EditorsNote: Corrects spelling of Hechavarria in graf 5; other minor edits
Atlanta's Max Fried may have placed himself back in consideration for a starting spot in the postseason, throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings of the Braves' 8-1 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Saturday.
Fried (17-6) was in danger of being moved to the bullpen for the playoffs after back-to-back shaky outings. But the left-hander bounced back to blank the Giants on five hits. He struck out two and didn't walk a batter. Fried, who was on a restricted pitch count, threw 65 pitches, 51 for strikes, as he broke a two-start losing streak.
Atlanta (96-60) improved to 50-30 at home and has won three in a row. San Francisco (74-81) has dropped three straight and has lost five of six meetings with the Braves this season.
The Braves scored four times in the second inning against Johnny Cueto (1-1), who had not allowed a run in his first two starts, covering 10 innings, since returning from Tommy John surgery. Cueto gave up four runs on two hits, five walks and five strikeouts.
The breakout rally included an RBI double by Billy Hamilton, a run-scoring grounder by Fried and a two-run double from Adeiny Hechavarria. Ronald Acuna Jr. scored one of the runs, giving him 127 and leaving him four short of matching Dale Murphy's modern-era franchise record of 131 set in 1983.
The Braves added two more runs in the fifth when Francisco Cervelli hit a two-run homer, his second of the season. It was his first home run since April 10 when he was playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Giants scored their run in the seventh against reliever Kyle Wright. Kevin Pillar singled, stole second and scored on Cristhian Adames' single to center.
The Braves added a two-run homer from Adam Duvall, his ninth, in the bottom of the seventh inning off Sam Coonrod.
The Braves, who clinched the NL East on Friday, rested second baseman Ozzie Albies, first baseman Freddie Freeman, right fielder Nick Markakis and catcher Brian McCann.
--Field Level Media
