Madison Bumgarner helped preserve a scoreless tie, then acted decisively to break it. The San Francisco left-hander worked 7 2/3 innings and homered to launch a six-run uprising in the fifth inning, leading the Giants to a 6-0 decision over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Thursday afternoon.
Bumgarner delivered the first of three two-run homers for the Giants in the fifth. Joe Panik and Buster Posey also went deep as San Francisco improved to 4-3 on its three-city, 10-game trip.
“Talent-wise, I feel like this may be the best team that I’ve now been a part of,” said Bumgarner, who pitched for the Giants’ World Series-winning clubs of 2010, ’12 and ’14. “The thing is, most of our young guys have been through the fire already. They know what it’s about. There are a few that don’t, but enough that do to show them the way.”
The Braves, who are 6-23 at home, generated little offense against Bumgarner (7-2), who yielded four hits while walking two and striking out 11. Braves starter Aaron Blair (0-4) lasted four-plus innings, giving up all three of San Francisco’s home runs before recording an out in the fifth.
“Especially in that fifth inning, I don’t know what happened,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker about Blair’s poor fastball command. “He just kind of lost location, and when he missed, it was a two-run homer. It just kind of got away from us right there.”
The Giants pushed a runner to third base in both the first and fourth innings, but Blair thwarted the scoring chances both times to maintain a scoreless tie. Denard Span led off the game with a walk and reached third with two outs after stealing second and advancing on a groundout. Blair escaped the inning unscathed with a flyout. Three innings later, Blair surrendered a ground-rule double to Brandon Belt before ending the fourth with a groundout and a strikeout.
Posey grew up in Leesburg, Ga., roughly a three-hour drive from Turner Field. He was too busy playing in his own leagues to attend many Braves home games. But with the Braves moving to a suburban ballpark next year, Posey derived some satisfaction from participating in the Giants’ last game here.
“It’s pretty neat,” Posey said. “I grew up watching hundreds of games [on television]. It’s nice to leave with a win, and the homer’s icing on the cake.”
Chase d’Arnaud continued his hot hitting at the plate in the bottom of the first inning when he dropped a single into left field for the Braves’ first hit of the game. He finished 2-for-4 at the plate, and his batting average now stands at .351 in 19 games this season. With Gordon Beckham on the disabled list, d’Arnaud’s bat and his versatility in the field might be even more valuable.
“It still hurts right there, because Gordon was playing so well and was kind of right in there in the middle of everything we were doing,” Snitker said. “But it’s nice to have a guy who has that versatility that’s on your club, has already been here, is part of the team and can help out like that.”
When Bumgarner, Panik and Posey all hit two-run home runs in the Giants’ six-run fifth inning, it marked the second time this season that the Giants hit three home runs in one inning. They also did it on Opening Day at Milwaukee on April 4 (Span, Panik and Posey in the eighth).
Before Thursday, the Giants had never hit three two-run home runs in the same inning, according to STATS Inc. This was the fourth time the Giants have had three multi-run home runs in the same inning. The last time was May 7, 2007, against the Mets in the fifth inning.
Atlanta will begin its six-game road trip on Friday against the Dodgers at 9:10 p.m. CT. Right-hander Julio Teheran, who was hampered by a blister on his right foot in his start against the Marlins on Sunday, will take the hill in search of his first career win against the Dodgers in what will be his sixth regular-season start against them. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 8 PM.
