ATLANTA — The San Francisco Giants put together quite a mind-boggling statistic in their first three-game sweep at Turner Field.
ATLANTA — The San Francisco Giants put together quite a mind-boggling statistic in their first three-game sweep at Turner Field.
San Francisco did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position, but still won three straight over the Atlanta Braves. Credit belongs to strong pitching and seven home runs.
Brandon Crawford hit two home runs and Madison Bumgarner helped the Giants beat Atlanta 4-1 Sunday, handing the Braves their sixth straight loss.
The Giants were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position on Sunday and 0-for-7 in the series. Still, the NL West leaders left town with a five-game winning streak.
“That’s incredible,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “What a job our pitching did here. … The long ball, that’s what won it for us because we couldn’t get a hit. They had great pitching as well.”
It was San Francisco’s first sweep in Atlanta since 1988 — long before Turner Field opened in 1997 and before Bumgarner was born in 1989.
“That’s a big series for us,” Bumgarner said.
The Braves’ skid is their longest skid since an eight-game slide in May 2012. Atlanta, which leads the NL East, was held to one run in each of the losses to San Francisco.
“We’ve been struggling,” said Dan Uggla, who was 0 for 4 and is hitting .190. “We’ve got to turn the corner and just turn this thing around. Like, now.”
Bumgarner (3-3) allowed one unearned run and three hits in six innings, striking out nine.
Improved control allowed Bumgarner earn his first win since April 11. He walked only one batter after issuing a combined eight passes in his last three starts.
“I still felt like I got behind a lot of times when I wanted to get ahead, but it’s a big step forward,” Bumgarner said.
Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his first save. Closer Sergio Romo was rested after recording saves in two straight games.
Crawford gave the Giants a 2-1 lead with his homer off Alex Wood (2-5) in the fourth. Crawford hit a two-run shot off Jordan Walden in the eighth for his first career multihomer game. He began the day with only one homer this season.
Wood lost his fourth straight start, again receiving almost no run support. The one run scored by Atlanta on Sunday is the only offense Wood has received in that span, which included back-to-back 1-0 losses.
The left-hander has a 3.00 ERA after allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk in five innings.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who hinted he may tweak his slumping lineup, said an offensive turnaround is coming.
“Somebody’s going to have to pay for it,” Gonzalez said. “Sooner or later somebody’s going to come in here and we’re going to score 10 runs a game for two or three weeks. That’s my mindset I’ve got going on right now.”
The Giants’ only runs in their first two wins of the series came on five solo homers. They found another way to score in the first when Hunter Pence hit a one-out double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Buster Posey’s grounder to first base.
Atlanta’s Evan Gattis was called for catcher’s interference on Posey’s grounder, and the umpires initially ruled Posey was safe at first and Pence had to return to third base. Bochy took advantage of Rule 6.08c, which allows a manager to take the live play instead of the interference ruling.
Jason Heyward hit a sacrifice fly in the Atlanta third. The Giants reclaimed the lead on Crawford’s homer to right-center with two outs in the fourth.
MARLINS 5, DODGERS 4
MIAMI — Jeff Baker hit a winning double off the wall against Jamey Wright (2-2) with two outs in the ninth.
Right fielder Yasiel Puig retreated and made a leaping try for an acrobatic catch but slammed against the fence, and the ball deflected off it and hit him in the face. Puig collapsed to his stomach and was slow to rise; he passed a concussion test and Los Angeles said he is day to day.
Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in three runs for Miami, giving him the NL leads with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs.
METS 5, ROCKIES 1
DENVER — Dillon Gee (3-1) allowed six hits in six innings, extending his scoreless streak to a career-best 16 innings as New York avoided a four-game sweep. He is 13-6 with a 2.66 ERA since last May 30.
After wasting a 6-0 lead in Saturday’s 11-10 loss, the Mets jumped to a 4-0 lead after four innings.
David Wright, Chris Young, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda had RBI doubles — Wright has a .384 average, 10 homers and 40 RBIs in 138 at-bats at Coors Field.
PHILS 1, NATIONALS 0
PHILADELPHIA — Roberto Hernandez (2-1) allowed four hits in 7 1-3 innings.
Jimmy Rollins hit a one-out triple in the first and scored on Chase Utley’s single off Gio Gonzalez (3-2), who gave up four hits and struck out seven in 7 1-3 innings.
Mike Adams and Antonio Bastardo each got an out in the eighth, and Jonathan Papelbon finished for his ninth save.
REDS 4, BREWERS 3
CINCINNATI — Chris Heisey scored from first on Todd Frazier’s 10th-inning double into the left-field corner off Tyler Thornburgh (3-1). Cincinnati took three of four against Milwaukee, which is still a big league-best 21-11.
Brandon Phillips greeted reliever Brandon Kintzler with a tying 425-foot homer to center in the eighth, Phillips’ first home run since April 5.
BLUE JAYS 7, PIRATES 2
PITTSBURGH — Colby Rasmus hit a grand slam and Melky Cabrera added a two-run homer. Toronto jumped ahead 6-1 after wasting a 5-3, ninth-inning edge in the series opener and a 5-0, fourth-inning advantage Saturday night.
Dustin McGowan (2-1) pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, allowing one run and striking out five as the Blue Jays won for just the fourth time in 13 games.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and first base coach Rick Sofield were ejected by plate umpire Greg Gibson at the end of the fourth for arguing a called third strike on Jordy Mercer. Edinson Volquez (1-3) gave up six runs and seven hits in five innings.
PADRES 4
DIAMONDBACKS 3
SAN DIEGO — Cameron Maybin reached base after an overturned umpire’s call, then scored on Yonder Alonso’s slow grounder in the ninth off Oliver Perez (0-1) as San Diego stopped a four-game losing streak. Maybin started the winning rally with a chopper to second and was initially called out before the call was overturned on a video review.
WHITE SOX 4, INDIANS 3
CLEVELAND — Dayan Viciedo hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning off John Axford, lifting the Chicago White Sox over the Cleveland Indians 4-3 and stopping a four-game losing streak.
Corey Kluber struck out a career-high 13 in eight innings, including a team-record seven straight. He allowed one run, three hits and two walks, leaving with a 3-1 lead.
RAYS 5, YANKEES 1
NEW YORK — Wil Myers had a three-run, inside-the-park homer on a drive off the top of the center-field fence and drove in four runs.
Erik Bedard (1-1) earned his first win as a starter since last June, allowing one run and six hits in six innings to help the Rays finish a 5-5 trip.
CC Sabathia (3-4) gave up 10 hits and five runs in 3 2-3 innings, his shortest start since lasting 2 2-3 innings on Oct. 2, 2009, at Tampa Bay. He was late covering first on a potential double play in the fourth and heard some boos from the crowd of 41,122 during an outing that raised his ERA to 5.75.
A’s 3, RED SOX 2
BOSTON — Yoenis Cespedes drove in the go-ahead run on an infield single with the bases loaded in the 10th off Chris Capuano (1-1) as Oakland averted a three-game sweep and completed a 5-5 trip. The hit drove in Jed Lowrie, who had doubled with two outs.
Jim Johnson (3-2) got a double-play grounder by Jonny Gomes to end the ninth and worked the 10th.
RANGERS 14, ANGELS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Prince Fielder had a pair of RBI doubles that ended a drought of 39 at-bats without an extra-base hit.
Yu Darvish (2-1) shrugged off first-inning homers by Erick Aybar and Albert Pujols to get his first victory since April 6 at Tampa Bay. He allowed three runs, seven hits and no walks in 6 1-3 innings with nine strikeouts.
J.P. Arencibia hit his first homer and Michael Choice added a three-run drive for Texas.
TIGERS 9, ROYALS 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Justin Verlander (4-1) took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and won his fourth straight decision, helping Detroit complete a three-game sweep and extend its winning streak to a season-high five games.
Billy Butler singled to right on a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the sixth, leaving him with a .432 average in 74 at-bats against the Detroit ace,
Nick Castellanos and Alex Avila homered for the Tigers, who had 16 hits, and Torii Hunter had three hits and three RBIs.
Jason Vargas (2-1) gave up seven runs and 11 hits in five innings.
TWINS 5, ORIOLES 2
MINNEAPOLIS — Phil Hughes (3-1) gave up two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings to win his third straight start. After a single by Nick Markakis starting the game, Hughes retired his next 14 batters.
Miguel Gonzalez (1-3) allowed three runs, six hits and four walks in 4 2-3 innings. Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki hit two-run doubles.
Twins first baseman Joe Mauer left in the top of the third with lower-back spasms and is day to day.
MARINERS 8, ASTROS 7
HOUSTON — Robinson Cano and Willie Bloomquist each drove in two runs, and Seattle pulled away in a four-run third and dropped Houston to a big league-worst 10-21.
Bloomquist broke a 1-all tie with a two-run double against Collin McHugh (2-1) and Cano followed with his first triple since June 3, 2012.
Brandon Maurer (1-0) allowed four runs and six hits in five innings for his first win since Sept. 28 against Oakland. Danny Farquhar allowed one run in two innings for his first save since that same game last autumn.