Atlanta Braves silenced by Tim Lincecum and San Francisco Giants in series opener

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Coming off of a three-game sweep over the Chicago Cubs this weekend, the Atlanta Braves were riding high as they arrived in San Francisco to face off with the Giants. However, that positive mojo was silenced a bit on Monday night, as the road team fell by a score of 4-2.

The first six innings of the night went quite well for starting pitcher Gavin Floyd, and that remains one of the few positives from Monday night. Floyd allowed only a 2nd-inning home run to Tyler Colvin over those first six frames, and the right-hander even struck out five batters over his first three innings.

Unfortunately, the wheels careened off the wagon in the 7th, as Floyd allowed a lead-off single before an error on Freddie Freeman brought the aforementioned Colvin to the plate again. For the second time, Colvin put the screws to Floyd, and his 2-run triple broke the game open in favor of San Francisco. Former Braves infielder Brandon Hicks followed the Colvin triple with an RBI single of his own, and with the score at 4-1, the game was effectively over.

Offensively, things were (once again) ugly for Atlanta. Tim Lincecum began the night with four no-hit innings (not a misprint) that featured six strikeouts, and only a solo home run from B.J. Upton blemished the scoreboard. There was a bit of controversy surrounding Upton later in the game, as he doubled before being thrown out (after review) while trying to steal third base in 7th inning, but even if that call went the “right” way for the Braves, it wouldn’t have saved the offense on this night.

It was a true throwback effort from Lincecum, as the former Cy Young award winner struck out 11 batters in his nearly 8-inning masterpiece. In fairness to Atlanta’s bats, this was about as good as Lincecum can look with his somewhat limited arsenal at this stage of his career, but getting dominated in this fashion is never a positive outcome. Freddie Freeman did add a solo home run to lead of the ninth inning (God bless him) and B.J. Upton had a positive night, but mostly, this was a game that lacked offensive firepower for the good guys.

The Atlanta Braves will have a quick turnaround, as they square off with Ryan Vogelsong (another pitcher who appears hittable on paper) and company on Tuesday night in San Francisco. Hopefully, the offense will have an awakening when the two teams reconvene. Stay tuned.