ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves have gotten plenty of attention this season for having a powerful lineup capable of scoring lots of runs.
Right now, the bigger story is that they’re not allowing their opponents to score any.
Spencer Strider struck out 10 batters and allowed one hit in seven innings, and three relievers took it from there as the Braves posted their third straight shutout, beating the San Francisco Giants 4-0 on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Truist Park.
This is the first time since their final three games of 2015, against the St. Louis Cardinals, that the Braves have blanked their opponent in three straight games. Atlanta, which was off Thursday after back-to-back wins against the New York Yankees, 5-0 and 2-0, has five shutouts in its last eight games.
“The pitching has been really good this year,” Strider said. “A lot of people have been critical of it recently, but if you play 162 games, I think you’re going to see a little bit of everything. We were due for a little bit of a lull, but everybody’s right back where they’ve been all year.”
Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Eddie Rosario each drove in a run as the Braves improved to 79-42, adding a win to a record that was already the best mark in Major League Baseball this season. Harris went 4-for-5 with a double and a triple, raising his season batting average eight points to .291.
“It feels good to be able to help the team in any way,” Harris said. “There’s times that you go through stretches that aren’t in your favor, but that’s baseball. You’ve got to push through it and fight, but it feels good, I guess, when you’re producing runs and getting on base for your teammates.”
Strider (14-4), a first-time MLB All-Star this year and last season’s National League rookie of the year runner-up to Harris, broke a tie with three other pitchers to take the MLB lead in victories. He was coming off a 6-0 victory in which gave up three hits in seven innings against the host New York Mets last Saturday.
Strider also added to his MLB-leading strikeout total of 227, which is 40 more than second-place Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays. Routinely touching 98 and 99 mph with his four-seam fastball, Strider retired the first nine batters he faced with six strikeouts before walking LaMonte Wade Jr. to begin the fourth inning. Two batters later, Wilmer Flores hit a single for the Giants’ first hit.
It was the 16th double-digit strikeout performance of Strider’s career and his 10th this season.
San Francisco, which managed just two hits after going 5-for-44 with runners in scoring position during a six-game homestand that ended Wednesday, began the night 1 1/2 games up for an NL wild-card berth in the playoffs but has won just 10 of its past 27 games. The Giants have dropped 11 of 12 on the road and were held to one run or fewer for the 28th time this season, third-most in the majors.
Alex Cobb (6-5) began the game 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three career starts against the Braves before he allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. Cobb has a 7.59 ERA in four starts this month.
A single by Harris made it 4-0 in the sixth. The Braves went up 3-0 in the second when he tripled with two outs and scored on Riley’s double. Atlanta took a 2-0 lead in the first on Olson’s fielder’s choice grounder and Rosario’s single.
Braves relievers Joe Jiménez and A.J. Minter and closer Raisel Iglesias, pitching in a nonsave situation, limited San Francisco to two baserunners. Iglesias faced the minimum in the ninth.
“The bullpen has been really good,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We had a rough stretch with the rotation now a little over a week ago for a period, but it’s just one of those where you work through it and kind of stay the course. If you can handle it, good things are on the other end, and now we’re kind of seeing that.”
Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.
Atlanta right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. had to switch gloves before the top of the ninth. Umpires convened on the infield, and then first base umpire D.J. Reyburn spoke with Snitker before Acuña had to change his glove.
“They said he had some sticky stuff on the back of his glove,” Snitker said. “He noticed it and touched it and noticed it was sticky, but it wasn’t doing anything to the ball, so he had to replace the glove.”
San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler missed the game to serve a one-game suspension for returning to the dugout area after he was ejected Tuesday in a home victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Bench coach Kai Correa and pitching coach Andrew Bailey combined to serve as interim manager.
Before the game, Atlanta second baseman Ozzie Albies, sidelined the last three games by a a strained left hamstring, did some running on the field.
“Hopefully, making progress, that’s the big thing,” Snitker said. “I know he’s going to be very diligent in his treatments and all that.”
When the series continues Saturday night, both teams will start right-handers as San Francisco’s Logan Webb (9-9, 3.26 ERA) and Atlanta’s Yonny Chirinos (5-5, 5.22) take the mound.