ATLANTA (AP) - With the Atlanta Braves stuck in their longest losing streak in two years, Fredi Gonzalez is looking for more help from his hitters.
For the second straight night against the San Francisco Giants, an inability to deliver with runners on base cost Atlanta.
Julio Teheran allowed four hits, but three were home runs and that was too much for the Braves’ struggling offense to overcome in a 3-1 loss Saturday night.
The Braves, who lead the NL East, have lost five straight. They stranded seven baserunners.
“We’re getting people on base,” Gonzalez said. “Now we’ve got to get them in.
“Our offense has got to help us out a little bit.”
The Braves’ only run came in the third. Jason Heyward walked, stole second and scored on B.J. Upton’s double to the wall in left.
The Braves have scored no more than one run in 11 of 29 games this season.
“Same story as last night,” said Chris Johnson, who was 0 for 4. “We left a lot of guys on base, myself included. You can’t win a ball game when you leave that many guys on base.”
Brandon Belt, Buster Posey and Michael Morse hit home runs, each to lead off an inning, for the NL West-leading Giants, who have won four straight and eight of nine.
The Giants scored all their runs on homers for the second straight night after hitting two homers in Friday night’s 2-1 win.
“They say solo home runs don’t beat you,” Gonzalez said. “They beat us two nights in a row.”
Teheran (2-2) didn’t walk a batter in seven innings, but allowed a season-high three runs. The three homers allowed set a career high.
Teheran said the homers were his only three mistakes.
“They were the pitches that I wanted to throw and where I wanted to throw them but I have to take my hat off to them,” Teheran said. “… All my pitches were working really good. I made three mistakes and it cost me three runs.”
The Giants have hit homers in 10 straight games, matching their longest run in almost four years.
Posey, from Leesburg, Georgia, hit his first homer at Turner Field.
“That is cool,” Posey said. “I watched so many games here - not so much coming here, but on TV.”
Ryan Vogelsong (1-1) allowed one run, five hits and four walks in six innings. The Giants have won the first two games of the weekend series with their last two starters in the rotation. Tim Lincecum took the win on Friday night.
Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save. Jeremy Affeldt and Jean Machi pitched a scoreless inning each in relief.
Belt did not start Friday night and was in a 1-for-21 slump with 12 strikeouts before he led off the second inning with his eighth homer.
Posey homered in the fourth for a 2-1 lead. Morse led off the seventh with a towering drive into the seats in left-center.
Each team wore Negro Leagues throwback uniforms for the Heritage Game - the Atlanta Black Crackers and the 1946 San Francisco Sea Lions. Each ensemble featured high socks.
NOTES: Atlanta’s last five-game losing streak was May 21-28, 2012. … Lincecum wore fake glasses and had a towel tucked under his shirt when he delivered the lineup card. “I hope he wasn’t impersonating me,” Bochy said before taking a glance at his stomach. “I don’t think it’s that big.”… Gonzalez said he expects to announce a roster move Sunday to clear a spot for RHP Gavin Floyd, who has completed his rehab from 2013 elbow surgery while with the White Sox. Floyd’s role has not been revealed. … The series concludes Sunday when Atlanta’s Alex Wood faces San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner in a matchup of left-handers.
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