By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: San Francisco Giant starter Albert Suarez pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Wednesday night

The Giants went down to the Atlanta Braves in the 11^th inning, 5-4, inside Turner Field Wednesday night, thanks to a solo homer by Freddie Freeman off reliever Derek Law.

That was not the worst news for the Giants, however. In the fourth inning, Hunter Pence abruptly stopped running out a grounder halfway to first base, having suffered what was later determined to be a strain to his right hamstring, forcing him to miss the rest of the game.

Pence is scheduled to undergo an MRI Thursday morning, and while manager Bruce Bochy said that he is likely headed for the disabled list, Pence himself reportedly said that he can walk on that leg without very many issues, indicating that he may avoid the DL.

The cause for concern for the Giants is that prior to Saturday, Pence had missed six games with another right hamstring strain, which Bochy reportedly said is in the same area as the current injury.

As far as the standings are concerned, the Giants are still in decent shape. With a 33-22 record, they are atop the National League West, sitting 4 ½ games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers.

NOTES: As tough as the Giants’ day was, it pales in comparison to the one that Marlon Byrd had Wednesday.

The outfielder, who spent the latter half of last season with the Giants and is now a member of the Cleveland Indians, received a 162-game suspension after testing positive for the growth hormone secretagogue Ipamorelin.

The reason for such a stiff penalty was due to the fact that this was the second such offense. As a free agent in 2012, he was suspended for 50 games after a positive test for Tamoxifen.

Each player has a right to appeal a decision such as this one, but Byrd, assuming sole responsibility for the positive test, decided to waive that right and will begin serving the suspension immediately, which is likely to end his playing career.