Sports Radio Service


		Giants salvage series with a win By Jeremy Harness August 31, 2006
	San Francisco Giants closer Armando Benitez, right, celebrates with Giants manager Felipe Alou, left, after their 8-6 win over the Atlanta Braves at a Major League Baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006, at Turner Field in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)
	The San Francisco Giants avoided a sweep at Turner Field by the Atlanta Braves, coming away with a hard-fought 8-6, victory Thursday night The Giants jumped out in front first with a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning, when catcher Eliezer Alfonzo lined a double that brought in a pair of runs. In the top of the 4th, the Giants score four more times, to make the score then 7-1, Giants, but the Braves scored four more runs in the bottom of the 7th, which then put Atlanta back into the game. Matt Morris got his 10th win of the season, but he struggled a bit to get there. He went 6 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits, walking three and striking out five. He cruised through six innings, surrendering only a run during that timeframe but was chased in the seventh inning, as the Braves pounded out four runs. Morris only got one out in the seventh, while two runs crossed the plate, before he was pulled for Kevin Correia. Two more runs were scored in the inning by Atlanta, one of which was charged to Morris. Todd Linden gave the Giants some insurance in the top of the ninth, launching a solo homer over the left-field wall to lead off the inning and extend the Giants’ lead to three runs. However, as Giants fans well know by now, no lead is safe when Armando Benitez takes the mound. Sure enough, Andruw Jones led off the ninth with a single and then stole second. Jeff Francoeur’s single scored Jones to narrow the lead to 8-6, but Benitez got Wednesday’s Atlanta hero, Adam LaRoche, to hit into a game-ending double play. With the win, the Giants picked up a half a game, as they now trail the San Diego Padres by 2 ½ games. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is a full game out of the lead, while the Cincinnati Reds are 1 ½ games back. They will have a chance to pick up even more ground on both of those teams next week. The Giants will go to Cincinnati for a three-game series starting on Monday, while the Padres will visit AT&T Park next Friday, when the two teams kick off a three-gamer. In the National League West race, the Giants are 5 ½ games behind the division-leading Dodgers.