Braves Edge Giants 6-5 in Matchup of NL Division Leaders
ATLANTA (AP) -- Jorge Soler hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning, Joc Pederson made a leaping catch at the wall for the final out and the Atlanta Braves rallied to beat San Francisco 6-5 on Friday night to end the Giants' five-game winning streak.
Wilmer Flores led off the ninth with a homer against Braves closer Will Smith to trim Atlanta's lead to one.
Smith got a groundout and a strikeout before Tommy La Stella drove a high fly to the warning track in right. Pederson overran it slightly but reached back as he jumped into the wall and held on to complete Smith's 29th save. A video review confirmed the catch was good.
Buster Posey hit a two-run homer in his return to San Francisco's lineup and the Giants led 4-2 before the Braves rallied with four runs in the seventh. After Ozzie Albies' RBI double off Tony Watson (5-4) trimmed the Giants' lead to one, Soler hit Zack Littell's first pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run lead.
Celebrating with his teammates in the Braves' dugout, Soler pulled off his batting helmet to reveal a "Soler Power" headband. Acquired from Kansas City at the trade deadline, Soler has 19 homers, including six in 23 games with Atlanta.
Adam Duvall also homered for the Braves in the matchup of NL division leaders. The Giants began the night 2 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. The Braves were 5 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia in the NL East.
Posey, a native of Leesburg, Georgia, returned after missing two games with discomfort in his left knee. He lifted a first-inning fastball from Max Fried high toward the right-field foul pole. Fried watched with an incredulous look as the fly ball remained fair and fell into the first row of the right field seats.
Posey's homer drove in Austin Slater, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the game.
Kevin Gausman allowed two runs on six hits in six innings in his first start against the Braves since pitching for Atlanta in 2018-19.
A.J. Minter (2-4) pitched a scoreless seventh in relief of Fried, who allowed four runs, three earned, in six innings.
The game was delayed by rain for 35 minutes in the first inning. Following the delay, Dansby Swanson's infield hit loaded the bases with two outs, but Gausman ended the inning on Travis d'Arnaud's grounder to first base.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: C Curt Casali was available after leaving Thursday night's game with dizziness. Manager Gabe Kapler said tests on Casali "didn't find any evidence of a concussion." ... Kapler said 2B Donovan Solano gave permission to disclose he was fully vaccinated when he tested positive for the coronavirus and was placed under quarantine on Thursday. ... The team did not say why 3B Kris Bryant did not return following the rain delay.
Braves: RHP Ian Anderson, who has been on the injured list since July 13 with right shoulder inflammation, is expected to be activated to start Sunday's final game of the series. Anderson is 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 18 starts.
ROSTER MOVES
The Braves reinstated outfielder Eddie Rosario from the 10-day injured list. Outfielder Abraham Almonte was designated for assignment. Rosario was recovering from an abdominal strain when acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline.
The Giants optioned catcher Chadwick Tromp to Triple-A Sacramento to clear a spot for Gausman's return from the COVID-19 injured list.
UP NEXT
Giants: RHP Logan Webb (7-3, 2.84) will try to continue a strong second half. Webb is 3-0 with a 1.72 ERA in his last five starts though he has been more successful at home this season, with a 1.71 ERA compared to his 3.88 road mark.
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