The Braves lost to the Nationals 11-6 Tuesday at Truist Park in a lengthy, messy contest. It was only the Braves’ second loss to the Nationals in eight games this season.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday:
1. Braves starter Max Fried lasted only 3-2/3 innings, throwing 92 pitches. It was a frustrating outing for Fried, who allowed five earned runs on six hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
Fried allowed at least two baserunners in every inning. He was removed in the fourth after Juan Soto scored two with a single. Reliever Edgar Santana surrendered a homer to Ryan Zimmerman on his first pitch to cap the Nationals’ four-run frame.
“It was one of those outings where physically, I felt great, I just felt like I could never really get a rhythm,” Fried said. “It was clunky for me. Obviously, when you don’t get into a rhythm, it’s tough to make pitches when you need to.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
2. The Braves staged a small comeback in the fifth, when Ronald Acuna hit his 17th homer and Dansby Swanson singled home another to cut Washington’s 6-1 lead to 6-4. The Nationals added five runs across the seventh and eighth innings, however, to squash any hope of a rally.
“We made a little run there and I thought, ‘shoot, we might get back in this thing,’” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We just couldn’t stop the bleeding or shut down an inning to give ourselves a chance.”
Acuna’s home run once again tied him for most in the majors. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also hit his 17th homer earlier in the night.
3. Tuesday was not an exhibition for clean baseball between pitcher and catcher. Backstop William Contreras, who’s had his share of growing pains defensively, was charged two passed balls, though it easily could’ve been ruled more. Fried threw three wild pitches.
“I think William is a really good catcher,” Fried said. “I think I definitely could’ve helped him out on some of those. But I think it was just a perfect storm of things not going the best way. But as far as William back there, he works hard and I have confidence in him back there.
4. The Braves’ season-long pursuit of a winning record is beginning to embody the metaphor of a dog chasing its tail. Each time they get close, they’re knocked back down again. The Braves fell to 25-27, ensuing they won’t own a winning mark heading into this weekend’s series against the Dodgers. They were four games behind the first-place Mets in the division, pending New York’s result in Arizona.
5. Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg exited with one out in the second after getting hit in the left arm by a comebacker from Contreras. That wasn’t the root of the issue, however, as Strasburg’s velocity was noticeably down. He walked Acuna on four pitches to start the game, prompting a trainer visiting the mound.
It continues a disappointing season for the former No. 1 overall pick. Strasburg has a 4.57 ERA in five starts. He already missed over a month due to right-shoulder inflammation.
Stat to know
3:54 (It was a painful three hours and 54 minutes for the Braves.)
Quotable
“That game started out, it had a bad vibe from the get-go.” – Snitker
Up next
Drew Smyly (2-3, 5.95) will start for the Braves Wednesday night against the Nationals. Washington is starting Jon Lester (0-2, 4.91) on short rest.
