Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider throws to a San Francisco Giants batter during the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Aug 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

Atlanta (83-44). 100 202 000 – 5 7 0

San Francisco (65-62). 000 000 100 – 1 6 0

Time: 2:15

Attendance: 36,511

Friday, August 25, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–A glance at the National League standings will give you an idea of how important the three game series between the Braves and the Giants that started at 7:16 this evening is to the orange and black. The visitors strode into Oracle Park having won seven of their last ten contests, which brought their won and lost balance sheet to 86-44, good enough to put them at the head of the senior circuit’s Eastern Division, 13-1/2 games in front of Philadelphia.

The Giants, on the other hand, had lost six of their ten previous games and were sitting at 65-61, 12-1/2 games behind the Western Division leading Dodgers. More relevant is their position in the wild card chase.

There, San Francisco came to the park in fourth place, in a virtual tie with Arizona for third place and a half a game behind the Cubs. This will not be a series that forgives errors, be they mental or physical, of omission or commission. September becomes, and it remains to be seen if there will be an October at Third and King.

The result of the series opener was a disheartening 5-1 loss to the dominant and dominanting visitors from Georgia.

The Giants pitching staff is dominated by the Cobb-Webb combination. The second half of that amalgamation started for the home team tonight. He brought a record of 9-9, 3.35 with him. His last start had been in Atlanta six days ago, when he was tagged for nine hits and charged with four runs, all earned over six innings in San Francisco’s 6-5 loss to the Braves.

His performance tonight was mediocre. It lasted 5-1/3 frames, in which Logan gave up five runs, all earned, on six hits, one of them a four bagger, and a walk. He struck out one batter. His pitch total was 76, 21 of them balls. He took the loss, and now has a record of 9-10, 3.51.

Spencer Strider,at 14-4, 3.57, toed the rubber for the Braves. Like Webb, he pitched in last week’s Giants-Braves series. He was the winning pitcher on August 18th, going seven shutout innings and allowing only one hit in the Braves’ 6-0 triumph.

He wasn’t quite that good tonight, but he came damn close. He pitched seven innings of three hit ball and allowed one run, which was earned and came in the seventh. He struck out nine Giants and allowed one base on balls. Of his 94 offerings, 67 qualified as strikes.. Strider was the winning pitcher, making his numbers 15-4, 3.46. Joe Jiménez replaced him for the eighth inning.

It took Atlanta all of six pitches to go ahead,1-0. That pitch was a 94mph sinker that Michael Harris II lifted 389 feet into right field for a one out solo home run, his 12th round tripper of the year. Harris provided the park that ignited the rally that netted Atlanta two more runs in the fourth. He led off with a single to right and stole second.

Matt Olson, fondly remembered in the east bay, brought him home with a one out double to right and scored on Marcell Ozuna’s single, once more tonight. Webb put down the uprising by getting Eddie Rosario to hit into a 4-6-3 double play, the Giants’ second twin killing of the night.

It was Harris who was at the heart of Atlanta’s next tallies, this time following Acuña’s leadoff triple in the sixth. The Braves’ fleet center fielder singled, again to right, making it 4-0, and then stole second, making it two stolen bases for the night and 19 on the year for him.

That enabled Harris to advance to third on Riley’s ground out to second and score on Olson’s foul to short left field that third baseman JD Davis captured with an over the head, running away grab.

Olson’s sac fly came against Alex Wood, who relieved Webb after Riley’s productive out. Atlanta now held a 5-0 lead. Wood remained in the game until the bitter end, holding the Braves to just a walk and a single.

Another leadoff triple, this one by Joc Peterson, in the home half of the seventh led to San Francisco’s first and only run, which Peterson scored on Davis’s weak RBI ground out to third.

Raisel Iglesias, Atlanta’s closer, gave up a two out double to the foot of the State Farm advertisement in right by Davis before fanning DeJong to end the game.

Before game time, the Giants announced that they had recalled Héctor Ramos from Sacramento to replace Michael Conforto, whom they put on the 10 day injured list with a strained left hamstring.

Tomorrow, Saturday, in a game scheduled to start at 1:05, the Giants will see what they can do against Max Fried (4-1, 2.83). San Francisco’s starter or opener, as the case may be, is yet to be announced.