Giants 6, Braves 1
ATLANTA -- Madison Bumgarner came into Wednesday night's start against the Braves with a 4.50 road ERA, but pitching at Turner Field is like a home game for the San Francisco ace from North Carolina.
Bumgarner struck out nine in 7 1/3 dominant innings to improve to 12-6 as the Giants defeated the Braves 6-1 to take the three-game series.
The left-hander is 4-1 in five starts in Atlanta, including the clinching victory in the 2010 National League Division Series.
Bumgarner allowed seven hits and didn't walk a batter, lowering his ERA to 3.28 in the 116-pitch outing. He had gone 19 1-3 consecutive innings at Turner Field without allowing an earned run until catcher Ryan Lavarnway followed a single by second baseman Jace Peterson with an opposite double in the seventh inning.
Giants second baseman Kelby Tomlinson, making his first major league start, drove in three runs with two singles to start his career 3-for-3 after a pinch-double in the series opener, and catcher Buster Posey had hits in his first three at-bats to back Bumgarner.
With the victory, the Giants remained two games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and took the season series from the Braves 4-3 after a four-game split earlier in San Francisco.
Williams Perez (4-2) allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings in San Francisco on May 30 for his first major league victory. The Giants, though, got to the rookie right-hander for 10 hits in six-plus innings this time, with five of the six runs earned.
Perez left after giving up a two-run double to third baseman Matt Duffy. Right fielder Hunter Pence delivered an RBI single off reliever Jake Brigham to put the Giants even farther ahead.
The Braves got more than one runner on base against Bumgarner just twice, the first time in the sixth when Nick Markakis doubled and left fielder Jonny Gomes singled too sharply for the Braves right fielder to score.
Markakis led off the game with a single up the middle, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. Then Bumgarner retired 11 straight before first baseman Chris Johnson lined a hit to center field with two outs in the fourth.
Perez, who gave up four runs before getting an out in his return from the disabled list last Friday in Philadelphia, retired the Giants in order in the first inning.
In the second, though, he hit first baseman Brandon Belt with a pitch with two outs and Perez then gave up consecutive singles to shortstop Ehire Adrianza and Tomlinson. One of the two runs driven in by Tomlinson was unearned because Adrianza moved up on a bobble by center fielder Eury Perez.
Adrianza and Tomlinson struck again in the fourth with a double and RBI single to give Bumgarner a three-run cushion.
NOTES: An MRI on Giants 2B Joe Panik's back confirmed inflammation but showed nothing more serious. He went on the disabled list Monday. ... SS Brandon Crawford was out of the Giants' lineup for a rest, with rookie 2B/SS Ehire Adrianza moving over. ... SS Daniel Castro got his fourth consecutive start for the Braves as Andrelton Simmons remained sidelined by a bone bruise on his right thumb. ... CF Angel Pagan (sore knees) was again out of the Giants' lineup. ... The Giants conclude a 10-game trip with four games in Chicago against the Cubs starting Thursday, with RHP Chris Heston (11-5, 3.24 ERA) the scheduled starter. ... Braves RHP Matt Wisler (5-2, 4.44) will start Thursday in the opener of a four-game home series with Miami. ... SS Elmer Reyes was released by the Braves after more than two months on the restricted list. He was arrested on rape charges in May while on a road trip with Triple-A Gwinnett.