SAN FRANCISCO – Maybe Matt Moore really did ignite something with his near no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Giants came home to AT&T Park Friday night and looked like a real contender, punishing the lowly Atlanta Braves, 7-0, behind Jeff Samardzija to forge just their third two-game winning streak since the second half started with a second straight shutout.
There was a bouquet of positive signs in the victory, too. The Giants scored three runs in the first inning for the first time since May 28, and had a 5-0 lead after two. They received another solid outing from Samardzija, who didn’t give up any home runs and strung together seven zeros despite some early wobbles. The Giants played errorless ball for the 11th straight game, and Brandon Crawford exhibited particularly fine defensive wizardry at short. Brandon Belt, Denard Span, Buster Posey all had two-hit games, and Angel Pagan whacked his ninth home run.
So, are happy days finally here again for the Giants, and can they make it three in a row for the first time since the All-Star break? Huge question. Jake Peavy gets the ball Saturday night and will be counted on to keep this mini-roll rolling, and if you can’t beat up on the worst team in baseball – the Braves are now a ghastly 47-82 – who are you going to beat up on?
The game hardly started as if it would be a laugher, though. Samardzija surrendered a double to Ender Inciarte to open the game, and after Inciarte was thrown out at third base by Crawford trying to advance on a grounder, Freddie Freeman doubled off the right field wall to put runners at second and third with one out. But Samardzija toughened up and struck out Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis to escape the jam.