Giants' Austin Slater: Blasts homer Thursday

Slater went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an RBI single in Thursday's 7-6 loss to Atlanta.

Slater made a relatively rare start against a right-hander Thursday, and he held his ground. He took Atlanta starter Kyle Wright deep for a solo shot in the fifth inning, which was Slater's third in his last 10 games and his fifth of the year. The outfielder is up to a .260/.379/.469 slash line with 17 RBI, 19 runs scored and three stolen bases. At least until LaMonte Wade (knee) returns, Slater appears to have a grip on a starting role in center field while Mike Yastrzemski covers for Luis Gonzalez (back) in right.