Milwaukee: Milwaukee continued to set the pace in the early stages of the new Major League Baseball season, winning their ninth straight game on Sunday by beating Pittsburgh 4-1, with starting pitcher Kyle Lohse starring.
The Brewers, who have a 10-2 record in their best start for 27 years, remained three games clear atop the National League Central, while in the NL East, Atlanta completed a three-game sweep of Washington to move a game clear of the Nationals.
Elswhere, San Francisco beat Colorado with a 10th inning homer and Oakland broke clear late in a defensive arm wrestle to defeat Seattle.
Milwaukee pitcher Lohse (2-1) gave up one run and struck out nine in 8 2-3 innings. He fanned five straight across the seventh and eighth innings.
Lohse was pulled with two outs in the ninth after giving up a single. Will Smith struck out Pedro Alvarez on three pitches to record his first career save.
Atlanta’s Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman each hit two-run homers off Gio Gonzalez to power the Braves to a 10-2 win over Washington.
Washington lost to the Braves for the fifth time in six games this season, and began the day by placing third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right thumb.
Atlanta starter Aaron Harang (2-1) allowed one run in six innings.
San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford led off the 10th inning with a homer into the waters of McCovey Cove to lift the Giants to a 5-4 win over Colorado.
