Duvall’s blast, Rosario’s cycle lead Braves past Giants 3-0

BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER

Adam Duvall‘s two-run seventh-inning home run broke open a pitchers duel between Max Fried and Anthony DeSclafani as the Atlanta Braves salvaged the final game of their weekend series with a 3-0 win over the Giants Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park.

©DANIEL GLUSKOTER
Max Fried delivers a pitch while throwing seven shutout innings against the Giants Sunday afternoon during a 3-0 Braves win at Oracle Park.

Atlanta got a stellar pitching performance by starter Max Fried (12-7, 3.31) who scattered three hits over seven shut out innings, striking out five while only walking a batter.

“Fried was nasty. That was as good of a start as we’ve seen all year. He was executing that breaking ball at will, in the zone, out of the zone. He had good life to all of his pitches. I think this is one where you tip your cap to the opposing starting pitcher,” San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said.

The only offense of the game came in the seventh when the Braves were finally able to break thru against DeSclafani, who had only allowed four hits thru the first six innings. Duvall followed a lead-off double by Austin Riley with a 425 foot blast to center field to put Atlanta on the board and abruptly end DeSclafani’s day. It was the 36th homer of the season for the former Giant, a total that trails only Fernando Tatis Jr. in the NL.

“Today, I put our team in a losing spot, and that’s what ultimately matters right now,” DeSclafani said. “Not being able to throw up a zero just hurts. Everything is magnified, but we’re good at putting games behind us.”

The next batter, Eddie Rosario, then rudely greeted reliever Zack Littell with another homer to right field to stretch the lead to three before Luke Jackson and Will Smith each came on to throw shutout innings to seal the win for Atlanta.

©DANIEL GLUSKOTER
Atlanta’s Eddie Rosario signals his approval to the Braves dugout after his seventh inning home run against the Giants. Two innings later he would add a lead-off single to complete the first cycle of his career.

Rosario, in just his 18th game with the Braves after coming over from Cleveland at the trade deadline, added a single leading off the ninth to hit for the cycle, the first time the feat has been accomplished in San Francisco since the A’s Eric Byrnes achieved the statistical rarity in 2003.

With the loss, the Giants lead in the NL West was reduced to a single game over the relentless Dodgers who scored a 8-5 win in Cincinnati behind five strong innings from Clayton Kershaw in his second start since returning from a ten week stint on the injured list. San Francisco’s magic number remains at 11 with 12 games remaining for both teams.

Both the Giants and Dodgers have Monday off for travel. San Francisco will return to action Tuesday for the start of another three game series with the Padres in San Diego. Kevin Gausman (14-6, 2.78) is scheduled to pitch the opener for the Giants against Joe Musgrove (11-9, 2.99) while the Dodgers will be starting a three game series in Denver against the Rockies.

GAME NOTES:

The Giants finished their seven game home stand against San Diego and Atlanta 4-3.

San Francisco’s 227 home runs this season is the second most in the Majors, trailing only the Blue Jays 237. The total is the second highest in team history, trailing only the 2001 Barry Bonds led team that smacked 235.

About Daniel Gluskoter

Daniel Gluskoter is the Martinez Tribune's national music and sports editor and a Bay Area photojournalist who's work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2008 Presidential campaign as a correspondent for United Press International and has travelled worldwide covering events ranging from numerous Super Bowls and Olympics to Live Aid and the Grammys.

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