Atlanta Braves stay hot with 4-1 win in San Francisco

After taking three out of four from the Diamondbacks, the Atlanta Braves went up the road to San Francisco to take on a struggling Giants club.

The Atlanta Braves (80-64) led the National League Eastern Division by 4.5 games going into Monday night’s game with the Giants and gained another half-game after a 4-1 win.

Sean Newcomb took the mound for Atlanta and kept San Francisco scoreless through the first and second innings before giving up an RBI single to Austin Slater to put the Giants up 1-0.

An RBI single from Kurt Suzuki scored Freddie Freeman in the top of the fourth to tie the game up a 1-1.

Newcomb was pulled in favor of Rio Ruiz when his spot came up in the order in the top of the seventh inning. He finished the day having given up only one run on three hits through six innings and struck out eight Giants.

Atlanta picked up a run in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice bunt from Dansby Swanson that scored Ozzie Albies giving Atlanta a 2-1 lead.

Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez went 6.1 innings, allowing only one earned run on five hits. He stuck out three and walked a pair of Braves.

San Francisco couldn’t score in the seventh, and neither team scored in the eighth. Shane Carle and Jonny Venters pitched those innings respectively, each recording a hold for Atlanta.

Atlanta plated a pair of runs in the ninth, once again saving the best for last. Those runs came on an RBI triple from Albies that scored Lane Adams and a sacrifice bunt from Swanson that scored Ozzie.

Rookie A.J. Minter closed the game out, striking out two in the ninth and ending the game on a fly ball for the win.

Suzuki led Atlanta’s offense with a 3-for-3 performance, while Albies went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI. Freeman continued to get back on track with a 2-for-4 performance that included a run.

Noteworthy is the fact that Atlanta Braves pitchers did not allow a single walk in Monday night’s game.

The Atlanta Braves and Giants get back to action Tuesday night in a game scheduled for a 10:15 p.m. ET start.