Ah, the value of a good night's sleep

When watching the Giantsnwith –Rockies game on Sunday we head the Colorado announcers question why SF hurler Jeff Samardzija was in Denver and not Atlanta given the travel challenges that faced the Giants. Maybe they were on to something.

It might have been worse. There could have been something on the wing. (Getty Images)

Samardzija pitched like he had jet lag in logging his shortest outing of the year and the Giants bats must have been on a later flight as the Braves jumped out to a quick lead and held on to beat the G-Men by a 5-3 score Monday afternoon.

It’s not uncommon to see a team send the next day’s starting hurler ahead when travel could be problematic; tired hurlers generally don’t fare wall (duh!). With the Giants facing an early-afternoon start after a flight from Colorado that landed at 1 am, the Rockies’ announce crew had a point.

Samardzija, who slept on the plane for all we know, gave up a three-run triple to Mallex Smith in the Atlanta second to give the Mike Foltynewicz an edge. (Mallex, Foltywhatever; their parents really rose to that name-spelling challenge, didn't they?) Two singles, and error and a sac fly padded the lead in the third and provided all the support required to give the Giants their second loss of this 10-game road trip.

After slugging 33 combined hits to win the last two games at Colorado, the Giants got just six off four Braves pitchers and only two off Foltynewicz (now 3-2) in his six innings of work. The remaining three came in a ninth-inning rally that fell just short.

Smith's blow accounted for three of the five runs Samardzija surrendered (one unearned). He lasted just five innings and needed 93 pitches to get that far, striking out four and walking two. The triple from Smith spoiled a game in which the Giants actually broke out on top, getting a solo shot from Brandon Belt in the top of that inning.

A lead! They had a freaking lead! (Getty Images)

The Giants had a chance to close the gap in the fifth when Joe Panik’s two-out single preceded Foltynezicz plunking Matt Duffy. Belt, who has been hotter than Anna Kendrick in a two-piece, went Rebel Wilson and struck out on five pitches.

The Giants added a pair in the ninth for some window dressing. Brandon Crawford plated one with an RBI single, and the other came home when Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson channeled his inner Dan Uggla and gacked Buster Posey’s ground ball.

The offense did come from the middle of the order. Belt and Hunter Pence each had two hits, Panik and Crawford one. Posey sat in favor of Trevor Brown; his ninth-inning grounder came in a pinch-hitting role.   

The silver lining? Derek Law and the newly-arrived Chris Stratton combined for three innings of no-hot, no-run ball in relief of Samardzija. Each man struck out two.

Okay, more good news. Despite the loss, San Francisco has dropped just three if 18 games and, at 32-21 holds a 4 ½-game lead over The Hated Dodgers in the NL West. There are three other teams in the division but nobody else matters. Not this year. Trust us.

Not to end on a down note but the Giants, who haven’t lost back-to-back road games in a month, will try to avoid exactly that fate on Tuesday but have to turn to Jake Peavy (1-5, 7.26 ERA), pitching on his 35^th birthday, to pull it off. Atlanta goes with Matt Wisler (2-4, 3.08), who has a 2.25 ERA in five May starts.

(box)