ATLANTA - R.A. Dickey threw seven scoreless innings, Matt Adams hit another homer and the Atlanta Braves sent the San Francisco Giants to their seventh straight loss, a 9-0 rout Monday night.
The 42-year-old Dickey (5-5) escaped a jam in the first to turn in his strongest outing of the season. He surrendered just three hits and retired 16 of the last 17 hitters he faced.
Of course, it helped to be going against the Giants, whose skid is the longest of a hugely disappointing season. San Francisco dropped to 26-46 and fell a staggering 20 games behind first-place Colorado in the NL West.
Adams homered in the fourth off Johnny Cueto (5-7), driving it deep into the right-field seats. The first baseman added an RBI single in the eighth, sparking a seven-run outburst that made it a rout.
He now has 10 homers and 27 RBIs since being acquired from St. Louis on May 20.
Ender Inciarte drove in Atlanta's first run in the third, doubling to gap in right-center to bring Johan Camargo all the way home from first. Camargo slid around the attempted tag of catcher Buster Posey, who couldn't hang on the ball as he swiped at the diving baserunner.
San Francisco started strong. Denard Span led off a game delayed 44 minutes by rain with a double to left, and Eduardo Nunez reached on an infield single. But Brandon Crawford and Hunter Spence popped out to shortstop, sandwiched around Posey's strikeout, to leave the runners stranded.
Dickey walked one and struck out six. He retired 13 in a row before Posey was hit by a pitch leading off the seventh.
Cueto also went seven strong innings, surrendering five hits and two runs. But the Braves blew it open against San Francisco's bullpen, scoring seven runs with two outs. Dansby Swanson had a two-run single and Danny Santana hit the first pinch-hit homer of his career, a three-run shot off Derek Law.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: OF Jarrett Parker (fractured right clavicle) began a rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Sacramento.
Braves: Micah Johnson could soon be headed for a rehab assignment, and Sean Rodriguez is making big strides in his recovery.
The jack-of-all-trade players have yet to get on the field this season. Johnson sustained a broken left wrist making a diving catch in a spring training game, while Rodriguez sustained a torn left rotator cuff during an offseason car wreck that also injured his wife and two sons.
Johnson is closer to returning, but Rodriguez is aiming to get back on the field before September. Either could step in at second base if Brandon Phillips is traded ahead of the July 31 deadline for non-waiver deals.
UP NEXT
Giants: LHP Matt Moore (2-7, 6.00) gets the start Tuesday night coming off the shortest outing of the season. He gave up eight runs and 11 hits in just three innings at Colorado. San Francisco is 3-11 in Moore's starts, including a current stretch of five straight losses.
Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (6-4, 4.86) makes his sixth career start against the Giants. He is 2-2 with a 3.99 ERA in his previous appearances, the most recent win coming in 2013.