SF Giants lose opening game of a decisive series after epic pitcher duel

SAN FRANCISCO — The reigning National League Cy Young winner and the favorite to win the award this year met on a chilly night at Oracle Park

The stars aligned for a pitcher’s duel, and Chris Sale and Blake Snell formed a constellation over China Basin. And they did so in a playoff atmosphere against the Braves, who were a game and a half ahead of the Giants in the wild card race.

“Yeah, it felt a little different,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the game. “Especially because of the quality of the pitching. It felt like there was something at stake with every at-bat, every pitch.”

Snell (6 ⅓ IP, 2H, 3BB, 11 K) held the Braves hitless for six innings and recorded his third game with double-digit strikeouts as a Giant. Sale never flirted with a no-no, but lasted longer than Snell and struck out one more batter than the Giants’ left-hander. Snell and Sale combined to strike out 23 batters, marking the first time since 2010 at Oracle Park that both starters recorded double-digit strikeouts.

With their dominant starters ready, the Braves closed in on the Giants, scoring the automatic runner in the 10th inning to beat San Francisco 1-0. To start a decisive series, the Giants (61-60) and Braves combined for 33 strikeouts, with the difference being Travis d’Arnaud’s game-winning sacrifice fly.

The Giants’ defense was cleaner, they had a better run game, and they threw as well as Atlanta, but they still lost early in a series that could have wild-card implications given how messed up the middle of the National League standings is.

“We played a really good game on both sides,” Snell said after the game. “Take your hat off and get ready for tomorrow.”

Both Snell and Sale struck out six batters in the first four innings. Snell brought in just two baserunners during that span and retired every other batter except for walking Jorge Soler twice.

The best scoring opportunity either team had before the starters were finally eliminated came in the first inning, when the Giants sent runners to the corners with no outs after Ramon Laureano ran over a shallow fly and Mark Canha hit a single to center. But Sale effortlessly danced his way out of the jam and found a rhythm.

“When you look at the pitching against us, you just have to try to fight and force a run out,” Melvin said. “It didn’t happen at the beginning, and we couldn’t get any more across at the end.”

Snell threw his first career no-hitter two weeks ago, but was never able to see the game through on Monday. Although he didn’t allow a hit until Marcell Ozuna’s double in the seventh inning, he didn’t have enough quick innings to keep his pitch count down anyway.

But the left-hander definitely had his best stuff. After walking Soler – the Giants’ former star player who was sent to Atlanta at the deadline – for a second time, Snell struck out seven straight players. He struck out the side in the fifth inning and froze Adam Duvall with a curveball up the middle to end the stretch.

That was part of one of two sequences in which Snell struck out four Braves in a row. After battling injuries during the first half of the season, Snell said he feels stronger with each outing; he has struck out 45 batters in his last four appearances.

Snell and Sale made baserunners a must. For one reason or another, the Giants couldn’t get to them. Marco Luciano stalled after a sharply hit grounder to third base to open the fifth inning, and was eventually thrown out by a double-bouncer. To close the inning, Casey Schmitt hit a line drive back up the middle, but Sale somehow caught the 104 mph comebacker on the mound.

Snell didn’t allow even that hard contact. With his 98th pitch, a curveball into the dirt, Snell ended the sixth inning with his 10th strikeout of the game.

The Giants had no one in the bullpen when Snell came to the bench for the seventh inning. He wanted to stay in the game, Melvin said. But moments later, Randy Rodriguez began warming up when Ozuna slid to second base with Atlanta’s first hit.