Eased back into action in middle relief Friday night, veteran Craig Kimbrel hopes to help the Atlanta Braves end their five-game losing streak when the struggling club visits the San Francisco Giants for a second consecutive day on Saturday afternoon.
Three innings after Kimbrel threw a shutout seventh frame in his first big-league action of the season, the Giants caught a game-ending break. The Braves’ fourth pitcher, Pierce Johnson, uncorked a wild pitch with two outs and two strikes in the 10th, allowing Tyler Fitzgerald to sprint home on a walk-off wild pitch for a 5-4 Giants win.
Signed to a minor league deal in March after having spent the 2024 season with the Baltimore Orioles, Kimbrel was ready to go on his first day with the Braves after going 1-1 with three saves and a 2.00 ERA in a total of 18 appearances in Double-A and Triple-A this season.
Thrust into a 4-4 game on Friday, Kimbrel did what he did so often in five previous seasons with the Braves to begin his career, tossing a scoreless inning. However, it took catcher Sean Murphy gunning down Heliot Ramos on a steal attempt after a single and Kimbrel picking Jung Hoo Lee off first base after a walk to get through a three-batter inning.
Braves manager Brian Snitker didn’t hesitate to throw the 440-save reliever immediately into the fire in part because he noted Kimbrel got off to a fast start with the Orioles last April, allowing just one run and four hits in his first 10 outings (10 innings).
“Hopefully he can replicate what he did the first half of last year,” Snitker said of the team’s interest in giving Kimbrel, 37, a second go-round. “It would be awesome if he could come in and do that.”
Thanks in part to Kimbrel, the Braves needed just four pitchers to get through the 10 innings in the series opener, while the Giants used seven.
Right-hander Bryce Elder (2-3, 4.56 ERA) is scheduled to start for Atlanta in the rematch. He has gone winless in his past three starts, getting a total of seven runs of support.
His last win came more than a month ago, on May 4 at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 26-year-old hasn’t faced the Giants in his four-year career.
Having a relatively fresh bullpen behind him could benefit Elder, as the Giants have played five consecutive one-run games to start their current homestand, three of which went into extra innings.
San Francisco blew a 3-0 lead Friday, but manager Bob Melvin was happy to walk away with a third straight win despite watching his pitchers walk seven batters, his outfield commit a costly throwing error, and his baserunners get picked off twice and thrown out stealing once.
“But we’re finding a way to win at the end,” he said. “How we did it was a bit unorthodox, but we’ll certainly take it after not playing our cleanest game.”
Right-hander Logan Webb (5-5, 2.55 ERA) will be tasked with keeping the Giants moving in a positive direction. He went unrewarded after throwing eight shutout innings in San Francisco’s 1-0, 10-inning home loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday.
The 28-year-old has no wins in his past three outings, during which he has allowed just six earned runs over 18 innings.
Webb has an impressive history against the Braves: a 4-1 record with a 2.55 ERA in eight lifetime starts.
–Field Level Media
