Atlanta Braves take series from Nationals on soggy night at SunTrust Park
By Dan Horton
On Military Appreciation Day at SunTrust Park, the Atlanta Braves edged by the Nats, 5-2. Bartolo Colon didn’t make it past 5 innings but kept the Nationals at bay just long enough.
On a day that’s always near and dear to my heart, the Atlanta Braves win made it much more enjoyable.
Military Appreciation Day is a special day. Being active duty and having family and friends in uniform, past and present, it makes me proud to be an American! It’s even better when you not only win but also beat the rival Nationals.
However, before we get to the game, let’s hit on what transpired during the game.
Before the rains came, Braves MLB.com beat reporter Mark Bowman broke some interesting news over Twitter.
Source confirms the Braves have acquired Matt Adams from the Cardinals. @OrtizKicks was the first to report
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 20, 2017
Juan Yepez is the prospect going back to St. Louis. For more in-depth, details on Adams, check out Fred’s notes on him on our site!
Now, back to the game
5. 17. 2. 90. Final
Atlanta jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning, when young stud, Rio Ruiz blasted his first Major League home run, on a line, as Bryce Harper could do nothing but watch.
The Braves tacked on another in the bottom of the 4th. Matt Kemp, who continues to shred the opposition, roped a line drive of his own, over the left-center field wall, barely clearing the top.
In the top of the 5th inning, the Nationals scratched across two runs. Matt Wieters singled to lead off the inning. Michael Taylor then struck out.
The next hitter, Max Scherzer, grounded back to Colon for what seemed to be an inning-ending double play. However, Colon threw the ball into centerfield. Wieters went to third on the play.
Nats leadoff hitter, Trea Turner, sent a pitch from Colon to right field. Wieters crossed to score the first run for the Nats. Scherzer went first to third on the hit.
Bartolo Colon’s last hitter of the night was Jayson Werth. Werth ran Colon out of the game with a single that scored Scherzer with run number 2.
The Braves would go in order in the bottom of the 5th inning, and then the heavens opened up. Out came the tarp and on came DRIVEN John Smoltz: A Hall of Fame Career.
After an hour and a half rain delay, play resumed. Of note, it was still raining.
Jason Motte began the 6th when play resumed. After getting the first out, Motte gave up a walk, but a great play by Jace Peterson at first base jumping into the netting to make an out on a pop foul from Wieters. Motte got the final out of the inning on another pop out to Brandon Phillips.
Blake Treinen relieved Scherzer after the rain delay. Treinen got Kemp to strike out, but back to back hits from Tyler Flowers and Peterson followed.
With men on 1st and 3rd, Dansby Swanson hit a should-have-been double play, but Daniel Murphy couldn’t get the ball out of his glove on the turn. Swanson beat the throw and Flowers scored the 4th run for Atlanta.
The defense for Atlanta got the Braves out of the 7th. A web-gem, from DatDudeBP, well, it was actually a barehanded-gem, got the 2nd out of the inning and a great play from Swanson on a slow roller took care of the Nats.
Next: Braves Shuffle the Deck, Again
The Braves tacked on another in the 8th. A one-out, solo shot from Tyler Flowers padded the Braves lead making it 5-2.
Jim Johnson nailed down the save with a 1-2-3 9th. The series wraps up tomorrow as Stephen Strasburg battles Jaime Garcia. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 PM EDT.
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