ATLANTA - Joc Pederson may play baseball for a living, but he felt like an elite NFL wide receiver Friday night when he made a game-saving grab for the Atlanta Braves.
Jorge Soler hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning, and Pederson made a leaping catch at the wall for the final out as the Braves rallied to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 on Friday night.
Wilmer Flores led off the ninth inning with a home run against Braves closer Will Smith to trim Atlanta's lead to one, but Smith got a groundout and a strikeout before Tommy La Stella drove a high fly to the warning track in right field. Pederson overran it slightly but reached back as he jumped into the wall and held on to complete Smith's 29th save this year.
A video review confirmed the catch was good, and Atlanta came back from two days of rest - after consecutive losses to the New York Yankees - to win for the 17th time in their past 21 games. The Giants had won five in a row before dropping the opener of this three-game series at Truist Park.
"I did my best Davante Adams impression," Pederson said, comparing himself to the Green Bay Packers playmaking wideout. "I went up and came down with the ball. 'It's a catch!'"
Perhaps most impressive was Pederson's ability to keep the ball as it appeared to be on the verge of escaping the palm of his glove as he fell to the warning track.
"It was truly an incredible play," Soler said through a translator.
Said Braves manager Brian Snitker: "I had to look at it on the replay to see it for sure. I asked Joc when he came through, 'Did you catch that?' He said, 'Yeah, I caught it.'"
Giants third baseman Kris Bryant was pulled after a 35-minute rain delay in the first inning due to right side tightness. Manager Gabe Kapler said the decision was made prior to the delay, and that the team would have more on the 2016 National League MVP's status Saturday.
Buster Posey hit a two-run homer in his return to San Francisco's lineup from injury, and the Giants led 4-2 before the Braves rallied with four runs in the seventh. After Ozzie Albies' RBI double off Tony Watson (5-4) trimmed the Giants' lead to one, Soler hit Zack Littell's first pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run lead.
Celebrating with his teammates in the Braves' dugout, Soler pulled off his batting helmet to reveal a "Soler Power" headband. Acquired from the Kansas City Royals at the MLB trade deadline late last month, Soler has 19 homers this season, including six in 23 games with Atlanta.
Adam Duvall, another deadline pickup, also homered for the Braves in a matchup of National League division leaders. The Giants began the night 2 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the West. The Braves were 5 1/2 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the East.
"We were able to shut the door on one of the best teams in baseball," Pederson said. "That's a very big win for us."
Posey, a native of Leesburg, Georgia, was back for the Giants after missing two games with discomfort in his left knee. The veteran catcher lifted a first-inning fastball from Max Fried high toward the right-field foul pole. Fried watched with an incredulous look as the ball remained fair and fell into the first row in the seats beyond right field.
Posey's homer drove in Austin Slater, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the game.
Kevin Gausman allowed two runs on six hits in six innings in his first start against the Braves since pitching for Atlanta in 2018-19.
"I think he was trying to find his rhythm early. I don't think he had it," Kapler said, with the Giants skipper adding "he got better as the game went on."
A.J. Minter (2-4) pitched a scoreless seventh in relief of Fried, who allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings.
After the first-inning delay, Dansby Swanson's infield hit loaded the bases with two outs, but Gausman ended the inning on Travis d'Arnaud's grounder to first base.
The Braves reinstated outfielder Eddie Rosario from the 10-day injured list, and outfielder Abraham Almonte was designated for assignment. Rosario was recovering from an abdominal strain when acquired from the Cleveland Indians at the trade deadline and completed a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Atlanta right-handed pitcher Ian Anderson, who has been on the injured list since July 13 with right shoulder inflammation, is expected to be activated to start Sunday's series finale. Anderson is 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 18 starts this year.