By JANIE McCAULEY

AP Baseball Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Curt Casali hit a two-run single in the fourth that held up, Alex Wood made an impressive three-inning return from COVID-19, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Saturday night.

Wood struck out four and didn’t walk a batter or allow a hit over three scoreless innings, throwing 37 pitches in his first start for San Francisco since Aug. 26 as he makes his return from a bout with COVID-19. Zack Littell (4-0) relieved and struck out the side in the fourth.

Dominic Leone, San Francisco’s sixth reliever, finished the 2-hour, 40-minute game for his second save as the NL West-leading Giants maintained their two-game lead on the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the division race.

Atlanta had its NL East lead trimmed to one game after the Phillies beat the Mets.

Charlie Morton (13-6) allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks over five innings, but lost for the first time in his last nine road starts since June 11 at Miami.

Seeking his first win against the Giants since Aug. 20, 2015, with Pittsburgh, the right-hander came into his outing with a 2.48 ERA against the Giants for his lowest total versus any club he had faced at least 10 times.

Brandon Belt went 0 for 3 and had his 10-game hitting streak snapped a day after connecting for his career-best 26th home run in San Francisco’s 6-5, 11-inning win.

The Giants also failed to hit a home run for the first time in 13 games, dating to Sept. 5. They had hit 26 total during that span. It was their longest such streak since doing so in 13 consecutive games from June 25-July 12, 2019.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: Atlanta manager Brian Snitker expected RHP reliever Luke Jackson to return from the paternity list and rejoin the team late Saturday and be available to pitch in Sunday’s series finale following the birth of his son in Atlanta.

Giants: RF Mike Yastrzemski returned to the lineup after missing three straight starts after being hit by a pitch on the right elbow Tuesday against San Diego. … RHP Johnny Cueto (strained pitching elbow) played catch for a second straight day and extended out to 120 feet after throwing from 90 feet Friday. The plan remains for him to pitch live batting practice Sept. 27th or 28th, and he could potentially pitch before the regular season ends.

WALL OF FAME

The Giants inducted 92-year-old former owner Bob Lurie into their Wall of Fame during a pregame ceremony outside the ballpark. He was the club’s second owner of the San Francisco era that began in 1958 and at the helm during the 1989 earthquake-interrupted World Series swept by the cross-bay rival Oakland Athletics.

The left-handed Lurie threw out a ceremonial first pitch.

ROSTER MOVE
The Giants optioned LHP Sammy Long to Triple-A Sacramento and designated C Chadwick Tromp for assignment.

UP NEXT

LHP Max Fried (11-7, 3.47 ERA) looks to improve to 3-0 lifetime against San Francisco over five career appearances, pitching opposite Giants RHP Anthony DeSclafani (12-6, 3.24), who will try to win consecutive starts for the first time since early July.

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