Atlanta Braves Hit 2 Homers But Pitching Rocked in 10-5 Loss

The Atlanta Braves head into the All-Star Break with a 42-45 Record after dropping series finale to Nationals

In the final game before going into the All-Star break, the Atlanta Braves were looking to get a big win and take the series against the Washington Nationals. After putting up a fight for most of the game offensively, the Braves’ pitching eventually could not hold on, giving up 4 runs in last 2 innings – and 10 runs overall.

After lasting less than 4 innings in his last outing against the Astros, Sean Newcomb did not fare well today either.

In the first, he immediately got into trouble, walking the first 2 batters before allowing a single from Bryce Harper.  With bases loaded and no outs, Ryan Zimmerman sacrificed to right, scoring the 1st runner, Brian Goodwin for the National’s lead.

He then got Daniel Murphy to strike out, but after getting the count to 1-2, gave up a 2-run double to Anthony Rendon.  Newcomb would finally end the inning with a strike out Matt Wieters.

Tie Game

Joe Ross was pitching quite well for the Nationals.  He was doing just that for most of the 3rd inning, getting Dansby Swanson to ground out and striking out Newcomb. However, Ross walked 2 Braves in a row.

With Ender Inciarte and Camargo on base, up comes Freeman.  Boom!  With a 1-0 count, Freeman evened the game with a 3-run homer to center.

In the 4th, Ross would leave the game after he caught the attention of the trainers and coaches who noticed his velocity dipping to mid-80’s.

Early speculate was that a blister derailed Ross, but regardless: he was out of the game.

Enter National’s bullpen. Good news for the Braves right?  Eh. Matt Grace came in and got the 2 outs to end the inning.

Newcomb’s final inning for the game was not a clean one. He walked the first 2 batters to start the inning (sounds familiar); this time it was Rendon and Wieters.

Murphy would then double to deep left to score another run, breaking the tie. The ball bounced off the wall and Kemp couldn’t catch it cleanly, dropping the ball. However, given how close the relay throw from Swanson was, had Kemp had gotten the ball back cleanly, Rendon might have been out.

Newcomb would strike out 3 in a row to end the inning. Impressive and gutsy, but a bit too late.

Braves Bullpen Blowup

Ian Krol came in for relief and just added to the damage. After getting a ground-out from Harper, he walked Zimmerman. 2 straight singles after that loaded the bases for Wieters.

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If you predicted the Nationals were going to score again, you were right. With a 2-0 count, Wieters laid out a single that went up the middle, plating 2 more runs.

This took Krol out of the game and brought in Luke Jackson, who got Chris Heisey to ground into a double play.

The Braves came close to coming back in the 6th. Reeeeeal close.

Leading off the inning, Camargo homered to left, his first in the majors. Right after, Freeman singled to right but reached 3rd safely after an error by Harper. Kemp then drew a walk for Markakis. Freeman would score on a fielder’s choice when the Nationals tried to turn a double play but Markakis beat the throw. However Matt Adams struck out and Tyler Flowers grounded one to end the threat.

6-5 Nationals after 6 innings.

Time To Wrap It Up

The bullpen continued to struggle when Jose Ramirez gave up a run in the 7th and then 3 more from Sam Freeman in the 8th. Akeel Morris had to come in to relieve Freeman to end the inning. Ramirez actually entered in place of Jason Motte, who was warming up but couldn’t go due to injury.

In the 9th, Matt Adams showed that he wasn’t going to go down without a fight, hitting a lead-off double against Oliver Perez.

National’s manager Dusty Baker immediately said “NOPE!” After the double, he came out and made another pitching change. That was it for the Braves as Matt Albers would get the 3 outs to end the game.

The Braves split the four-game series and head into the break 9.5 games back behind the Nationals. Even with the loss, the Braves have been doing pretty well. Had the 9th inning Friday night fiasco not happened, the Braves would have won the series instead.

The offense has been strong lately and Freeman is having a strong return. His performance at 3rd is still questionable but overall, there is still a chance for them to chase down the Nationals. I also still believe Newcomb will stay with the major-league roster  even though he struggled in his last 2 games.

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Now, the Braves head home while Inciarte heads to Miami for his first All-Star game. Let’s hope he gets to play and when he comes back, the Braves host the Arizona Diamondbacks for a 3-game series.