Field Level Media
Sep 11, 2018
Ozzie Albies doubled, tripled, scored twice and drove in a run Monday night as the visiting Atlanta Braves continued a successful Western swing with a 4-1 victory over the tailspinning San Francisco Giants.
The win, Atlanta's third in a row and fourth in five games on a seven-game trip to Arizona and San Francisco, pushed the Braves five games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.
The Phillies were rained out at home Monday against the Washington Nationals.
The Giants took their ninth consecutive loss.
A pitchers' duel between Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb and Giants righty Dereck Rodriguez produced a 1-1 tie into the seventh inning. Albies then led off with a double then went to third on a throwing error by San Francisco center fielder Gorkys Hernandez.
Dansby Swanson's sacrifice fly then gave the Braves the lead for good at 2-1. The run was unearned.
Atlanta added two runs in the ninth when Kurt Suzuki doubled and scored on a triple by Albies, who was brought home by a Swanson sacrifice bunt.
The two RBIs by Swanson raised his season total to 57, a career high.
A.J. Minter threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth with two strikeouts for his 14th save.
Newcomb (12-8) worked the first six innings, limiting the Giants to one run on three hits. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter.
The lone San Francisco run came in the third inning when Hernandez singled, was sacrificed to second, stole third and scored on a single by Austin Slater.
Rodriguez (6-3) took the loss, just his second since June 9, despite allowing just one earned run (two total) in 6 1/3 innings. He gave up five hits and two walks and struck out three.
Suzuki finished with three hits, including a single that drove in Atlanta's first run in the fourth inning. Freeman had two hits for the Braves, who totaled only seven hits, but four for extra bases.
The Giants, who swept a three-game series at Atlanta in May, managed just three hits, all singles.
--Field Level Media