Bumgarner On Mound For Giants, Braves Rubbermatch

(AP) -- Madison Bumgarner has been inconsistent on the road lately but will next pitch in a stadium where he's been at his best in recent visits.

Bumgarner will try to lift the San Francisco Giants with another sparkling road start against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.

Bumgarner (11-6, 3.39 ERA) settled down to pitch five scoreless innings Friday in Texas after giving up a combined six runs in his first two. That was enough to send the Giants and their left-hander to a 6-3 defeat.

The reigning World Series MVP went 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA in his prior three starts but is 2-3 with a 5.45 ERA in his last five on the road.

"It was one of those games that he couldn't get settled in early and they took advantage of it," manager Bruce Bochy said.

Bumgarner will try to build on his finish to Friday's start while winning a fifth consecutive decision over Atlanta and helping the Giants (58-48) take two of three from the Braves (48-59). He has a 2.30 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 31 1-3 innings in his last five matchups and is 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in five lifetime starts in Atlanta, including one in the 2010 playoffs.

Bumgarner hasn't allowed an earned run in his past two games at Turner Field, a combined 13 innings, with the most recent May 4, 2014. He gave up three runs in 6 1-3 innings against the Braves in San Francisco on May 31 and did not get a decision in a 7-5 loss.

After blowing a six-run advantage and two other leads in the series opener, the Giants scored six runs in the final two innings for an 8-3 victory Tuesday. Hunter Pence provided a tiebreaking three-run homer and matched a season high with four RBIs.

That result kept the Giants within a half-game of the Chicago Cubs, who have won six straight to overtake San Francisco, for the NL's second wild card.

The Braves, losers in 17 of 23, have given up double-digit hits in each of their past six games - their longest streak since April 2012 - and a combined 43 runs. That stretch includes Williams Perez's miserable return from the disabled list and his first major league loss Friday.

The rookie right-hander was tagged for nine runs - five more than in any of his other eight starts - in 4 1-3 innings in a 9-3 loss in Philadelphia. Perez (4-1, 4.14) gave up four runs in the first inning and five in his final one after missing a little more than a month because of a bruised left foot.

"I felt rusty," Perez told MLB's official website through an interpreter. "I was able to battle through it and make adjustments from the second inning on. But that last inning kind of fell apart on me."

Perez took an 8-0 win in his only matchup against San Francisco on May 30, yielding four hits in seven innings.

Chris Johnson will try to help give him some support by adding to his five hits - two of them doubles - in his last seven at-bats versus Bumgarner. Jonny Gomes is 7 for 10 lifetime with a pair of homers against the left-hander but is 9 for 48 (.188) in his last 23 games.

The Braves haven't given up double-digit hits in seven consecutive games in a single season since April 12-21, 1990.

Updated August 5, 2015