Braves rely on Medlen in opener with Giants
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Kris Medlen fulfilled a lifelong dream with his effort on the mound and at the plate in his most recent start last weekend.
The right-hander will now try to put the Atlanta Braves' nightmare road trip behind them as he takes the hill on Friday evening for the opener of a three- game series with the San Francisco Giants.
Medlen has won back-to-back outings following a nine-start winless drought (0-5) before finally returning to the win column on June 3 after giving up one unearned run over seven innings of a 7-2 triumph over Pittsburgh.
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Five days later, the Los Angeles native took on the hosting Dodgers and scattered five hits over 6 2/3 scoreless frames. He also connected on the first home run of his major league career to factor in on both ends of a 2-1 win.
"For the most part I controlled the walks and attacked the strike zone. For me to hit my first home run in Dodger Stadium is great. I dreamed of this as a kid," said Medlen, who improved to 3-6 with a 2.87 earned run average in 13 starts this season.
The 27-year-old now hopes to secure his first career victory over the Giants, who he is 0-3 against with a 4.67 ERA in seven meetings, including two starts. That includes a loss this season at San Francisco on May 12 as he was reached for five runs -- three earned -- over 5 1/3 innings. Medlen walked five and served up home runs to Brandon Belt, Pablo Sandoval and Marco Scutaro, though the latter two are sidelined with injury.
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The Braves are set to play their next eight at home following a 2-5 road trip that concluded with a three-game sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres. Paul Maholm was unable to salvage the series finale on Wednesday, giving up four earned runs over 5 2/3 frames of a 5-3 loss, his first setback since may 11.
Justin Upton knocked in two of Atlanta's runs with a single and a solo homer, with Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman also finishing with two hits in the setback. Heyward is batting .396 (17-for-43) over a 10-game hitting streak.
"That's the way baseball is sometimes, you run into a hot team and you don't get any breaks," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez remarked. "I'm really proud of our club the way they kept battling."
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Madison Bumgarner certainly battled the last time he faced the Braves and looks to deal the club a fourth straight setback tonight.
Bumgarner lost his first three career decisions versus the Braves before picking up a home victory against them on May 11. The left-hander gave up just a run over seven innings and fanned 11 in the 10-1 triumph.
"He throws his cutter into righties and makes righties feel uneasy," Atlanta third baseman Chris Johnson said of facing Bumgarner. "Then he throws his two- seamer away and his slider. His changeup was good. With a guy like that, you can't really do too much."
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Bumgarner went on to go winless over his next four starts (0-3) before beating the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. The 23-year-old held Arizona scoreless over five innings before getting charged with three runs in the sixth, a frame in which he did not retire any of the three batters he faced.
Still, Bumgarner moved to 5-4 with a 3.58 ERA in 13 starts this season.
The Giants avoided getting swept in three games at Pittsburgh to begin this week, winning Thursday's finale 10-0.
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Pitching on the one-year anniversary of his 2012 perfect game versus the Houston Astros, Matt Cain hurled 6 2/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, moving to 5-1 over his last eight starts.
"He gave us what we certainly needed," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "Matt (Cain) has been on a good roll from his last start, this start, he's throwing the ball really well."
Hunter Pence hit a three-run homer, while Gregor Blanco and Buster Posey each drove in two runs for the Giants.
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The Giants won three of four at home over the Braves from May 9-12 and have won seven of the last 11 meetings overall.