The San Francisco Giants will send right-hander Hayden Birdsong to the mound to try to end their season-worst five-game losing streak and continue their mastery over the Atlanta Braves when they open a three-game road series on Monday.
The Giants are coming off getting swept by the American League East-leading Blue Jays in Toronto and fell two games behind in the National League wild-card race. Manager Bob Melvin admitted Sunday’s 8-6 loss stung.
“We gave ourselves a chance at the end, but we gave up too many runs in the middle,” Melvin said. “I don’t think there’s any silver linings in this one, just got swept in a series to start the second half and that’s not what we were looking for.”
Atlanta lost its last two games in dropping a home series against the New York Yankees and are 12 games under .500, matching their low mark of the season.
“We’re going to stay confident,” Atlanta pitcher Grant Holmes said after Sunday’s 4-2 loss. “This team we have is a really good team, especially when everything starts to click. We just haven’t gotten on a run yet.”
San Francisco swept Atlanta in a tight three-game series in San Francisco in early June, with each of those games decided by one run.
Birdsong (4-3, 4.11 ERA) will face Atlanta right-hander Bryce Elder (3-6, 5.65).
Birdsong joined the starting rotation on May 20 and will be making his 10th start of the season. He pitched well in his last outing against the Athletics on July 6. He worked five innings and allowed one run on three hits but struggled with control — only 46 of his 90 pitches were strikes — and walked five. He struck out six to match his season high.
One of those starts came against the Braves on June 6 in San Francisco. He pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on two hits, five walks, one hit batsman and five strikeouts.
Elder defeated the host Athletics on July 9 in his last appearance. Elder pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits, one walk and seven strikeouts to earn his first win since May 4.
Elder pitched very well when he faced San Francisco on June 7 — his only career appearance against the Giants — but did not receive a decision after giving up only one run in eight innings with 12 strikeouts.
Although the Braves were beaten on Sunday, they got six innings out of right-hander Holmes and three innings from newly acquired righty Dane Dunning to spare the ravaged bullpen.
“The fact that (Dunning) could come in and cover three innings, I wasn’t sure if he could do that today, but that was huge,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “To just give a blow to the rest of the bullpen this weekend.”
Atlanta burned through six relievers — with five of them allowing runs — on Saturday. None of those were asked to pitch again Sunday because of Dunning’s efforts.
“I don’t think these guys ever forget how to pitch,” Snitker said. “I just think we had a hard time putting innings down against a really good team and in some stressful situations. We just didn’t get the job done.”