SAN FRANCISCO -- Andrew Suárez’s 2019 debut didn’t start or end on the best note, but in between, the 26-year-old left-hander showed why he could have staying power in the Giants’ rotation.

After being called up from Triple-A Sacramento, Suarez yielded three runs over six strong innings in the Giants’ 4-1 loss to the Braves in Monday night’s series opener at Oracle Park.

Suarez gave up four hits, including a pair of home runs, while walking four and striking out five, though he was outdueled by Braves right-hander Mike Soroka, who allowed only a solo home run to Brandon Crawford over eight innings.

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Suarez became the first Giants starter outside of Madison Bumgarner to produce a quality start since Drew Pomeranz worked six scoreless innings against the Blue Jays on April 24. Manager Bruce Bochy said afterward that Suarez would remain in the Giants’ rotation for now.

“He came up and did what we were hoping,” Bochy said. “He’s a guy that has experience up here. You saw his starts last year. He had some really, really good ones. A couple of hiccups, but he’s got velocity, he’s got a good breaking ball and changeup, and he used them all tonight. When he does that and he’s on, he’s tough, too. Right now, he’s going to be starting.”

Suarez spent the bulk of the 2018 season in the Majors and logged a 4.49 ERA, leading National League rookie pitchers with 29 starts and 160 1/3 innings. But the Giants’ decision to re-sign Derek Holland and add Pomeranz over the offseason pushed Suarez further down the depth chart and left him out of the club’s Opening Day rotation.

The Giants had viewed their rotation as a potential strength at the outset of the season, but they saw the group take a collective step back in recent weeks. Their starters entered Monday with a 5.17 ERA, the second-highest mark in the National League.

While Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija remained reliable, the Giants opted to demote Dereck Rodriguez to Triple-A Sacramento and move Holland to the bullpen, creating opportunities for others to come in and attempt to fill the voids.

After giving Tyler Beede and Shaun Anderson looks, the Giants turned to Suarez, who had posted a 6.33 ERA over six starts at Triple-A Sacramento and missed 16 games with a left hamstring injury.

“I haven’t really been throwing well in Triple-A, so I had to come up here and step up,” Suarez said.

His start against the Braves on Monday began on a somewhat ominous note, as he surrendered a long home run to Ronald Acuna Jr. on his first pitch of the game. Still, Suarez regrouped by holding the Braves scoreless over the next four innings. He took the mound in the sixth and got two quick outs before issuing a walk to Nick Markakis. The next batter, Austin Riley, crushed an 0-2 curveball over the center-field fence for a two-run homer, extending the Braves’ lead to 3-0.

“I wish I got that back,” Suarez said. “I just left it down the middle.”

“He was a strike away from having a great start,” Bochy said. “He had a quality start, but he could have had a great one.”

Despite the finish, Suarez said he viewed the outing as a step in the right direction, especially considering it was only his third start since returning from injury. The Giants are hoping he’ll be able to build off this performance and become a steadying presence in their rotation moving forward.

“I’m sure that was a shot of adrenaline for him to get back here,” Bochy said. “I’m sure he was disappointed he didn’t break with us. He came up with a sense of determination to go out there and throw a good ballgame. That’s what you like about what he did tonight.”