SAN FRANCISCO _ They always boo Matt Kemp at AT&T Park, because Giants fans grew to dislike him for nine seasons when he did damage against San Francisco for its most hated rival, the Dodgers.
They've not seen enough of Mike Foltynewicz to develop a dislike of him, but Saturday the Braves pitcher gave them a reason _ for the second time this season _ to at least remember him.
Kemp hit a three-run homer to straightaway center field in the fourth inning Saturday, enough support for Foltynewicz on a night when the hard-throwing redhead worked eight strong innings in a 3-1 win against the Giants.
The win was the third in six games on a seven-game trip for the Braves, who'll pitch rookie Aaron Blair when they try to beat Madison Bumgarner Sunday afternoon to take the series before flying home to Atlanta.
Foltynewicz (7-5) allowed five hits, one run and one walk with six strikeouts in 72/3 innings for his second win in as many starts against the Giants this season. They totaled just eight hits and two runs in 132/3 innings against him in those games, including a 5-3 Braves win on May 30 in Atlanta.
After Brandon Crawford led off the second inning with a home run for a 1-0 Giants lead, Foltynewicz retired 13 of the next 14 batters and 18 of 22 before Denard Span's two-out double in the eighth inning. When Angel Pagan followed with a walk on nine pitches to put two San Francisco runners on base for the first time all night.
Interim manager Brian Snitker replaced Foltynewicz with rookie flamethrower Mauricio Cabrera at that point, and he induced a groundout to get out of the inning with the 3-1 lead intact. Jim Johnson worked the ninth for his 13th save.
Kemp's home run was his 26th this season including five in 14 games against the Giants, the first dozen of those games coming when he was with the Padres. It was his 10th homer (with 26 RBIs) in 38 games since the All-Star break, and Kemp's third homer (15 RBIs) in 25 games since being traded from San Diego to Atlanta.
The big man has 23 home runs in 168 career games against the Giants and eight in 82 games at spacious, wind-swept AT&T Park, which is not a hitter-friendly venue. But when you hit it as hard as he did in the fourth inning against Giants right-hander Albert Suarez, a ball will clear the fence at any park in the majors.
