Between facing Spencer Strider on Friday night and Max Fried on Sunday, the Giants absolutely needed to win Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
That didn't happen.
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Ace Logan Webb left the game with a one-run lead, but reliable reliever Tyler Rogers allowed a two-run eighth-inning homer to Eddie Rosario, sending the Giants to a brutal 6-5 loss.
Webb allowed nine hits and four earned runs in six innings, while striking out five Braves hitters. He didn't walk any batters and turned over a 5-4 lead to the bullpen.
The Giants now have lost three in a row, dropping them to 64-59 with a quick turnaround and Fried staring at them Sunday.
San Francisco Giants
For a while Saturday night, it looked like the Giants might break through against the best team in baseball.
Coming off a 4-0 loss against Strider and the Braves a night earlier, the Giants wasted no time getting on board Saturday as LaMonte Wade Jr. led off the game with a homer on Yonny Chirinos' first pitch.
The Giants tacked on a run in the second inning when former Braves infielder Johan Camargo grounded into a fielder's choice, allowing J.D. Davis to score. But Atlanta responded with two runs in the bottom of the second.
San Francisco regained the lead in the fourth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Davis and an RBI single by Thairo Estrada.
Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud doubled in a run in the bottom of the fourth and NL MVP frontrunner Ronald Acuña Jr. tied the game in the fifth with his 28th homer of the season.
In the sixth inning, the Giants loaded the bases and Camargo grounded into a double play, but Michael Conforto scored to give San Francisco the lead.
Webb got through the sixth unscathed and Rogers pitched a scoreless seventh. But he ran into trouble in the eighth and that ultimately doomed the Giants.
While the Braves are sending Fried to the mound on Sunday, the Giants will counter with Jakob Junis.
Now 2-8 over their last 10 games, the Giants are fighting to hold onto an NL Wild Card spot. The Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds are breathing down their neck and gaining fast.
The Giants blew a golden opportunity to steady the ship Saturday night, and now they must figure out Fried in order to avoid a costly sweep Sunday.