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More HRs lift Giants to rare sweep in Atlanta

May 4, 2014 - 10:04 PM Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Crawford clubbed a pair of homers and drove in three runs to help the San Francisco Giants secure their first three-game sweep of the Braves in Atlanta in over 25 years with a 4-1 win Sunday at Turner Field.

Crawford's solo shot in the fourth snapped a 1-1 tie, while his two-run blast in the eighth added some insurance for the Giants, who scored all but one of their nine runs in the series via home runs.

Despite going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position Sunday and 0-for-13 with RISP in the series, San Francisco completed its first sweep in Atlanta since taking three straight from June 27-29, 1988.

"Obviously a sweep anywhere on the road is good," Crawford said. "To make the long trip out here and take three wins, it feels great."

Starter Madison Bumgarner (3-3) did his part in extending San Francisco's win streak to five games, as the 24-year-old left-hander fanned nine while giving up just an unearned run on three hits over six frames.

With Bumgarner finished after 95 pitches, Juan Gutierrez, Javier Lopez and Jean Machi combined to keep the Braves off the board over the next two frames before Santiago Casilla spun a 1-2-3 ninth to nail down his first save of the season.

Alex Wood (2-5) went five innings in the start for Atlanta and allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts to absorb the loss.

Chris Johnson collected two of Atlanta's four hits while Jason Heyward drove in the lone run for the Braves, who have lost a season-high six straight games.

"We just can't get anything going really," Johnson said of his team's offensive struggles. "It's frustrating because our pitchers are doing a great job of giving us an opportunity. Our offense is not taking advantage of it."

The Giants grabbed an early edge in the opening frame, and for the first and only time in the series, they didn't require the use of a long ball.

Hunter Pence scorched a one-out double and then moved to third on Wood's wild pitch before crossing the plate on Buster Posey's groundout to first.

Atlanta answered in the third after Ramiro Pena ripped a one-out single and Wood followed with a sacrifice bunt. Bumgarner sprang off the mound to field it, but his throw to first sailed, allowing Pena to race to third while Wood reached first safely.

Heyward then smacked a sacrifice fly to center to plate Pena and tie the game.

The Giants got back to their homer-hitting ways in the fourth when Crawford crushed a two-out, two-strike blast into the first row in right field to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

Atlanta left the potential tying run on third in the fifth and then again in the sixth before Crawford provided his team with some insurance runs in the eighth.

After Brandon Hicks worked a one-out walk, Crawford launched a 2-1 fastball into the seats in right to give the Giants a three-run cushion.

Game Notes

The Giants have homered in 11 straight games, their longest such streak since homering in 14 in a row in 2002 ... Bumgarner snapped a personal three-game losing streak ... San Francisco improved to 15-1 this season when scoring first ... The Giants swept the Braves for the first time ever at Turner Field ... Atlanta has lost six straight games for the first time since an eight-game slide from May 21-28, 2012.