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If Tyler Beede needed consolation, it didn’t matter how many runs he allowed Friday. If the Giants aren’t going to score — or really threaten — the Giants’ pitching becomes moot.
Until Stephen Vogt’s ninth-inning single, Mike Yastrzemski was the only Giant to record a hit — though he broke out for three of them, including a smart bunt down the third-base line. Apart from that, the Giants’ bats were not as hot as the weather in Atlanta, getting shut down in a 6-0 loss that officially eliminated the Giants from playoff contention.
Beede, who had engendered such good feeling that he was finally putting it together after back-to-back solid starts, came apart again. He lasted six innings of six-run ball, his mistakes winding up in the seats against a powerful Braves lineup. The perpetual tease teased again, a solid changeup but too many misplaced pitches.
Atlanta’s top two — Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies — were perpetual menaces, both getting on in the first and both chancing their way to third and second after Albies’ gap single. In the third, Albies singled in Acuna for a 2-0 lead, which might as well have been 20-0 the way Mike Foltynewicz was pitching.
The hot-and-cold Atlanta starter was sizzling, throwing a no-hitter to the non-Yastrzemski batters through eight innings while walking one and striking out seven.
The lead got more daunting in the fifth, when Acuna launched a two-run shot to make it 4-0. It became just about insurmountable in the sixth, when Brian McCann’s two-run shot wound up in the seats.
Losing a game to the NL East champs doesn’t hurt much. Losing Kevin Pillar would have — but Bruce Bochy said he’s OK.
Kevin Pillar es su propio tipo de "Super Man." ??? #LasMayores pic.twitter.com/lDAEvHTwRi
— LasMayores (@LasMayores) September 21, 2019
There was concern for the the dive-friendly center fielder, whose breakneck style of play has quickly made him a Giants fan favorite, after he robbed Nick Markakis of a hit in the sixth, ranging far to his right and laying out on a play that has almost become routine for him. Pillar took his at-bat the following inning, but was removed in the bottom of the seventh, as Yastrzemski shifted over and Jaylin Davis played right.
Bochy told reporters they just wanted to give Pillar a break and Davis an at-bat.
With 2,000 wins behind Bruce Bochy, the next goal would be for the 2019 Giants to hit .500. Another loss, dropping them to 74-80 with eight games to play, makes that aim a little further away.
The Giants’ only threat came in the third, when Mauricio Dubon reached on a Dansby Swanson error and Yastrzemski bunted his way on with one out. But Brandon Belt flew out and Evan Longoria struck out for his third at-bat in a row to keep the game at 1-0 Braves.
Atlanta is the Giants’ — and Bochy’s — final road stop on the season. The Braves acknowledged the retiring legend, and their fans gave him a standing ovation.
The @Braves honor @SFGiants manager Bruce Bochy in his last series in Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/o1oE9rbmmh
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) September 20, 2019