Atlanta Braves Outlasted By Giants in Slugfest

The Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants played the second game of a four-game set on Tuesday night at Truist Park.

WInner of sixteen of their last eighteen games, the Atlanta Braves looked to extend their modest two-game winning streak against the San Francisco Giants.  The Braves sent young righty Spencer Strider to the mound while the Giants countered with Anthony DeSclafani.

DeSclafani was pitching in his first major league game since April 21st as he was coming off a stint on the injured list with ankle inflammation.  DeSclafani figured to be on a pitch count which meant the Giants, in essence, would be throwing a bullpen game.

After a quiet first inning, both teams got their bats going in the second.  The Giants plated four in the top half, highlighted by an Austin Wynns three-run home run.  The Braves countered with two in the bottom half courtesy of Marcell Ozuna’s two-run blast, and the game entered the third inning with San Franciso up 4-2.

The Braves and Giants would trade the lead back and forth in both the third and the fourth innings.  Matt Olson’s ninth home run of the year, a three-run jack, put the Braves up 5-4, but Strider was not able to hold it there as the Giants put two runs on the board in the top of the fourth and reclaimed a 6-5 lead.

Their sixth run of the game was a costly one for the Giants, as Brandon Crawford hurt his knee sliding into home plate and exited the game.

The Giants’ lead was quickly erased in the bottom of the fourth when Ronald Acuna, Jr absolutely decimated a first-pitch fastball for a two-run home run putting the Braves back on top, 7-6.

The Giants got to Darren O’Day and Collin McHugh in the sixth and seventh, adding three runs to their tally, one of which was a solo home run by our old friend Joc Pederson, and heading into the bottom of the seventh the Braves found themselves trailing once again, this time by a score of 9-7.

The Braves trimmed the lead to 9-8 but the Giants used a big ninth to push the lead to four and not even Matt Olson’s second home run of the night in the bottom of the ninth was able to keep the Giants from taking game two of the series.

The Atlanta Braves fell to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night by a score of 12-10.

This game could not have been more different than the contest last night.  Game one of this series was a pitcher’s duel between Max Fried and Logan Webb where runs were at a premium.  Tonight’s game saw thirteen runs cross the plate in the first four innings and twenty-two total runs scored.

Spencer Strider struggled in his fifth start of the season.  Strider’s velocity seemed to be down a bit from his norm and he was not locating his pitches as effectively as we have become accustomed to seeing, as he did not make it out of the fourth inning.

Strider was not alone in his ineffectiveness on this night.  Other than Dylan Lee, no Atlanta pitcher pitched up to their capabilities tonight and the Giants took advantage against a Braves bullpen that is usually very good.

Even with the Atlanta offense continuing to hum along, hitting four more home runs, it was not enough to offset the poor pitching performance on this night.

The Braves will look to bounce back tomorrow as they send Charlie Morton to the mound.  Morton will be hoping to build off of a dominant performance against the Cubs in his last outing.

The Giants will counter with Carlos Rodon who has not been scored upon in his last two outings spanning 14 innings versus the Dodgers and the Pirates.  First pitch tomorrow is scheduled for 7:20 pm EST.