SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Jeff Samardzija and two relievers combined on a seven-hitter, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 7-0 on Friday night.
Angel Pagan homered while Brandon Belt, Denard Span and Buster Posey added two hits apiece for the Giants. San Francisco scored six runs on two-out hits and benefited from three Atlanta errors.
Samardzija (11-9) had an uneven outing and had to pitch out of two early jams to win for only the fourth time since May 30. Samardzija allowed seven hits, walked three and struck out six. He also doubled and scored in the fourth.
Freddie Freeman had two hits for Atlanta, one day after taking a hard fall while flipping over a railing chasing a foul ball.
Hunter Strickland and Cory Gearrin retired three batters apiece for San Francisco.
The Giants benefited from the Braves’ shaky defense to give Samardzija an early cushion.
San Francisco had four consecutive two-out hits off starter Joel De La Cruz (0-7) in the first inning following a throwing error by Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson.
San Francisco went up 5-0 in the second on Pagan’s ninth home run, three batters after Gorkys Hernandez reached on second baseman Jace Peterson‘s fielding error.
Belt, who had an RBI single and scored in the first inning, doubled in Posey in the fifth.
The Braves couldn’t keep up.
Atlanta failed to score in the first after putting runners at second and third with one out. The Braves also came up empty after the first three batters reached base in the second, then ran themselves out of another opportunity in the fourth when Peterson was called out after getting hit by the ball on De La Cruz’s single.
De La Cruz remained winless after allowing seven runs in four innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: Freeman showed no lingering effects after hurting his back during Thursday’s game in Arizona. Freeman doubled in the first inning and reached on an infield single in the fifth.
Giants: Outfielder Hunter Pence was held out after straining his right hamstring a day earlier. Pence is hopeful of returning to the lineup Saturday.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz (6-5) faces the Giants for the second time this season Saturday night. Foltynewicz, who beat San Francisco on May 30, is winless in his last two starts overall.
Giants: RHP Jake Peavy (5-9) returns to the rotation for the first time since being demoted to the bullpen following the trade for Matt Moore on Aug. 1. Peavy last started on May 30 against Washington.
