Matt Cain capitalized on a rare outburst from the San Francisco lineup and ended a personal three-game losing skid with eight strong innings in the Giants' 7-5 victory over the host Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Aside from issuing a bases-loaded walk in a tricky first inning, Cain (10-9) was as sharp as he has been all season. The veteran righthander limited the Braves to an unearned run on five hits and struck out nine to earn only his second victory since the All-Star break.

It helped that the Giants finally scored some runs for him. Wednesday's performance marked the first time since June 14 that Cain had been given more than four runs of support.

Pablo Sandoval had a pair of hits and two RBIs for the Giants, who ended a seven-game losing streak to the Braves and closed to within 2 1/2 games of Arizona in the National League West.

Atlanta made a game of it with four runs in the ninth - capped by a two-out, two-run double by Martin Prado - but Jeremy Affeldt struck out Brian McCann to quash the rally.

Braves starter Jair Jurrjens (12-5) looked rusty in his return from a strained right knee. The righthander allowed five straight Giants to reach base in the fourth, and was charged with five runs on eight hits over six innings.

The Braves fell 8 1/2 back of the front-running Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, but lead the wild card race by five games over the Giants.