SANTA CLARA Noah Fant Jersey , Calif. (AP) for NFL teams coming off six-win seasons.Then again, no team has ever gotten to that underwhelming total with a season-ending, five-game winning streak fueled by the midseason acquisition of a quarterback who has shown signs of becoming one of the league’s most promising passers.That’s exactly the situation the San Francisco 49ers find themselves in as they held their first training camp practice Thursday led by Jimmy Garoppolo and his $137.5 million contract.”If our guys make a living just reading and listening to talk radio and stuff, that stuff could mess you up,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. ”I am aware that people have talked highly about us and that’s what comes with the territory when you win your last five games after starting so bad. I mean, we all know that doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t.”The 49ers were far from promising at the start of Shanahan’s first season as coach, losing their first nine games for the worst start in franchise history. That vibe began to change after San Francisco dealt a second-round pick to New England for Garoppolo after the eighth loss and things really began to change once Garoppolo was able to get on the field.He threw a late garbage-time touchdown in a loss to Seattle that dropped the Niners to 1-10 and then took over as starter from rookie C.J. Beathard the following week. San Francisco didn’t lose again last season, posting the best record ever for an NFL team that lost its first nine games.But there is little carry-over effect in the NFL with nearly half – 19 of 40 – of the teams that finished the season on a five-game winning streak the past 23 seasons missing the playoffs the following year.”The way we finished last year was all positive and everything but this is a completely new season with new challenges,” left tackle Joe Staley said. ”Everybody has been very focused and understands that. It’s exciting to be able to build on something positive from last year and carry it into the offseason. But there’s no one in the locker room who thinks we arrived. We have a ton of work to do. We were a 6-10 football team. We were happy with the way we finished last year but that’s in the past.”The presence of Garoppolo is the biggest reason for optimism for San Francisco even if he didn’t look particularly sharp in the first practice of the summer.He completed 67.4 percent of his passes last season, averaging 8.8 yards per attempt with seven TDs, five interceptions and a 96.2 rating.Among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts last season, Garoppolo ranked first in yards per attempt, fourth in completion percentage. His 308.4 yards passing per game in his five starts also would have led the league had he played a full season.San Francisco scored on an NFL-best 56.6 percent of their drives after Garoppolo took over as starter and ranked in the top five in the league in scoring offense (28.8 points per game), yards per play (6.1) and yards per game (409.6).That all came with Garoppolo barely knowing the offense, learning just pieces each week as he scrambled to get up to speed. This offseason he was able to start from scratch and has a much deeper understanding of the scheme and his teammates that he hopes translates to even more success on the field.”The situation I was in last year was so difficult because you’re preparing for a defense that you’re learning in a week, but at the same time http://www.cowboyscheapauthenticstore.com/trysten-hill-jersey-cheap , you’re learning brand new calls, new verbiage, all that stuff,” he said. ”So, it was combining all of that into one that made it so difficult. Being able to start from the ground up and learn the why’s of the offense, how it all ties together, how one play helps dictate the next play, it just makes more sense.”The Niners made other upgrades this offseason, adding an explosive running back in Jerick McKinnon, beefing up the offensive line and signing cornerback Richard Sherman to upgrade the secondary.San Francisco also was one of the youngest teams in the league last year and hopes to see natural improvement from all the rookies who got extensive playing time in 2017.”That’s the expectation,” second-year safety Adrian Colbert said. ”We just have to continue to get better. We can’t get stagnant. We can’t decrease in our production. We have to continue to go. That’s our standard.”— Max Fried was so good that he didn’t even need all the support Nick Markakis and the Braves provided for his first win of the season.

Markakis hit a grand slam, Fried took a shutout into the seventh inning and Atlanta beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4 on Saturday night.

”You’ve got to give all the credit to Max,” Markakis said. ”He went out and pitched one of the better games I’ve seen. For him, two runs early on was enough for him. It was nice to get some runs and give him a nice cushion there.”

The Braves have won the first two games of the three-game set. The Cardinals have dropped three in a row.

Fried (1-2) stymied the Cardinals on 101 pitches before being pulled with two outs in the seventh. Recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to start the game, he struck out 11, allowed four singles and walked three.

”My curveball was definitely on tonight Drew Lock Jersey ,” said Fried, who also recorded his first major league hit with a single in the fifth. ”I was able to throw it for strikes, put it in the dirt when I wanted to. The big thing for me was getting the fastball over. I felt like I was able to get strike one pretty good. That was my main goal.”

Luke Weaver (4-7) went 4 2/3 innings, giving up 10 runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out five. He gave up homers to Markakis in his final inning and a two-run shot to Ronald Acuna Jr. in the second.

”At the end of the day, I was just done on a couple big swings,” Weaver said. ”I thought I threw some pitches in good spots, but it’s got to be executed a little bit better and you’ve just got to flush these types of days.”

The Braves sent 11 players to the plate in the six-run fifth. After Ozzie Albies doubled in Fried, the Cardinals intentionally walked Freddie Freeman to face Markakis. The right fielder hit his ninth homer of the season and fourth career grand slam off a 3-2 pitch.

”To be honest with you, I was just looking to hit something into the outfield and get a run in, and I ended up one of the better at-bats in the season,” Markakis said. ”I looked back at the video and (the pitch) wasn’t exactly where he wanted it, but he threw it somewhere close to the zone and I put a good swing on it.”

He added a sacrifice fly in the sixth to bring in Albies, finishing with five RBI on the day.

Albies went 3 for 5 and has a 10-game hit streak, batting .467 (21 for 47) during that span.

The Cardinals scored all of their runs in the ninth off Matt Wisler, including a leadoff home run from Jose Martinez.

LONGEVITY

Cardinals C Yadier Molina played in his 1 http://www.broncoscheapauthenticstore.com/dre_mont-jones-jersey-cheap ,800th game, joining Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith and Enos Slaughter as Cardinals to play in at least that many. Molina entered the majors in 2004 and has spent his entire career with St. Louis. He ranks 12th among active players in games played.

MOVES

To make room for Fried, the Braves designated OF Peter Bourjos for assignment. Bourjos, in his first year with the Braves, was batting .205 in 36 games. He also played for St. Louis in 2014 and 2015.

TRAINING ROOM

Braves: RHP Arodys Vizcaino (shoulder inflammation) is expected to come off the 10-day DL on Monday. The Braves closer threw a side session Saturday and is on target for his return to the team. … C Tyler Flowers, who left Friday’s game with a right hamstring cramp after flying out to end the sixth inning, didn’t start Saturday. The Braves said it was part of the regular rotation between Flowers and C Kurt Suzuki. The two have alternated starts for the past 16 games.

Cardinals: RHP Luke Gregerson (right shoulder impingement) is scheduled to begin a rehab stint at Triple A Memphis on Sunday. He has yet to appear with the minor league club since going on the 10-day DL on May 16.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz (5-4, 2.14) goes for his first win in a month. After tossing a 4-0 shutout against the Washington Nationals on June 1, he went 0-1 in his final three starts of the month. He failed to get past the fifth in any his final three June outings.

Cardinals: RHP John Gant (2-2, 3.48) is coming off his best start of the season, giving up one hit over seven innings as St. Louis beat the Cleveland Indians 4-0 on Monday. This is his first appearance against his former club since a 2016 trade that saw the Cardinals send starting pitcher Jaime Garcia to the Braves in exchange for three minor leaguers, including Gant.

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