The first two games of the series have produced a pitching duel and a slugfest. Who knows what’s in store when the Atlanta Braves host the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night in the third game of their four-game set?
The Braves won the opener 2-1 Monday on a walkoff single. San Francisco evened the series with a 12-10 victory on Tuesday, which ended Atlanta’s eight-game home winning streak. Both teams are 7-3 over their past 10 games.
The pitching matchup for Wednesday will feature a pair of veterans. Atlanta right-hander Charlie Morton (4-3, 5.08 ERA) will oppose San Francisco left-hander Carlos Rodon (6-4, 2.84).
Morton pitched one of his better games in his most recent start, on Friday at the Chicago Cubs. He threw seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, but he did not earn a decision in a 1-0 loss that ended his team’s 14-game winning streak.
Morton has made 14 career starts against San Francisco, going 4-5 with a 2.55 ERA. He lost his only start against the Giants last season, giving up two runs in five innings.
Rodon has a two-game winning streak during which time he’s worked a 14 scoreless innings and has given up four hits, with 16 strikeouts. He beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 Friday when he threw eight shutout innings and came close to a complete game.
“My younger self would have been, ‘I want to go back out,'” Rodon said afterward. “But the season is a marathon. I’m throwing again in five days. I want to be ready when I have to face Atlanta.”
Rodon has never pitched against the Braves.
San Francisco got a lift on Tuesday from two players who had been struggling. Austin Wynns, who entered the game 5-for-21 to start his career with the team, had the first three-hit game of his career and four RBI. Mike Yastrzemski, who entered the game 1-for-16 in the previous six games, had a two-run double that put the Giants ahead to stay.
The Giants likely will be without shortstop Brandon Crawford, who as shaken up on a play at the plate on Tuesday. He left the game and was diagnosed with a left-knee contusion. He will have an MRI on Wednesday and could miss a couple of games.
Atlanta continues to hit home runs. The Braves hit four on Tuesday — two by Matt Olson and one each from Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna – and have a National League-high 105 this season.
“It’s a good lineup,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We were up 7-6 and it was like, we need to keep scoring. Just didn’t work.
“We continued to score (on Tuesday). I mean, it’s always tough when you have a short start like that. It’s the kind of thing that everything you talked about goes out the window and it becomes more of a survival mode.”
Alanta rookie Michael Harris II went 1-for-3 and is 7-for-14 with a triple, home run, two RBI and three runs over the last four games.
–Field Level Media
