SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants play just seven more games at home this month. Maybe that won’t bother them as much as it would have the 2017 club.
The first night back on the road was a smashing success, a 9-4 win over the red-hot Braves behind Chris Stratton and a big second inning from the lineup. The Giants have won nine of their last 12 games, and with one win this weekend, they'll have a fifth consecutive series win. Here's what you need to know from the opener...
The Braves allowed four runs in their four previous games. The Giants put six on Mike Foltynewicz in the second, with Gregor Blanco getting a two-run triple and Brandon Belt knocking an RBI double. The lineup sent 10 hitters to the plate in a rally that started when Brandon Crawford and Austin Jackson both reached.
We saw the good and the bad of Alen Hanson in just a couple minutes. He somehow didn’t score from second on Andrew McCutchen’s single to deep right, but then raced home and scored with an athletic slide when Buster Posey followed with a grounder to third. Hanson is the fastest player on the roster, but coaches have already noticed some mental lapses. He’s athletic enough to make unusual things happen, though, and this lineup could use some of that.
Stratton got shelled in his last start and gave up a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman in the first Friday. After that, he settled in, getting through six solid innings. Stratton was charged with three earned and struck out six.
Will Smith started warming up with a three-run lead and ended up taking the seventh with a five-run lead thanks to Crawford’s homer. He gave up a run, but the stuff was good and he needed just eight pitches to get through the inning.
