Gonzalez and Hinske Go Yard to Carry Braves Over Lincecum

The Braves took advantage of a lack of command by Tim Lincecum by taking him deep twice and it was enough to pull out a win. Jair Jurrjens struggled early and wasn’t as sharp but fought hard for six innings and the bullpen backed him for the 3-2 win.

Neither starter began the game well. Jurrjens left several balls up in the first inning and the Giants began with a single and double. Aubrey Huff grounded out to score a run and with a runner on third, Jurrjens got Buster Posey to strike out and Juan Uribe to fly out. The Braves put their first two on with a single and walk, but Lincecum struck out the next three.

The offense continued for the Giants in the second when Andres Torres doubled in a run. The Braves tied it in the home half on a two-run home run by Alex Gonzalez. The Giants threatened in the fifth with a Huff double and he moved to third. With two outs, Jurrjens got Pat Burrell out twice on a strike out that wasn’t called and a pop foul that wasn’t caught. Luckily he got Burrell out a third time on a flyout to end the inning and preserve the tie. The Braves took advantage in the sixth on a solo homer by Eric Hinske that put them ahead. The Giants never threatened again and the home run proved to be the deciding shot.

Luck was on the Braves’ side as Jurrjens gave up five doubles and seven hits total but only two runs in six innings. He walked three and struck out three, so he wasn’t sharp at all but he was able to work the plate better in the later innings and didn’t let his early-inning struggles do him in. It also helped that the Giants couldn’t drive in a run to save their lives. Jonny Venters pitched again and did so perfectly in the seventh, striking out two. Takashi Saito pitched for a second straight game and did so perfectly in the eighth. Billy Wagner gave up a hit and was hit pretty hard but held it down for the save.

All three runs came from long balls by Gonzalez and Hinske. Hinske’s snapped a 0-17 skid he was on. Omar Infante picked up two singles and Jason Heyward recorded a double and walk. The Braves reached base nine times off Lincecum, who had zero command of his breaking ball and got away with a floating changeup. Because of this, he threw what seemed like 98% fastballs, most of which were left up at a not-so-great velocity. Gonzalez’s home run came on a breaking pitch left up. Hinske’s came on a high fastball. They weren’t outstanding with the high pitches by any means (Chipper Jones couldn’t get around on anything), but they did enough for the win and that’s all you can ask for against even an off Lincecum.

The Phillies defeated the Marlins in a wild contest, so the Braves remain ahead by two games.