By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Jeff Samardzija threw 107 pitches Wednesday and didn’t allow any earned runs. Not bad.

No, not good. The pitcher’s throwing error that wasn’t turned out to be the portal to a Braves’ six-run, second inning that wiped out the Giants in a flash. Simply, the key juncture in a 9-2 loss that serves as a reminder that these days suffering outweighs prosperity inside the ballpark at 2nd and King streets.

“There are a lot of great things about these shifts but sometimes it does take guys out of the double play position. That’s kind of what happened. It was just a freak thing,” said Samardzija of his gaffe.

With a runner on, and one out, Ozzie Albies hit a grounder that Samardzija fielded with his infielder behind him in a shift, three defenders stationed between first and second base.

Well, shifts are designed to get batters out, not necessarily the best strategy to turn two. So when Samardzija looked to start a double play, he turned to see his experienced third baseman (Evan Longoria) and shortstop (Brandon Crawford) unsure of who would take the pitcher’s throw at second then throw into first. Both infielders froze, Samardzija threw accurately to Longoria, who was nowhere near the bag to retire the advancing Austin Riley.

Both runners were safe on a play that scorekeepers expect to yield an inning-ending double play, saddling the Samardzija with the error, eventhough he threw accurately. Matt Joyce singled to load the bases, then pitcher Max Fried grounded out, scoring Riley.

Ronald Acuna then struck out, but catcher Buster Posey couldn’t corral the wild pitch allowing Acuna to reach. Back-to-back home runs by Darby Swanson and Freddie Freeman were next, and the Braves led 6-0.

Fried, like Mike Soroka who pitched for Atlanta on Monday, has an All-Star resume and presented to the Giants over a six-inning stint. The 25-year old won for a league-leading seventh time, allowing just two runs.

“I didn’t throw strikes as much as I would have liked, but I was obviously picked up big time,” said Fried, who improved to 7-2. “The offense was incredible. It was just a good team win.”

The Braves look to make it three of four over the Giants in Thursday’s matinee finale. Madison Bumgarner will face the Braves’ Kevin Gausman at 12:45 pm.