ATLANTA -- On a night when the Giants finally found their offense, the breakthrough was overshadowed by a crushing eighth inning in the team’s 6-5 loss to the Braves on Saturday at Truist Park.
Tyler Rogers gave up a two-out single to Marcell Ozuna in the eighth that set up Eddie Rosario’s go-ahead two-run shot to center, helping Atlanta take the series and extending San Francisco’s losing streak to three games. The Giants have dropped 10 of their past 13 games, with five consecutive series losses to the A's, Angels, Rangers, Rays and Braves.
“It's challenging, especially because I think for the most part we played good baseball, played good defense, thought we caught the ball well, [and] turned a double play or two,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “... So sometimes, it's even more disappointing, more challenging when you play really good baseball and you end up losing the game.”
The Giants (64-59) remained in second in the National League West and in sole possession of the second NL Wild Card slot with a half-game lead over the Cubs and Reds.
With head-to-head records the first determining factor regarding tiebreakers in the standings, San Francisco is down to Chicago, 2-1, with three games remaining between the clubs from Sept. 4-6. The Giants are tied with the Reds, 2-2, with three games left between the clubs from Aug. 28-30.
After being shut out in the series opener on Friday, the Giants found themselves in a battle with baseball’s best. LaMonte Wade Jr. ignited his team with a first-pitch home run off Braves starter Yonny Chirinos to start the game (his 12th of the year and his third leadoff shot of the season). San Francisco entered Saturday as one of the best teams at attacking pitchers on the first pitch of the at-bat, with a collective .357 batting average and .947 OPS. Hitters were also batting .426 with five home runs and a 1.196 OPS on the first pitch against Chirinos.
The Giants kept the runs coming, with Johan Camargo plating J.D. Davis on an RBI fielder’s choice in the second. Then, Davis hit a sacrifice fly and Thairo Estrada lined a run-scoring single in the fourth. The club’s final run came in the sixth with the bases loaded, as Michael Conforto scored on a double play. The team finished with 11 hits -- its most since Aug. 7 vs. the Angels -- went 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base.
“I thought J.D. took some of the best swings that we've seen him take in a really long time,” Kapler said. “Obviously, LaMonte leading off the game with a home run and then having a good at-bat against a lefty [A.J. Minter]. Conforto had a base hit against a lefty. Joc [Pederson], although he didn't get any love for it -- fly ball to left field … I thought that was a really impressive at-bat, too.
“It was probably the day that we swung the bats best in a while. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough.”
It’s always a tall order when tasked with taking down Atlanta. With a lineup filled with hot hitters, Rosario was the standout Saturday. He went 4-for-4 with two singles, a double and the game-clinching homer. Three of those hits came against starter Alex Cobb, who entered Saturday with a 1.69 ERA that ranked seventh in the Majors this month among qualified starters.
Logan Webb struck out Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris II looking with sinkers to start the first. But the righty faced trouble in the second, leaving three pitches over the plate that led to a two-run inning for the Braves. Webb finished with five strikeouts, and the final run he allowed was to Acuña, who crushed a changeup to the right-field stands on the first pitch in the fifth.
“It’s a pretty good lineup over there,” Webb said. “So for a pitcher, you can’t leave [stuff] over the plate and hope it goes well. I didn't do a good job of that.”
The Giants are feeling the pressure to play better as the postseason looms. The club will face postseason contenders and hopefuls in the coming series (Phillies, Braves, Reds, Padres, Cubs), and it has to start winning games to remain in contention.
“Losing’s not very fun,” Webb said. “Winning makes everything better. There's no denying that. Trying to keep [it] as light-hearted as you can in here before and after. Just not playing very good right now, and that includes myself.”