen him struggle in his previous road start on June 9 at Oakland, when he allowed six earned runs in five innings. Against Atlanta, he mixed his pitches effectively, striking out seven and inducing weak contact. He did not issue a walk after the first inning.

Atlanta starter Bryce Elder had been effective in recent outings, entering with a 5-4 record and a 3.89 ERA, but he could not survive the second inning Sunday. His counterpart, Gasser, allowed only one baserunner through the middle frames after the first inning.

The Braves’ bullpen, led by López, kept the game from getting further out of hand. López retired the side in order in the third and fourth innings and struck out two of the three batters he faced in the fifth. But the damage had already been done.

Milwaukee tacked on its final run in the seventh without a hit. Garrett Mitchell walked, and Sal Frelick reached on catcher interference by Joey Bart. After a double play erased Frelick, Mitchell moved to third but was left stranded when David Hamilton struck out.

Atlanta’s offense produced seven hits in all, but the Braves went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position after the first inning. They left only three runners on base, but the Brewers’ pitching kept them from stringing together rallies.

The series loss was the Brewers’ third in their past four games after winning four of six against Cleveland and Philadelphia. Milwaukee opens a three-game road trip Monday at Cincinnati.

Atlanta begins a six-game West Coast trip Monday at San Diego. The Braves had won three straight before Sunday’s defeat.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Milwaukee 5, Atlanta 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Milwaukee a 51.00 percent probability of winning. Atlanta was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5 runs. The total score of 13 went under the over-under line of 9.