A long West Coast road trip ended for the Atlanta Braves in a 4-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
Charlie Morton’s afternoon began with a 2-2 win over leader LaMonte Wade Jr. Morton rebounded and pulled back the next three sluggers in a row, including a pair of strikeouts. He pulled back the first two racquets in the second before getting back into trouble. JD Davis singled and then advanced to second on a walk by Willie Calhoun. That proved costly as Austin Wynns followed with a single to the right that Davis hit to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.
The Braves responded quickly in the third. Vaughn Grissom worked a lead-off walk and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt that Wynns airmailed into right field. Carlos Rodon beat Marcell Ozuna for the first out, but Robbie Grossman followed up with a single that hit Grissom to level the game.
Morton worked a perfect inning in the third, but the Giants took the lead back in the fourth. David Villar led the inning with a double down the left field line. Morton then hit Brandon Crawford for the first out, but Davis followed with a double to left center gap to make it 2-1.
William Contreras led fifth with a single but was left stranded when Rodon beat Michael Harris and Ozuna while getting Grissom to line up. Rodon would fold after the fifth despite only throwing 71 pitches. He allowed two hits, an unearned run and knocked out eight.
Morton worked a scoreless fifth and came back sixth. He got Joc Pederson flying out to start the inning but then beat Villar and walked out with Brandon Crawford. After a first pitch ball to Davis, Brian Snitker jumped out of the dugout and called Jesse Chavez out of the bullpen, who accompanied Davis to load the bases. Chavez then got Willie Calhoun to jump out for the second out but then allowed a double single from Wynns to extend San Francisco’s lead to 4-1. Snitker would go back to his bullpen for Tyler Matzek, who hit pinch hitter Lewis Brinson to escape with no further damage.
The Braves got a two-out single from William Contreras in the seventh, but Michael Harris rebounded on Scott Alexander to end the inning. Matzek stayed in the game and added two more strikeouts while sequentially retiring the team in the home half of the inning.
Atlanta threatened again in the round of 16 against John Brebbia. Eddie Rosario, pinning for Marcell Ozuna, grabbed a swinging bunt to get things going. Grossman followed with a single down the line on the left to set the tie run on the plate. However, Acuña struck and swung down and away in one punch, and Swanson flew to center to pin the runners.
Jackson Stephens pitched a scoreless inning in the eighth, but Camilo Doval closed the door in the ninth to end the game.
Atlanta falls to 88-55 for the season and is a game behind the Mets pending the outcome of their game with the Cubs. The Braves will enjoy a much-needed day off Thursday before beginning a six-game homestand and three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.