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CHC@ATL: Minor strikes out six, allows two earned

The Giants are hoping that Ryan Vogelsong's season-long consistency on the mound will mean another strong outing for a Giants starter against the Braves on Wednesday as they try to answer manager Bruce Bochy's challenge for better pitching on the road.

Heading into Tuesday's Giants-Braves series opener, the Giants had a 4.85 ERA on the road compared to 2.31 at home. Barry Zito responded by blanking the Braves in seven innings, with San Francisco taking the 9-0 win.

"That's a little too extreme," Bochy said about the team's higher road ERA before Tuesday's game. "That is too dramatic [a difference]."

The Giants trot out a good candidate in Vogelsong to continue the strong road pitching that Zito started, with Vogelsong entering the game third in the National League with a 2.36 ERA and having turned in 13 consecutive quality starts.

Mike Minor will be tasked with getting the Braves back on track after Tuesday's loss, which snapped a season-best seven-game winning streak.

The 24-year-old left-hander will be looking to build off a solid last outing before the All-Star break, holding the Cubs to three runs (two earned) and three hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched in the Braves' 7-3 win on July 5.

"I think this is his second outing that was pretty decent for him," manager Fredi Gonzalez said after Minor's last start. "He goes into the break feeling good about himself and maybe come out the other end with some momentum."

Minor will also be hoping to continue his success against the Giants, having shut them out for six innings on August 18, 2011, in his only appearance against them. He has a 5.97 ERA this season, but has produced a 4.24 ERA in his last six starts.

Braves: Venters making steps towards return
The Braves could have Johnny Venters back in the bullpen sometime next week as the reliever continues to progress from a left elbow impingement that sent him to the disablled list on July 5. Venters threw a bullpen session before Tuesday's game, and Gonzalez said Venters would have one more bullpen session before starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett.

"I feel like I got a good mental break and I'm starting fresh," Venters said. "My arm felt great. So we'll wait to see what they want to do from here."

Giants: Sanchez out with sprained knee
Catcher Hector Sanchez left Tuesday's game with a sprained left knee, and the Giants are hoping they won't be without their backup catcher for an extended period of time.

Sanchez, who injured his knee while on first base after his fourth-inning single, was replaced behind the plate by regular starter Buster Posey, who had initially started at first base.

Worth noting
• Wednesday's game will be the first time that Vogelsong has faced the Braves as a starter. His lone appearance against Atlanta came on April 22, 2011, when he pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

• The Braves have gone seven straight games without an error, the longest such streak for the club this season. The streak spans 65 innings, with the last error having come in the seventh inning against the Cubs on July 5 when Jason Heyward bobbled a single in right field.

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