House That Hank Built
Fansided

3 Takeaways from Atlanta Braves’ opening loss at Nationals

By Alan Carpenter

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals dives for a ground ball against the Atlanta Braves during the fifth inning at Nationals Park on June 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals dives for a ground ball against the Atlanta Braves during the fifth inning at Nationals Park on June 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 21: Gerardo Parra #88 of the Washington Nationals reacts after striking out and is ejected by umpire Chris Conroy #98 (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Nationals Park on June 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 21: Gerardo Parra #88 of the Washington Nationals reacts after striking out and is ejected by umpire Chris Conroy #98 (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Nationals Park on June 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

The ‘game of inches’ aspect of baseball came into sharp focus Friday night as the Atlanta Braves were oh-so-close to starting a stand against their newest threat.

Make no mistake:  the series against the Phillies was an important one for the Atlanta Braves to win.  But these Washington Nationals are going to be the real concern down the stretch.

For their part, the Phillies continued to flounder on Friday night against the Fish from South Florida.  They have now lost 9 of their last 11 contests – even though they finally got some quality pitching in this game.

That can’t be a good clubhouse to be in right now.

Thus, even with the loss, Atlanta remains 4.5 games ahead of Philadelphia in the NL East, but the real question may be this one:  how long will it be before the Nationals move into second place?

With those coming event as a backdrop, let’s now look at 3 takeaways from Friday’s game.

3. The Approaching Footsteps

The Braves still have something to say about that pending event, but need to find a way to get past a Nats squad that they still haven’t been able to beat so far in the 2019 season.

This is a team that’s finally (mostly) healthy and starting to show everybody exactly what was expected in most everyone’s pre-season prognostications.

Saturday evening’s contest means another bout with Anibal Sanchez, who has been brilliant since coming off the Injured List – against Atlanta – at the end of May.

His ERA for the year is sitting at 3.84, but in 4 outings starting on May 29 he’s thrown 23.1 innings with a sparkling 1.54.  Oh, and on top of that, he’s walking virtually nobody.

Mike Soroka goes to the mound on Sunday, with Patrick Corbin challenging the Braves’ hitters then.  Oddly enough, it’s Corbin who looks to be the most vulnerable, having yielded 6+ runs in 2 of his last 4 starts.

That said, he also shut down the Phillies in his most recent outing, going 7 innings and allowing 1 run.  Given that it was the Phillies, I admit not being sure what to make of that, but it was obviously good for him.

Hey, nobody said this would be easy.

Home/Braves News