ATLANTA -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez has been waiting for his offence to wake up. Its too soon to declare that Atlantas bats have returned to respectability, but at least the Braves are taking the necessary steps. Freddie Freeman and Justin Upton homered to help Mike Minor win his second consecutive start, and Atlanta beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-3 Monday night. "We started swinging the bats really, really well," Gonzalez said. "Not only the home runs, but there were some two-out singles, there were some base on balls, there was a lot of baserunning. It was nice to see." Pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit also went deep for Atlanta in a matchup of first-place teams. The Braves, who had lost 12 of 18, never trailed in winning their second straight game. Atlanta began the night with the fewest runs in the majors. But the Braves banged out a season-high 15 hits and improved to 18-5 when hitting a home run. Minor (2-2) gave up two runs and five hits with five strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander, lifted with a 4-2 lead, appreciated the run support. "Were still in first place, and everybodys talking about how bad we were playing," Minor said. "It was good to have that cushion when we won a lot of games, but we have too good of players to be worried about it." Ryan Braun and Khris Davis homered for the Brewers, who have lost three straight. Braun also threw out a runner at the plate from right field. Wily Peralta (4-3) allowed nine hits, a season-high four walks and three runs -- two earned -- with five strikeouts in five innings. The right-hander began the night 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA in three starts this month, but he couldnt overcome poor command of his pitches. "Thats the first time, but thats going to happen during the season," Peralta said. "You try to do your best and keep the team in the ballgame." Freeman led off the third with his ninth homer to make it 3-0. Davis lost his glove over the left-field fence on Freemans opposite-field shot. A fan picked up the glove off a ledge between the fence and the seats and tossed it back to Davis after Freeman rounded the bases. The Braves broke open a one-run game in the eighth, scoring five times off reliever Wei-Chung Wang to make it 9-3. Doumit hit a solo shot, Uptons 11th homer was a two-run drive, and Atlanta got RBI singles from Andrelton Simmons and Ramiro Pena. After Wang needed 40 pitches to get two outs, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke brought in first baseman Lyle Overbay off the bench to pitch. The 37-year-old Overbay pitched for the first time in his 14-year major league career, retiring Doumit on a popup. Doumit, who was teammates with Overbay in Pittsburgh, got a good laugh out of the at-bat. "That kids got nasty stuff," Doumit said with a smile. "Hes got a bright future ahead of him. Im going to keep my eye on him." Zach Duke, who relieved Peralta to begin the sixth, gave up a leadoff single to Minor and a single to Jason Heyward before Upton reached safely when catcher Martin Maldonado was called for interference. Rob Wooten relieved with one out and gave up Evan Gattis sacrifice fly that made it 4-2. David Hale relieved Minor with a runner at second base and ended the threat when Carlos Gomez grounded out. Brauns seventh homer, an opposite-field shot to right off David Carpenter, cut the margin to 4-3 in the eighth. Atlanta took a 1-0 lead in the first when Heyward led off with a single, stole second and scored on Maldonados passed ball and throwing error to third. The Braves went ahead 2-0 in the second on Penas RBI single. Davis fifth homer, a two-run shot in the fifth, cut it to 3-2. NOTES: The Braves have won 10 of their last 12 against Milwaukee at Turner Field. ... Gomez went 1 for 3 in his first game since last Tuesday. He served a three-game suspension last week for his role in a bench-clearing dustup April 20 at Pittsburgh and missed two weekend games at the Chicago Cubs with back stiffness and a stomach virus. ... Heyward, who began the game hitting .186 in his last 43 at-bats, went 3 for 4 with two stolen bases. ... Brauns outfield assist ended the Atlanta fourth as Heyward, trying to score from second on Freemans single to right, was tagged out at the plate. Hydro Flask Outlet . The 49ers announced the deal Thursday. San Francisco selected Kilgore in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of Appalachian State. He has played in 33 regular-season games, plus all six playoff games the last two seasons. Hydro Flask 32 OZ Danmark .Simon will work with head coach Gord Dineen and associate coach Derek King behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate for the 2014-15 season. http://www.danmarkhydroflask.com/hydro-f...-oz-flaske.html. New York Red Bulls. TSN primes Vancouver fans for the start of the 2014 season with MLS on TSN: Season Preview Special airing tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN2 (encore Friday at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt on TSN2). Hydro Flask 40 OZ Danmark . What they did need, the Devils got from Patrik Elias. Elias scored a power-play goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. Hydro Flask Gul . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization.TORONTO - Andrea Bargnani meant everything to this Raptors franchise once. Drafted first overall in 2006, he was once the source of hope for an ailing fan base. A mysterious 21-year-old from Italy, he possessed the unique skill set required to become a special player in a league obsessed with upside. A seven-footer who could shoot and put the ball on the floor, he had more upside than he knew what to do with. As silly as it seemed then to compare a player with no NBA experience, a player most knew nothing - or next to nothing - about to a future hall of famer and soon-to-be MVP, that stopped (almost) no one from doing just that. He was supposed to be the next Dirk Nowitzki. Bargnani meant everything to his former team until, gradually over seven years laden with false hope and hurt feelings, he meant nothing. "I dont know what it was," said Dwane Casey, Bargnanis coach for two of his seven seasons in Toronto, looking back at the tarnished relationship between fans and the former first-overall pick. "I thought Andrea needed a fresh start." One exhibition game into that fresh start, Bargnani will make his first return to the Air Canada Centre on Friday, three months after the trade that sent him to New York. Catch the game live on TSN Radio 1050 starting at 7pm et. "We have no ill feelings for Andrea," Casey acknowledged Thursday afternoon following practice. "For him personally and as a friend Im glad to see him not have to go through some of the things he went through here." Plagued by injuries and a perceived lack of effort, Bargnani experienced far more lows than highs in Toronto and as a result many fans began to sour on a player they once celebrated, however briefly. In seven seasons, Bargnani averaged 15.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, shooting 44 per cent from the field and 36 per cent from three-point range. Over his final two seasons as a Raptor he missed more games (82) than he played in (66) and saw his scoring average fall from a career-best 21.4 in 2010-11 - his first as the offensive focal point, sans Chris Bosh - to just 12.7 last year. By midseason and to the dismay of Casey and several vocal Raptors players, Bargnani was routinely booed by the home crowd. "You hate to see somebody on your team go through something like that," reiterated DeMar DeRozan, a teammmate of Bargnanis for the past four seasons.dddddddddddd "Just the [negative] energy, it can do a lot mentally to a player. We tried to keep him up, in good spirits all season but it was tough on him." Although Fridays game - the first of two preseason visits to Toronto for Bargnani and the Knicks - wont count towards the standings, the atmosphere in the ACC could resemble the return of past Raptors-turned-Raptor villains. "They can boo him all they want to now," Casey joked. "Fans are going to do what theyre going to do and so he should probably put on ear plugs." Bargnanis return will likely be the latest in a long line of former Raptors to be welcomed back with a chorus of boos and jeers from the ACC faithful. When beloved point guard Jose Calderon made his return to a standing ovation in April, Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank (now an assistant with the Nets) alluded to the Toronto franchises long history of hostile homecomings. It all started with Damon Stoudamire, who scored 22 points in 2000 returning with the Blazers two years after forcing a trade out of Toronto. Tracy McGrady poured in 24 points in his first game back a year later, followed by 39 points from Vince Carter in 2005 and 25 from Bosh in 2011. For what its worth, Hedo Turkoglu was held to 11 in his return, but that should surprise no one. Soon Bargnani will join that group, matching Boshs seven seasons as the longest tenured but unlike most of that list, who achieved some individual and/or team success here (Turkoglu being the obvious exception), his Raptors legacy will leave a predominately bitter taste in the mouths of Raptors fans. He wont be remembered as a 20-point scorer. He wont be remembered for finishing second, behind only Brandon Roy in Rookie of the Year voting. No, instead hell be remembered for his declining shooting percentages, his modest rebounding numbers, his laissez-faire attitude, the injuries, the general manager who blindly stood by him until the end and a Primo pasta ad that will forever be ingrained into our hearts. Most of all hell be remembered for what he failed to become. "I didnt get out of him what [I] was hoping for," Casey admitted Thursday; not the first and likely not the last coach to come to that realization. "I wanted him to be Dirk-like." ' ' '