Giants-Braves Preview

The San Francisco Giants won't be missing much with Matt Cain landing on the disabled list, but there's still no telling what Albert Suarez is capable of in a starting role in the majors.

The 26-year-old figures to make his debut in the rotation Wednesday night as the Giants play the third of a four-game set in Atlanta.

Cain landed on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring after just 1 2/3 innings of Friday's loss in Colorado. Suarez (1-1, 2.25 ERA) replaced him and pitched the next five innings but gave up three runs and five hits to take the loss.

The rookie had held opponents scoreless in seven innings of his first four big league appearances. His manager was pleased with the effort, given the circumstances.

"He did a nice job for us. He stepped into a tough situation and kept us in the game," Bruce Bochy told MLB's official website.

He was recalled on May 6 from Triple-A Sacramento, where he was 1-3 with a 2.88 ERA in three starts and two relief efforts after signing a minor league deal in the offseason. The right-hander spent all of last season in Double-A Arkansas (Los Angeles Angels) as a starter, going 11-9 with a 2.98 mark in 27 outings.

The Giants (33-21) didn't name a starter for Wednesday before Tuesday's game in case Suarez was needed, but Jake Peavy made sure that wasn't the case with the right-hander turning in his best start of the season as San Francisco evened the series with a 4-0 win. The right-hander gave up one hit and faced the minimum 21 batters after a double play took care of his only baserunner.

San Francisco is now 16-3 since last stringing together losses, and the starting pitching has been beyond impressive. The rotation is 11-2 with a 1.67 ERA in those games while giving up more than an earned run just three times.

Denard Span had three of the Giants' five hits and is at 10 for 23 in his last six games to boost his average from .253 to .274.

The Braves (15-36) had won three of four with 4.8 runs per game, but they quickly reverted to the kind of offense that's made their season miserable. Even with that modest uptick in offense, Atlanta is batting .202 over a 5-7 period.

The Braves send Williams Perez to the mound. Perez (2-1, 3.72) has been solid in his last two starts after giving up six runs in six innings of a loss in Pittsburgh on May 16. The right-hander is 1-0 with two runs allowed in 12 1/3 innings since, though he came away with a no-decision in Friday's 4-2 home win over Miami after giving up two runs and seven hits in six innings.

In four home starts, he's gone 1-0 with a 2.86 ERA. In three away, his ERA is exactly two runs higher.

Perez faced San Francisco twice last season and was 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA. Buster Posey was 3 for 3 in their matchups.