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Giants return to Bay area to host Braves

Apr 22, 2011 - 3:00 PM (Sports Network) - Coming off their most lopsided defeat of the season, the San Francisco Giants return home to AT&T Park to begin a three-game series against the West Coast-visiting Atlanta Braves in the first meeting between the teams since last year's National League Division Series.

In position on Wednesday to sweep the Colorado Rockies, owners of the best record in the majors, the Giants were instead dealt a 10-2 setback for just their second loss in eight games.

Buster Posey, who edged out Atlanta's Jason Heyward for the NL Rookie of the Year last season, drove in both runs for San Francisco, but starter Matt Cain was touched for six runs over 4 2/3 innings. He served up a three-run homer in the second inning that put the Giants in an early hole.

"[Cain] made a mistake there for the three-run homer," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of the pitch he made to the Rockies' Ty Wigginton.

San Francisco turned in its lowest run total since a 6-1 setback to the Dodgers on April 11 despite getting 2010 NLCS MVP Cody Ross in the lineup for the first time this year. Ross had been out with a calf injury and went 0- for-4 in his season debut.

Though Ross returned, third baseman Pablo Sandoval was scratched from Wednesday's lineup because of a strained right triceps suffered during batting practice. Sandoval is hitting .328 on the season and is tied with Pat Burrell for the club lead with five homers and likely benefited from Thursday's off day.

Outfielder Aaron Rowand probably also enjoyed the free day as he played on Wednesday despite a bruised right forearm and left-hander Madison Bumgarner hopes San Francisco is swinging healthy bats tonight as he takes aim at his first victory.

Bumgarner is 0-2 with a 7.36 earned run average over his first three starts and is coming off a no-decision in Arizona on Sunday. He gave up four runs on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings for his longest outing of the season.

The 21-year-old faces the Braves for the first time in the regular season, though he did pick up a win at Atlanta on Oct. 11 in Game 4 to close out the NLDS. Bumgarner gave up two runs over six innings, striking out five while sending former Braves manager Bobby Cox into retirement.

All four games of last year's playoff series were decided by one run after the Braves took four of the seven regular-season meetings.

Atlanta and new manager Fredi Gonzalez can't be worried too much about revenge tonight given that the club has lost six of its last nine games. The Braves dropped three of four to the Dodgers to begin a 10-game road trip out west, losing Thursday's finale, 5-3, in 12 innings.

Freddie Freeman homered and David Ross hit a two-run single with two outs in the top of the ninth to give the Braves a one-run lead, but the Dodgers tied it in the bottom of the frame and then won it on Matt Kemp's walk-off homer in the 12th inning off Cristhian Martinez.

Battling through a 3-for-32 slump, Heyward was held out of the starting lineup on Thursday to rest before coming in as a pinch-runner and remaining in the game.

"There are certain times during the course of the year you have to give a guy a little breather," Gonzalez told Atlanta's website. "A day game with a [left- hander] pitching is a good time."

Heyward is hitting just .188 on the season and went 2-for-16 with eight strikeouts in last year's NLDS, while Posey hit in all four games, going 6- for-16.

Young Braves hurler Tommy Hanson hopes to avoid a fourth loss in five starts when he takes the ball tonight.

The right-hander picked up his first win on April 12 with seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball versus the Marlins, but then suffered another defeat on Sunday against the Mets. Hanson allowed three runs on five hits over five innings, striking out nine in a 3-2 loss. Two of the runs the 24-year-old gave up came in the first inning and may have cost him a win.

"Just took a little bit to get going there," Hanson said about his first- inning struggles. "A couple pitches I made that inning didn't help. I felt really good today."

Hanson, who has a 3.86 ERA on the season, is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two career regular-season starts versus the Giants and did not factor into last year's Game 2's 5-4 extra-inning win on Oct. 8 after yielding four runs over four innings.