SAN FRANCISCO – Last time the Braves faced Madison Bumgarner, he was the 21-year-old rookie winning pitcher in the Giants’ Division Series-clinching Game 4 victory at Turner Field.
When the teams faced each other Friday night for the first time since October 11, Bumgarner was only the second-best starting pitcher on the mound. And a distant second, at that.
Tommy Hanson pitched a needed gem for the Braves, churning out seven innings of three-hit ball with seven strikeouts in a 4-1 series-opening win over defending World Series champion San Francisco on a chilly night at sold-out AT&T Park.
“I’m not going to lie, it felt similar to the playoffs," Hanson said. "It really did. They have good fans here; they were on us. That being said, it felt good. I didn’t have the greatest playoff start here last time, so I kind of wanted to go out and give us a chance to win."
Chipper Jones hit a two-run double off the right-field wall in a four-run third inning for the Braves, who took a rare substantial early lead and won for only the second time in six games. Jones agreed with Hanson about the charged atmosphere.
"I think the guys took it like it was a playoff game," he said. "The house was packed. Obviously we have some history with them last year, and we want to come out here and play well. We had a rough series in Los Angeles, and this series we knew was going to be tough. It was good that we responded from yesterday’s tough loss with a good win tonight.”
A day after getting his first blown save in a 12-inning loss to the Dodgers, Braves closer Craig Kimbrel pitched perfect ninth inning for his fifth save.
Jonny Venters pitched a perfect eighth inning and showed no lingering effects from a sore biceps that kept him out of the past two games.
The new health concern for the Braves could be Jones' right knee. The good news is that it's not his surgically repaired left knee, and the third baseman stayed in the game after a gimpy swing on an eighth-inning strikeout.
"I’ve got pain on the lower inside of my knee," said Jones, who could be out of the lineup for injury Saturday for the first time this season. "It’s preventing me from pushing off and cutting, stuff like that. It’s just a really sharp pain. I don’t know why it’s doing it, but it’s been doing it for probably 10 days or so. I don’t know if it was the cold, but it was just really pronounced tonight….
“I don’t know if it’s from favoring the other [knee] at times, or what. But it didn’t feel too good tonight.”
Bumgarner (0-4) lasted 2-2/3 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) and four hits, all but one in the third inning. Jason Heyward and hot-hitting rookie Freddie Freeman added RBI singles.
It was the sixth win in 17 games for the Braves (9-12), and only their second in their past seven regular-season games at San Francisco. They are 2-3 on a 10-game trip that began with a 3-1 series loss against the Dodgers.
Coming off Thursday’s wrenching 12-inning loss at L.A., the Braves needed Hanson (2-3) to pitch well and work deep into the game.
He came through, recording 13 outs in the first 14 batters faced and not allowing a walk until the sixth inning (his only walk) or an extra-base hit until the seventh.
“I thought his command was outstanding," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We got those four runs in the third inning and he did what you want your pitcher to do -- go back out there in the next inning and shut ‘em down and kept the momentum in our dugout.”
It was the second superb start in his past three for Hanson, who pitched seven scoreless innings against Florida on April 12. That was the only time he lasted more than 5-1/3 innings this season before Friday.
The Braves scored more than two runs in an inning once in seven games before their four-run burst in the third, when they batted around the order.
Nate McLouth led off the inning with a walk and moved up on a Hanson sacrifice bunt. Martin Prado drew another walk before Heyward singled through the right side to drive in the first run.
Jones followed with an opposite-field double off the right-field wall that drove in two, including the hustling Heyward from first base.
“It was just an inning full of execution," Jones said. "We got the leadoff walk and we sacrificed him. Then we got another walk, and J-Hey got the hit to kind of get us going. I can’t believe I got one off that wall oppo [opposite field]. That’s a poke.
“Freddie had a great at-bat off a tough lefty to drive in a run. You’ve got to take advantage of every single opportunity against that club, because they’re coming at you non-stop for nine innings. And if you give them a break they’re going to capitalize on it.”
Dan Uggla reached on a two-out error by Giants shortstop Miguel Tejada to keep the inning alive, and Freeman followed with a single to center to up the lead to 4-0 and send Bumgarner to the showers. Tejada's error was just the fourth made by a Braves opponent this season.
“When you’ve got a lefty throwing 95 [mph], throwing across your body, you know you’re going to have a tough game," said the left-handed-hitting Freeman. "We battled, we got some good at-bats, took some pitches – he had, like, 60 pitches in three innings or something. We were really patient and we’ve got to do that again with [Giants ace Tim] Lincecum tomorrow.”
Heyward and Freeman had two hits apiece for the Braves, whose only other two hits came from Jones and Martin Prado.
Jones said his right knee -- not his surgically repaired knee -- has bothered him for about 10 days and was worse Friday night. He told manager Fredi Gonzalez after the game, and it seems likely Jones will be out of the lineup Saturday afternoon when the Braves face Giants ace Tim Lincecum.
