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Giants hope to wrap road trip with series victory in Atlanta

Jun 16, 2013 - 2:16 PM (Sports Network) - Looking to end a nine-game road trip with a winning record, the San Francisco Giants try again to secure a rare series victory in Atlanta as they conclude a three-game series with the Braves.

The Giants sit 4-4 on their swing following Saturday's 6-5 setback that saw the Braves rally for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Evan Gattis got Atlanta's rally off San Francisco closer Sergio Romo started with a pinch-hit walk with one out. Andrelton Simmons then reached base on Joaquin Arias' fielding error before Jason Heyward singled to load the bases.

Romo walked Justin Upton to force in the tying run and Freddie Freeman won the game in walk-off fashion with a run-scoring single that snapped San Francisco's two-game winning streak.

"That's baseball. You can only control certain things," Romo said. "I went out there and tried my best. It didn't go so well. It's never a good feeling when you let your team down."

The Giants, who took three of four at home over the Braves from May 9-12, were looking to win just their third series in Atlanta since 1994 after claiming Friday's opener. They took two of three at Turner Field last season and can still secure two straight series victories in Atlanta for the first time since April 11-12 and June 8-10, 1990.

B.J. Upton hit a pair of homers and had three RBI while scoring three runs for the Braves, who halted their four-game skid. Chris Johnson had an RBI.

"It's good to beat these guys," Johnson said. "They've had our number early in the year at their place."

One day after turning 29 years old, Giants starter Tim Lincecum will be the one trying to get his club a gift tonight with a series victory.

Lincecum snapped a three-start slide with a solid effort versus Toronto on June 4 as he held the Blue Jays to a run and three hits over seven innings. However, the right-hander struggled in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, yielding four runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and two walks in 4 2/3 frames of a loss.

"I was throwing some bad pitches that weren't even near the zone," said Lincecum. "And the ones I did get over there they were able to get good swings on."

That includes opposing pitcher Gerrit Cole, who in his major league debut hit a single off of Lincecum in the second inning that plated the first two runs of the 8-2 decision. Lincecum fell to 4-6 with a 4.70 earned run average in 13 starts this season and 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in six on the road.

The former NL Cy Young Award winner did beat Atlanta on May 12 with seven scoreless innings, striking out seven. He moved to 7-5 in his career when facing the Braves with a 2.99 ERA in 12 starts.

It has been a swing of high and low for Braves starter Julio Teheran, who starts tonight's finale looking to put a rough outing behind him.

The 22-year-old took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of an outing versus Pittsburgh on June 5, striking out 11 before giving up his first hit of the game with two outs in the frame. He also walked two in the 5-0 win, but struggled in an encore performance at San Diego on Monday.

Teheran was handed a 7-6 loss by the Padres and yielded five runs on six hits over six innings. He did not walk a batter, but gave up a pair of home runs in falling to 4-3 on the year with a 3.62 ERA through 12 starts.

Facing the Giants for the first time in his career on May 9, the right-hander yielded three runs over seven innings to pick up a victory.