Braves face tall task of beating Giants' Blach at home (May 27, 2017)
SAN FRANCISCO -- A team that struggles to hit at AT&T Park will encounter a pitcher who has been near-perfect at home when the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants meet for the second time in their three-game series Saturday night.
The Braves scratched out just seven hits and two runs (one unearned) on Friday night, but it was enough to post a 2-0 victory, their sixth straight win in a series opener.
The victory was just the Braves' second in their last six games in San Francisco, a stretch during which they've scored only 11 runs.
They've never seen Giants left-hander Ty Blach during that run, which is probably a good thing. The second-year starter already has established quite a record at home.
Blach (2-2, 4.10 ERA) has pitched well in all four of his home starts this season, allowing just five runs and 17 hits in 26 innings.
When three relief outings are added in, Blach's home ERA (1.59) is the fifth best in baseball this season among pitchers who have made at least four home starts.
Remarkably, the Braves will be seeing a left-handed starting pitcher for just the fourth time all season. They've gone 2-1 with an impressive .299 batting average against lefty starters in the small sample size.
Atlanta had the lefty going Friday night, and he was the difference in the game both on the mound and at the plate.
Jaime Garcia combined with three relievers on a four-hit shutout, and he produced the game's only runs with an RBI single on which a throwing error allowed a second baserunner to score.
"I expect that," Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Garcia's pitching, not his hitting. "It's good to see him coming around."
Seeking a second straight win to start a nine-game trip, Snitker will go with right-hander Mike Foltynewicz, who enjoyed his last visit to San Francisco.
The 25-year-old swept the Giants in two games last season, including a 3-1 victory at AT&T Park in August in which he allowed just one run and five hits in 7 2/3 innings, his second-longest outing of the season.
Foltynewicz (3-4, 3.86) enters the game on a bit of a roll, having won his last three starts while allowing a total of just five runs.
He hasn't had a bad start on the road all season, having compiled a 2.55 ERA -- the 14th best in baseball -- in five outings, including four starts.
Foltynewicz will see a Giants team that's struggling offensively. The shutout in Friday's series opener was their fifth of the season, and they've been held to six runs during their four-game losing streak.
He's 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA in four career starts against the Giants.
San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy was expecting more from his team than he got in Friday's loss.
"We're in this offensive struggle right now," Bochy noted after the opener of his team's six-game homestand. "I thought we'd come home and gets some rips in, but it didn't happen. Their guy was good."
One Giant who got his rips in Friday night was third baseman Eduardo Nunez, who had two of the team's four hits while extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
