SAN DIEGO — Pitching in his native Southern California for the first time as a major-leaguer, with about 100 family members and friends on hand, Braves phenom Tommy Hanson was a bit too excited at the start of Wednesday’s game.
But the ascendant star settled into a groove and got plenty of support from his teammates, and the Braves rolled to a 6-2 win against San Diego to take the series before hopping on a bus to battle freeway traffic to Los Angeles.
The Braves open a four-game series tonight against the Dodgers, who have the best record in baseball.
“We’re going into a huge series in L.A., and we need to continue to hit,” said catcher Brian McCann, whose two-run single in the fourth Wednesday stretched the Braves’ lead to 5-0. “I don’t know how many hits we had the last two days, but we got a lot, and we got good pitching the whole series.”
After dropping consecutive series at Florida and at home against the Dodgers, the Braves rebounded from a rough opener in San Diego. They jump-started their offense while continuing to get the steady pitching that has kept them viable all season.
After totaling six hits in a 4-2 series-opening loss Monday, the Braves got 31 hits and outscored the Padres 15-4 in wins Tuesday and Wednesday, with Nate McLouth and Chipper Jones contributing three hits apiece in the series finale.
Against a Padres team that hit .319 while winning six of seven games through Monday, Javier Vazquez allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Hanson (6-2) limited them to five hits, two runs and three walks in six innings, despite four-pitch walks by two of the first three batters.
“Tommy wasn’t at his best today, and he still only gave up two runs,” said manager Bobby Cox, who is already accustomed to exemplary work from a 21-year-old with 11 starts on his resume. “But it wasn’t the real Tommy Hanson.”
The Padres might find that hard to believe, given that Hanson struck out five of them in a span of six batters, beginning with Kyle Blanks in the second inning.
But at the outset, Hanson looked like he might be ripe for an early exit in front of all those cheering fans of his. Many made the two-hour drive from his hometown of Redlands, and he couldn’t help but notice them.
“I was trying not to think that way,” Hanson said. “But yeah, that was in the back of my mind. Hearing some familiar voices yelling was kind of funny. I wanted to get through that first inning. After that, I was fine.”
No play was more important to Hanson and the Braves than the double play started by shortstop Yunel Escobar with two on and one out in the first.
Escobar fielded a Kevin Kouzmanoff grounder behind second base and made a perfect backhanded flip to Martin Prado, who threw to first to end the inning and preserve the 1-0 lead provided by Garret Anderson’s first-inning single.
“That was a great defensive ballgame,” said Hanson, who got out of that first inning unscathed despite giving up two walks and a single to the first three batters. “The first inning I struggled to find my release point, and I was nibbling a little, not being aggressive. After that, I settled in.”
Four relievers pitched five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts over the two days, with lefty Mike Gonzalez working an inning in each win and racking up five strikeouts while allowing one hit.
Prado continued his hot streak with two hits Wednesday, and right fielder Ryan Church went 2-for-3 with a walk and a strong throw to the plate in his first game back after missing six starts with a hyperextended elbow.
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