Braves blanked by Giants as NL East lead over Phillies dwindles to one game

AP photo by Jeff Chiu / The San Francisco Giants' Curt Casali hits a two-run single in front of Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud during the fourth inning of Saturday night's game in San Francisco.
AP photo by Jeff Chiu / The San Francisco Giants' Curt Casali hits a two-run single in front of Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud during the fourth inning of Saturday night's game in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO - Alex Wood just wanted to find a nice rhythm on the mound again in his return from a bout with coronavirus, to continue working toward feeling at full strength come playoff time.

Curt Casali hit a two-run single in the fourth inning that held up, Wood made an impressive three-inning comeback from COVID-19, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Saturday night.

Wood struck out four and didn't walk a batter or allow a hit in three scoreless innings, throwing 37 pitches in his first start for San Francisco since Aug. 26. Zack Littell (4-0) relieved and struck out the side in the fourth.

"I could have gone back out for the fourth, but they're looking at the longtime picture as far as the rest of the season and the postseason, and making sure I'm back and good to stay," Wood said. "That was a decision (Giants manager Gabe Kapler) made. But thankful for three innings, thankful for this team win."

It marked a significant step for Wood, who dealt with a fever for seven straight days and was in bed for a full week while his wife also got very sick. He has declined to share his vaccination status.

Kapler hopes to increase Wood's workload his next outing as he continues to regain stamina and strength.

"It represents a light at the end of the tunnel without having to run several bullpen games," Kapler said.

That reliable bullpen has continued to shine regardless of the scenario.

Dominic Leone, who started Wednesday as the opener in a bullpen game, was San Francisco's sixth reliever Saturday as he finished the 2-hour, 40-minute game for his second save this year. It helped the Giants, first in the National League West Division, maintain a two-game edge over the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers.

Atlanta lost for the fourth straight game and had its NL East lead trimmed to one game after the second-place Philadelphia Phillies beat the third-place New York Mets, who are 5 1/2 behind the Braves.

"We were basically in a deadlock for four months of the season and playing behind," Atlanta starter Charlie Morton said. "I really don't think that the challenge is any different in a bad way. If anything, I think we're still in a good spot.

"This is going to happen. We're going to play really good baseball, and we did and we put ourselves in a really good spot. Now we've just got to right the ship."

Morton (13-6) allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks in five innings, but he lost for the first time in his past nine road starts since June 11 against the Miami Marlins.

Seeking his first win against the Giants since beating them on Aug. 20, 2015, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the right-hander came into his outing with a 2.48 ERA against San Francisco for his lowest total versus any MLB club he had faced at least 10 times.

Brandon Belt went 0-for-3 and had his 10-game hitting streak snapped a day after connecting for his career-best 26th home run in San Francisco's 6-5 win in 11 innings.

The Giants also failed to hit a home run for the first time in 13 games, dating to Sept. 5, a span in which they hit 26. It was their longest such streak since a 13-game run from June 25-July 12, 2019.

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