Waste a good chance to score against Giants left-handed ace Madison Bumgarner, and it might be the only one. When Bumgarner produces with his bat, too, then beating the Giants becomes an even longer shot.
The Braves couldn’t convert an early scoring opportunity against Bumgarner on Thursday afternoon and didn’t get another opening until they were well behind. Bumgarner also smashed a two-run homer that sparked the Giants to a 6-0 victory at Turner Field.
“Not much (chance) to get going off of him,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the game for a reason. He definitely showed that today.”
Bumgarner (7-2) held the Braves to four hits over 7 2/3 innings and had 11 strikeouts while winning his sixth consecutive decision. His home run was the first of three first-pitch, two-run homers in the fifth inning for the Giants against Braves rookie Aaron Blair.
The Giants (34-22) earned a split of the four-game series. The Braves (16-37) begin a six-game trip Friday at the Dodgers after finishing 4-6 on the homestand.
“It’s got to change some time,” Freeman said. “It’s nice for us to get some wins at home, and hopefully we carry that over to the road.”
Over his previous seven starts, Bumgarner was 5-0 with a 1.28 ERA and 54 strikeouts against 14 walks in 49 1/3 innings. It looked as if the Braves might get to him in the first inning.
After Chase d’Arnaud’s one-out single, Freeman laced Bumgarner’s first pitch to right-center field over Jarrett Parker’s head. But the Giants caught a break when the ball bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, forcing d’Arnaud to stop at third base.
Fans buzzed at the possibility of the Braves taking an early lead against Bumgarner, a three-time NL All-Star. They groaned when Bumgarner struck out Jeff Francoeur and Adonis Garcia to leave d’Arnaud and Freeman stranded. And they were quiet as the Braves got only three runners on base over the next six innings, none past first.
“I thought, ‘We’re kind of coming out whacking,’” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “Freddie squared that ball up good, and I liked our chances. That’s why he’s one of the best pitchers in the game. Those guys have a way of elevating their games when those situations come about.”
Blair (0-4) dueled Bumgarner evenly if not efficiently through four innings. Blair’s leadoff walk to Gregor Blanco in the fifth, Blair’s third walk of the game, set the stage for his collapse.
Bumgarner turned on Blair’s first pitch and sent it well into the left-field stands. It was the 13th career home run for Bumgarner, a two-time winner of the NL Silver Slugger Award for the best hitter at his position.
“I threw a belt-high fastball to a good-hitting pitcher,” Blair said.
Blair walked the next batter, Denard Span, prompting Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell to visit the mound in an attempt to settle Blair down. It didn’t work: Joe Panik hit Blair’s next pitch for a two-run homer to right.
That home run seemed to visibly shake Blair, who took his time getting back on the mound. Blair hit Matt Duffy with a pitch on a full count, and then Buster Posey hit Blair’s next pitch well out of the park to left field for a 6-0 lead.
Blair is the first Braves starting pitcher to lose his first four career decisions since Don Collins lost his first five as a rookie in 1977.
“That fifth inning, I don’t know what happened,” Snitker said. “He kind of lost location and when he missed, it was two-run homer. It kind of got away from us there.”
