Giants’ Anthony Molina cools off Braves, earns win over former team

Rafael Devers hit his 30th home run, Osleivis Basabe ignited a four-run sixth inning with a solo shot of his own and the San Francisco Giants made the most of a one-day visit to Georgia with a 7-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night in the makeup game for a rainout.

Former Braves right-hander Anthony Molina (2-0) won for the second time in as many appearances for the Giants as he limited his old mates to three runs in five innings to help end Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak.

Coming off a homestand in which the Giants won four of seven, Devers got a seven-day, three-city trip rolling in a positive direction when he launched Bryce Elder’s eighth pitch for a one-out homer in the first.

The bomb to right field gave Devers 30 homers for the fifth time since 2019. He totaled 35 last season while splitting time between the Giants and the Boston Red Sox.

Atlanta countered with single runs in the first, second and fifth innings off Molina. The Braves took a 3-2 lead in the fifth on an RBI single by Drake Baldwin.

After Basabe drew the Giants even with a leadoff homer in the sixth, Turner Hill put the visitors in front for good with a pinch-hit, two-run double. Hill scored the inning’s fourth run on a two-out single by Bryce Eldridge.

Elder (8-8) was pulled one out into the uprising. He was charged with five runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out three.

Molina (2-0) struck out six, allowed six hits and didn’t walk anyone in his first start since being traded by the Braves to San Francisco for Tyler Mahle on Aug. 2. Giants relievers Jason Foley, Reiver Sanmartin and Dylan Smith brought the team home with four innings of three-hit shutout relief.

Jonah Cox gave the bullpen an extra run of comfort with a solo home run, his fourth, in the top of the ninth.

Cox, Eldridge, Andrew Knizner and Nate Furman had two hits apiece for the Giants, who won all three games they played in Atlanta this season. San Francisco took the season series 5-1.

Michael Harris II hit his 23rd homer of the season for the Braves to highlight a two-hit night. Baldwin and Austin Riley also had a pair of hits apiece for Atlanta, which completed a homestand in which it had gone 3-0 against both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies.

–Field Level Media