But for the Braves, the Giants ace was just the latest.
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“He’s one of the best pitchers in the game and he definitely showed it today”, said Freeman, who had hit a walk-off homer the previous night.
Braves: 2B Gordon Beckham left the game with a left hamstring strain after hitting into a double play in the sixth. Acquired as part of the Shelby Miller/Dansby Swanson trade last offseason, Blair was hammered for nine runs in 1 1/3 innings May 17 at Pittsburgh but has allowed three earned runs or fewer in his other five starts.
“That’s the best I felt all year”, Bumgarner said.
Here’s one of the most unbelievable stats I’ve seen in a long time. “They’re tough for everybody”.
Pence returned to full-time duty last Friday after being held out of the lineup for six consecutive games and had played without incident since then.
ATLANTA: The Braves have dropped 16 of 52 overall and 15 of 2 at home.
Bumgarner also struck out 11 in 7 2/3 shutout innings for his sixth consecutive win, lowering his ERA to 1.91.
Jarrett Parker replaced Pence in right field in Thursday’s lineup against the Atlanta Braves.
After getting just a Tyler Flowers walk in the fourth and a Daniel Castro single in the seventh after that first inning, the Braves threatened in the eighth, but came up empty again.
Pence was injured while running out a grounder during Wednesday’s loss against the Atlanta Braves. He has started games at second base, third base and shortstop this season.
Catcher Buster Posey said Bumgarner’s outing was among his top performances this season. “It just didn’t work out”. They’re 38-18 in Bumgarner’s last 56 starts, are 36-17 in his last 53 road starts, and are a flawless 7-0 in his last seven outings following a quality start in his last appearance.
D’Arnaud, though, continued to prove a bright spot as he improved to 14 for 39 (.358) vs. left-handed pitchers and reached base three times in his first dealings with the Giants’ ace.
“Yeah. that was a tough one for me”, said Posey, with a tired smile. “As good as I can”, he said. “I tried to keep it really simple”.
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“No question he got us going”, Bochy said of Bumgarner’s blast. “We’re in the big leagues”. His book, ‘Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told, ‘ is out now, and ‘The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners’ will be released November 1, 2016.
