SAN FRANCISCO – Anibal Sanchez didn’t have his best command on the mound Wednesday, but he still found a way to help the Atlanta Braves on their march toward the postseason.
Sanchez kept the Braves close with six strong innings, pinch-hitter Tyler Flowers drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth and the Braves moved closer to clinching the NL East with a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants have lost 11 straight games, the longest skid since 1951 for the franchise that moved to San Francisco in 1958.
The Braves reduced their magic number for winning the division to 11 with their fifth straight win, matching their best streak of the season, and they clinched their first winning record since their most recent division title in 2013. Later Wednesday, their magic number was reduced to 10 and their lead over second-place Philadelphia stretched to 7 1/2 games when the Phillies lost to the Washington Nationals. Washington is in third, a half-game behind the Phillies.
“We’ve worked hard to get to this point,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’ve grinded through things to get to that position. We can look to bigger things now.”
Sanchez remains winless in his past seven starts. He gave up one run on six hits and five walks against the Giants, inducing double-play grounders to escape bases-loaded, one-out situations in the first and the fourth innings.
“I didn’t have the same command I’ve had before,” Sanchez said. “The defense has helped me so much, and they got me out of that inning.”
The Giants scored just three runs in the series. They were swept by the Braves in a series of three or more games for the first time since 2011.
“It’s never fun, obviously. Everybody comes out here and puts in the work, grinding daily, trying to do everything we can to win ballgames,” Giants first baseman Brandon Belt said. “These games do matter to us.”
Flowers beat out an infield hit that scored Charlie Culberson from third base with two outs in the ninth to put the Braves ahead. A replay review confirmed first base umpire Jeremie Rehak’s ruling that Belt’s foot was off the bag when Flowers reached first.
“I just don’t get that call was not overturned based on the brief look I had at it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “It shows you how much the call on the field plays.”
Culberson singled leading off the inning against Will Smith (2-3). The former Calhoun (Georgia) High School standout advanced to second on Ender Inciarte’s sacrifice bunt and took third on Dansby Swanson’s grounder.
Culberson was in Wednesday’s starting lineup at third base in place of Johan Camargo, who left Tuesday’s game with left groin tightness.
Dan Winkler (3-0) pitched a scoreless eighth, and Jonny Venters worked a scoreless ninth for his second save.
Derek Holland matched Sanchez, giving up one run in six innings of five-hit ball. He struck out seven and walked one. Over his past six starts, Holland is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 34 innings.
Evan Longoria put the Giants ahead with an RBI single in the third. The Braves drew even in the sixth on Freddie Freeman’s single that scored Ozzie Albies.
Sanchez stayed in the game after Gregor Blanco stepped on his heel when Sanchez was covering first for the first out in the sixth.
“It scared me as soon as it happened, the pain but I wanted to finish the inning,” Sanchez said.
Asked about his team’s potential role as a spoiler, a term he’s bristled at in the past, Bochy said, “I probably prefer ‘disrupters.'”
The Giants, who are four years removed from winning their third World Series title in a five-year span, play nine of their 15 remaining games against contending teams.
“It’s not a great position to be in,” Bochy said, “but it is a motivating thing for the players this time of year when they’re not in it.”
The Braves are off Thursday before beginning a weekend series against the Washington Nationals in Atlanta.