ATLANTA -- Andrelton Simmons believes winning close games in late September can only help the Braves in October. Simmons single to the gap in right-centre drove in Justin Upton with two outs in the ninth inning to give Atlanta a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. It was Simmons third game-ending hit of the season and the Braves 24th win in their final at-bat. Simmons said its a good habit for the NL East champions to carry into the playoffs. "Its always good to have those close games and come out victorious and create that winning habit that weve had throughout the year," Simmons said. "To keep that going into the post-season is big." Upton led off the ninth by hitting the first pitch from Donovan Hand (0-5) for a single to left. Freddie Freeman hit a fly ball to deep centre for the first out before Evan Gattis, who had three hits, hit a grounder that Scooter Gennett bobbled behind second base for an infield hit, leaving runners at first and second. The official scorer originally ruled Gennetts play an error before changing the call after the game. Brian McCann popped out to third base for the second out before Simmons first hit of the night ended the game. "Hes come up big in those situations," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez of Simmons, who is best known for his standout defence at shortstop. Gonzalez said Simmons, 24, thrives in pressure situations. "Hes got a pretty good temperament and I just think he keeps getting better and better," Gonzalez said. "... We all know what kind of defender he is, and I think his bat is just going to keep getting better and better as he matures." Craig Kimbrel (4-3), who leads the majors with 49 saves, struck out the side in the ninth. He has 96 strikeouts in 65 innings. Shortstop Jeff Bianchi hit his first homer of the season in the fifth for Milwaukee. Brewers rookie Tyler Thornburg set a career high with eight strikeouts while giving up two runs, seven hits and one walk in seven innings. Thornburg, 24, has allowed no more than two runs in any of his seven starts. "You never feel good when you dont win a game, but hes got to feel good about what he did this season," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "From a Triple-A start, thats quite a finish." Thornburg was born in Houston but attended high school in the metro Atlanta area. "Being from here, I tried to push the moment aside a little bit and to try to stick with what Ive been doing," Thornburg said. "And it worked well tonight." Thornburg had consecutive wins over the Cardinals and Cubs before facing the Braves. He also had strong starts against Texas and Pittsburgh. "I know there are a lot of people out there that either dont think I belong or dont think I belong in the starting rotation," Thornburg said. "I did pitch against four playoff teams. It wasnt exactly bad teams I was facing. Im really excited about that. That will give me a lot of confidence going into the off-season." Freddy Garcia allowed two run, six hits and one walk in 6 2-3 innings for Atlanta. Garcia, 36, had seven strikeouts to set a season high in a combined 13 starts with Baltimore and the Braves. Jonathan Lucroy gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead in the first when his single drove in Norichika Aoki, who doubled. Lucroy leads the majors with 76 RBIs as a catcher. He has driven in 82 runs overall. Thornburg was helped by double plays in the second and third innings before giving up a run in the fourth. With two outs, Freeman singled and scored on a double to the base of the wall in centre field by Gattis, who was thrown out trying to advance to third. NOTES: The Braves announced RHP David Hale will start Thursday night against Philadelphia. RHP Kris Medlen will have an extra day of rest before starting Friday night, followed by LHP Mike Minor and RHP Julio Teheran. Medlen, Minor and Teheran are in line to be the first three in the rotation for the playoffs, but Gonzalez said hes not yet ready to name Medlen the Game 1 starter. ... Brewers SS Jean Segura had to stop running before the game after he felt tightness in his strained right hamstring. ... Roenicke said RHP Wily Peralta, who developed a blister on his throwing hand in his last start against the Cardinals on Sunday night, will not make his scheduled start Saturday against the Mets. ... Braves LHP Paul Maholm and Brewers RHP Kyle Lohse will bring 10-10 records into Wednesday nights final game of the series. Wholesale Air Max 90 Mens .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Fake Air Max 90 White . But this time, the Gunners weathered the storm. 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SHEFFIELD, England -- Italys Vincenzo Nibali displayed his riding smarts at the Tour de France, winning Stage 2 on Sunday and taking the yellow jersey after a well-choreographed attack on rivals in the postindustrial English city known for "The Full Monty." The Astana team leader nicknamed "The Shark" for his road savvy took the final lead in a cycling dance of sorts with other title hopefuls, who took turns in front in the last stretch through a sea of fans from York to Sheffield. Nibali perhaps had more at stake: The 29-year-old rider has won the Italian Giro and Spains Vuelta, but has never captured cyclings showcase event. The victory on Sunday gave him both his first Tour stage win and yellow jersey, and sent a message that he could contend to take it home from Paris in three weeks. With less than two kilometres left, Nibali escaped a 21-man breakaway bunch at the end of the 201-kilometre course over nine heath-covered hills of Yorkshire, and held off their late surge. England is hosting the first three Tour stages this year. GERMAN LOSES YELLOW JERSEY Marcel Kittel, a powerful German sprinter who often struggles on climbs, trailed nearly 20 minutes back and lost the yellow jersey that he had captured by winning Stage 1. While the Italian won the fight to the line, under the shadow of a black Sheffield Forgemasters tower, defending champion Chris Froome of Britain and two-time winner Alberto Contador of Spain are focusing more on the overall race -- which ends July 27 on Paris Champs-Elysees. Overall, Nibali leads 20 other riders by two seconds, including Froome in fifth place and Contador in eighth. A six-man breakaway bunch tried its chances early, but got swallowed up by the pack with less than 40 kilometres left. Then, the big race stars moved to the front, splitting the pack. Contador, Froome, and Americans Andrew Talansky and Tejay van Garderen all spent time at the front. At times, they mustered bursts of speed or zipped across with width of the road in tactical manoeuvrs. "In the finale, a lot of contenders were making moves: Nibali ended up taking two seconds on us," Froome said. "Its not a big margin. For me, it was about staying out of trouble to stay at the front, and avoiding any major issues or splits. "Im tired, but I hope everyones tired after a day like today." TIME TO WORK, ASTANA Dave Brailsford,, boss of Froomes Team Sky, said the leaders actually "were all hesitant, because nobody wanted the jersey.dddddddddddd" In the cycling playbook, the yellow shirt brings both glory and responsibility. Brailsford said: "Astana will have to now defend it, which is pretty good for anybody else. "Perfect. Theyve got to work." Nibali didnt dare claim he might keep it all the way to Paris, saying "the Tour de France doesnt stop here: We have three weeks to go, and very tough and tricky stages lie ahead." Mondays stage should be a far less grueling ride: Riders cover 155 kilometres from Cambridge to London, where the pack will finish on the Mall not far from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. CROWDS FOR A CLASSIC STAGE The course Sunday resembled that of historic one-day races known as "classics," which often feature hilly terrain. Michael Rodgers, an Australian on Contadors Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team, called it "a bit of a special stage, like the Amstel Gold Race, but with 20 times the people." New roads for cyclings greatest race also mean new audiences, some of whom are so enthusiastic and eager for a selfie with the pack that they might not realize the hazards of getting too close to the riders as they go by. Untold thousands turned out just hours after one of the biggest British stars in the race, Mark Cavendish, dropped out because of pain from a separated right shoulder sustained in a crash Saturday. "There are thousands and thousands of people. Its great but its also dangerous," Contador said. Race officials say millions of fans have flooded the course route in just the first two stages. While Yorkshire doesnt have ascents on a par with the Alps or Pyrenees in France, riders faced nine low- to mid-grade climbs. The hardest was the Holme Moss pass. The steepest was also the shortest: The 800-meter Jenkin Road pass had an average gradient of 10.8 per cent. Several riders crashed. Simon Gerrans, who went down with Cavendish in Saturdays stage, also spilled -- as did van Garderen and Joachim Rodriguez, the third-place finisher in the 2013 Tour. All recovered to finish the stage. On the up-and-down, picturesque course, the 197-rider peloton scaled a narrow, cobblestone hill in Haworth, where the Bronte sisters -- the famed 19th-century novelists -- lived when their father was parson in the town. ' ' '