Series Preview: San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves

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ATLANTA, GA – JUNE 22: Pinch runner Danny Santana #23 of the Atlanta Braves scores under the tag of catcher Nick Hundley #5 of the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning while home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott #81 looks on during the game at SunTrust Park on June 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco Giants head east to Atlanta where they will begin a 10-game road trip after winning their fourth consecutive series.

Despite all of the injuries, it’s been an exciting few weeks for the Giants as they’ve started winning some ball games and now are a game over .500.

This road trip starts in Atlanta where they’ll face a very young team in the Braves. Then they’ll face another up-and-coming NL East team in the Philadelphia Phillies. The road trip ends in Pittsburgh against a Pirates team that has exceeded expectations so far this year.

The Braves offense leads the National League in runs scored, and they are tops in all of baseball in batter average and on-base-percentage (coming into Thursday). So this will be a huge test for the Giants banged up starting rotation.

Atlanta will be coming home after a long 10-game road trip that ended Thursday afternoon in New York against the Mets.

While I think many would consider the Giants to be more of a Wild Card contender than the Braves because of the Giants’ experience and Braves lack off, but I wouldn’t be surprised if both of these teams are competing for a Wild Card spot come September.

That makes this series even more intriguing for the Giants to see where they stack up against the competition. They’ve beaten the Angels, Nationals and Dodgers as of late — all of which are considered playoff contenders — so beating the Braves would add another one to their resume.

Let’s get into the matchups:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 28: Chris Stratton #34 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the top of the first inning during game one of a doubleheader at AT&T Park on April 28, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Game One: Chris Stratton vs. Mike Foltynewicz

Stratton had been brilliant all season until his most recent start when he gave up 6 runs in 1.1 innings pitched against the Dodgers. Before that he had gone at least 5 innings in every start this year without allowing more than 3 runs in any start.

Foltynewicz has yet to give up more than 2 runs in a game he’s started this year, but he also hasn’t gone more than 6 innings in a start. While the flamethrower has great stuff, he has trouble putting away hitters and often exits early because of a high pitch count.

If the Giants hitters can be patient and battle Foltynewicz at the plate, they can give him another early exit.

Brandon Belt has owned Folty in his career with five hits in 12 at-bats against him with 3 home runs. Brandon Crawford has had even more success with six hits in 12 at-bats with 3 home runs, and we all know he needs to get going.

Nick Hundley also has five hits against Folty, so it will be interesting to see if he gets the start over Buster Posey who is 2-for-6 against the Braves righty.

The Braves roster has two at-bats against Stratton and they are 0-for-2 with 2 strikeouts. Hopefully their lack of experience against Startton will catch them off guard and he can silence the hot bats in Atlanta.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 29: Ty Blach #50 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at AT&T Park on April 29, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Game Two: Ty Blach vs. Brandon McCarthy

Some places have McCarthy going on Sunday, but I would be surprised if he didn’t pitch on Saturday. The veteran has been great for Atlanta this year as they’ve won five of his first six starts this season.

On the mound for the Giants will by Blach who has had some up-and-down performances so far this year. He’s given up three runs or less in six of his seven outings this year, which is what you expect from your fifth starter; although with all of the injuries he’s quickly moving up the depth chart.

Braves hitters also aren’t very familiar with Blach as they have just 11 at-bats against him with four hits. Tyler Flowers is the only one with multiple hits.

McCarthy has been around for 12 years so obviously the Giants batters have some experience against them.

Hunter Pence is still receiving at-bats in Triple-A, but he has the most hits against McCarthy with eight.

This is another pitcher that Crawford has good numbers against, so maybe this will be his weekend to break out. He’s 7-for-17 against McCarthy with just one strikeout.

Evan Longoria, who has been red hot lately, is 6-for-20 off the Braves righty with a pair of home runs. Look for him to stay hot this weekend in Atlanta.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 01: Andrew Suarez #59 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the San Diego Padres in the top of the third inning at AT&T Park on May 1, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Game Three: Andrew Suarez vs. TBA

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The Giants will skip Jeff Samardzija to give him an extra day of rest. Instead, Andrew Suarez will pitch in Atlanta on Sunday.

The Giants lefty had a solid outing against the Diamondbacks on April 11. He gave up four runs, but on just four hits, while striking out seven over 5.1 innings.

He lost another tough one this past week 3-2 to the San Diego Padres. In that one he allowed just two runs on four hits with five strikeouts.

Once again, the Braves lineup has zero experience against the Giants starter. That could certainly work to the Giants advantage this weekend.

For the Braves, you could either get a 20-year-old rookie or a 34-year-old veteran. Their Sunday starter is still undetermined at this time, but it will most likely by Anibal Sanchez coming off the disabled list or Michael Soroka.

Sanchez was doing great work for the Braves before getting injured. He’s allowed just two runs in 14 innings pitched this year.

Obviously the Giants have a ton of experience against him. Pence, once again, has done great work going 7-for-21 against Sanchez. Longoria is 6-for-17, while Belt is 3-for-9 and Gregor Blanco is 4-for-7.

Interestingly, not a single Giant has ever homered off Sanchez in 114 at-bats.

As for Soroka, obviously the Giants have no experience against him in the majors as he just made his debut. He was masterful against the Mets this past week giving up one run in six innings pitched.

Next: 3 College Arms San Francisco Giants Should Target in MLB Draft

This should be a very good test for the Giants as they go on the road to face a Braves team that is red hot.

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The San Francisco Giants head east to Atlanta where they will begin a 10-game road trip after winning their fourth consecutive series.

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