» GIANTS’ HITTERS END BRAVES’ WIN STREAK
ATLANTA — Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz threw each of his first 10 pitches on Friday faster than 97 miles per hour.
After Foltynewicz lit up the radar gun, the Giants took the liberty of lighting up the scoreboard.
With a six-run second inning, San Francisco erased an early 2-0 deficit en route to a 94 victory. After falling a season-high four games below .500 on April 21, the Giants have now won nine of their last 12 and have a chance to take their fifth consecutive series this weekend.
Atlanta entered Friday’s contest winners of five in a row as the Braves recorded back-to-back shutout victories over the Mets in their past two games. The Giants put an end to the streak by batting around in the second inning against Foltynewicz and limiting the damage of the National League’s highest-scoring offense.
The Braves took a 2-0 lead against Giants righty Chris Stratton on a two-run home run to the opposite field by first baseman Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the first, but the Giants pounced on Foltynewicz’s fastballs in the top of the second.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford entered the game 6-for-12 against the Braves starting pitcher and drilled a leadoff single to kick off the inning. After Austin Jackson drew a walk, starting left fielder Gregor Blanco smoked a two-run triple into the left-field corner to tie the game.
Second baseman Alen Hanson and catcher Buster Posey tacked on RBIs later in the inning before Brandon Belt clubbed his 16th extra-base hit of the season, a double off the right-field wall that that plated Andrew McCutchen.
The Braves allowed a total of four runs during their fivegame win streak, which started when Foltynewicz tossed six innings of three-hit ball against the Phillies. Despite striking for six in the second, though, the Giants failed to push across another run until Crawford deposited a two-run home run onto the short rightfield porch in the top of the seventh.
Crawford’s home run marked his third hit of the night and his fifth in the last two games. After his average dipped down to .189 on the final day of April, a potential resurgence for Crawford is critical for a Giants’ offense that will be without second baseman Joe Panik until at least the middle of June.
The Giants added to their lead once more as third baseman Evan Longoria poked a solo home run over the rightfield wall for his team-best seventh round-tripper of the year.
In his first outing since the worst start of his professional career, Stratton struggled to command his fastball in the first inning as he surrendered a pair of extra base hits, a hard hit single and a long flyout that all registered exit velocities greater than 95 miles per hour.
After early struggles, Stratton wound up logging six innings and racking up six strikeouts on a night where the Giants were hoping for length from their starting pitcher.