SF Giants travel to Atlanta, Cleveland for key trip after beating LA

SAN FRANCISCO — After a winning streak at home that saw them take two of three games against the Dodgers over the weekend, the Giants will now try to extend that momentum on the road.

It won’t be easy.

Whether or not they make significant roster moves at the trade deadline this month could depend largely on how they perform starting Tuesday in Atlanta.

The Giants will play three games against the Braves, followed by three games in Cleveland against the Guardians next weekend.

The road has been a major obstacle for the Giants, who are 16-25 away from their waterfront stadium, where they are 25-19.

The Braves have won seven of their last 10 games in Atlanta, and the Guardians have the best home record in the major leagues at 26-9.

In their last trip to San Francisco, the Giants lost five of six games to Chicago, Birmingham, Alabama and St. Louis — a brutal stretch made worse by the death of franchise icon Willie Mays.

But they recovered at home.

Playing in tribute to Mays and later Orlando Cepeda, another franchise icon who died Friday, the Giants returned to form, going 5-2 against the Cubs and Dodgers.

The Giants crushed their rival Dodgers 10-4 in the final game behind a record 10 doubleheaders in San Francisco, taking advantage of a quality start from surprise starter Spencer Bivens and winning a series against Los Angeles for the first time since 2022.

In other words, a brutal road trip was followed by a winning conquest.

It’s a phrase the Giants know well, and a 41-44 trend San Francisco will try to break when it travels East this week.

First up, the ever-competitive Braves.

Perennial NL East champion Atlanta isn’t quite the home-run juggernaut it was during last season’s 104-win campaign, but the Braves — without reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña (torn ACL) — are still a respectable 46-36.

Top prospect Hayden Birdsong will make his second start for the Giants to open the series. The 22-year-old pitched 4 ⅔ innings in his debut against the Cubs, allowing three earned runs and striking out five.

After right-hander Birdsong (0-0, 5.79), Jordan Hicks (4-4, 3.36) and Logan Webb (6-6, 3.12) are expected to start the other two games against the Braves.

If there’s one Giants hitter who should be comfortable at Truist Park, it’s Jorge Soler, who won the 2021 World Series MVP award for the Braves after hitting three home runs against the Astros.

As one of the team’s big offseason additions, it took Soler some time to acclimate to the West Coast, where he’s one of the few players hitting better away (.242/.331/.435/.766 with six HRs) than he did at Oracle (219/.292/.365/.657 with six HRTs).

Soler’s bat began to heat up, though. He had 5 hits in 14 at-bats with four doubles and two RBIs in the three-game series against the Dodgers.

Things don’t get any better for the Giants when they travel to American League Central leader Cleveland, which is 52-30 and leads the AL with a .634 winning percentage.

Fremont native Steven Kwan will test San Francisco’s inconsistent pitching, with the Washington High alum leading the MLB with a .368 batting average. He’s hitting both at home (.378) and away (.362), which isn’t the case for the visiting Giants.

According to McCovey Cove, the team looks like the playoff contender they were expected to be after signing several high-profile free agents. Only three teams in the National League have more home wins.