By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Buster Posey put the San Francisco Giants in an unfamiliar place with one swing of the bat, first place.

Posey hit a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw from Mike Foltynewicz in the bottom of the first inning, helping the Giants to a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves before 41,311, the 352nd consecutive sellout at AT&T Park.

The native of Leesburg, Georgia added a ground rule double in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave the Giants a two-run lead that scored Joe Panik, who led off the inning with a walk.

After walking Brandon Belt intentionally, the strategy backfired, as Brandon Crawford singled to score Posey.

Coupled with the Los Angeles Dodgers being shutout by the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Giants are in first place by a half-game for the first time since Opening Day on April 6.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Giants overall, and the sixth straight at home since losing to the Miami Marlins on May 9.

Since April 21, the Giants are 26-10, the best record in the major leagues since that date.

Tim Hudson pitched a exceptional game, as he went seven innings, allowing one run on five hits, while walking just one and striking out four against his former team.

When Hudson allowed Andrelton Simmons to score on a base hit by Cameron Maybin in the top of the third, it was the first run allowed by the Giants in 39 innings, tying the team record that was originally set from July 11-30, 1948.

Despite allowing the two-run home run to Posey in the bottom of the first inning, Foltynewicz was fantastic for the Braves, as he went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking one and striking out eight.

After allowing back-to-back singles to Brandon Crawford and Angel Pagan in the bottom of the second inning, Foltynewicz retired the next 11 batters in a row until he walked Nori Aoki, leading off the bottom of the sixth inning.

Things got interesting in the top of the ninth inning, as closer Santiago Casilla gave up to a solo home run to Freddie Freeman to straightaway centerfield that was measured at 430 feet. It was the first home run for Freeman since May 5 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field.

Following the Freeman home run, Nick Markakis walked, then Chris Johnson struck out for the second out of the inning. Former Giants catcher A.J. Pierzynski then walked to out the tying run on first base; Todd Cunningham grounded out to Panik on the first pitch to end the game.

It was the 15th save of the season for Casilla.

This was the Giants 21st win of the month, their first 21-win month since 1968 and the team record for the most wins in a month was set in 1954, when they went 24-4 on their last World Championship until they won it all in 2010.