As high as the Braves soared during a 7-3 road trip that was capped by a sweep of the Mets in New York, they came home with a thud, getting swept by the Giants in a three-game series that ended with a 4-3 loss Sunday afternoon at SunTrust Park.
Top pitching prospect Mike Soroka gave up seven hits and four runs in four innings in his second major league start and the Braves didn’t muster an extra-base hit until the ninth inning against the surging Giants, who’ve won 11 of their past 14 games.
Kurt Suzuki’s RBI double with one out in the ninth cut the Giants’ lead to 4-2 and Ender Inciarte’s ground out brought in another run before Ozzie Albies popped out foul with a runner at third to end the game.
It’s the first three-game losing streak of the season for the Braves, who only had back-to-back losses twice before this series. The Braves had not been swept and had lost just one of 10 series before the Giants came to town.
The Braves were swept and outscored 24-9 by the Giants, after coming into the series riding a five-game winning streak that included a sweep at New York in which the Braves outscored the Mets 21-2.
After totaling 11 or more hits in four consecutive games to finish the trip, including 22 extra-base hits in that span, the Braves mustered eight or fewer hits in each game against the Giants including six extra-base hits in the entire series.
Braves starters went 12-2 with a 2.41 ERA and .218 opponents’ average in the last 25 games before the Giants series, but were 0-3 with a 13.14 ERA in three games against San Francisco while allowing a 28 hits and 18 earned runs in just 12 1/3 innings. Soroka’s start was the best of the Braves’ three in the series after woeful outings by Brandon McCarthy (3-1/3 innings, 12 hits, eight runs) and Mike Foltynewicz (five innings, nine hits, six runs).
Soroka was terrific in his major league debut Tuesday at New York, allowing six hits and one run with no walks and five strikeouts in six innings. But against the Giants, the leadoff runner reached base in all four innings against him and he wasn’t able to work out of jams in the third and fourth innings, giving up two runs in each of those innings.
Soroka was charged with seven hits, four runs and three walks with three strikeouts, throwing 49 strikes in 84 pitches over four innings.
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