Fresh off sweeping the Cardinals on the road, the Braves returned home and continued looking like a new team. They defeated the Nationals 8-4 in the series opener Friday at Truist Park.
Here are five takeaways from Friday:
1. The Braves’ revamped offense did it again. Outfielder Adam Duvall’s two-RBI single put them ahead early. After they saw Washington take a 3-2 lead in the fifth, the offense went to work in the bottom of the frame.
The rally started with a catcher’s interference that put slugger Jorge Soler at first with two outs. First baseman Freddie Freeman’s soft single against the shift followed. Third baseman Austin Riley’s single scored Soler to tie the game.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson hit a soft grounder to third. Carter Kieboom fielded the ball but Swanson beat the throw to first, scoring Freeman as the go-ahead run. Duvall’s double added an insurance run and finished Washington starter Erick Fedde.
All the Braves’ damage in the inning came with two outs.
2. Duvall tormented the Braves when he was with the Marlins. Now, instead of doing it against them, he’s back doing it for them. Duvall had two hits and three RBIs Friday, each of which came with two outs.
The slugger has six RBIs in seven games since July 30. His team is 5-2 since the trade deadline.
“Our new additions have really done a good job,” manager Brian Snitker said. “They’ve all come in here and contributed. (General manager) Alex (Anthopoulos) has done a great job. He and his team have done a great job with the influx of these guys.”
3. Braves starter Kyle Muller was erratic, covering only 4-2/3 innings. He allowed three runs on two hits. He also threw three wild pitches, two of which led to runs.
Muller exhibited command issues throughout his minor-league career, but such issues haven’t emerged often in MLB. He owns a 2.88 ERA through eight games, striking out 36 and walking 17. He’s thrown nine wild pitches and hit two batters in that span.
4. Left-hander Max Fried makes a good bench bat. Snitker used Fried as a pinch-hitter to open the sixth and the southpaw, who’s one of the better hitting pitchers in the majors, slapped a double that bounced over the wall in left-center.
Fried is 11-for-35 (.314) with three doubles and five RBIs this season. He’s the first Braves pitcher with multiple pinch-hit hits in a season since Jim Tobin (2) and Max Macon (3) in 1944.
5. The Braves have won four in a row, tying their season-best winning streak. The Mets and Phillies are playing each other, so the Braves will benefit in some capacity this weekend. The Phillies topped the Mets 4-1 in the opener, moving Philadelphia into first place. The Mets had been in sole possession of first place since May 9.
Entering Saturday, the Braves will be just one game behind the Phillies. It’s the closest they’ve been to first since they were one game back on May 25.
“After Thursday night, it was a huge weight off our shoulders to finally get above .500,” Riley said. “But we have a lot of ballgames to play. This thing isn’t anywhere near over. We just have to continue coming out here and playing the baseball we know we’re capable of playing. We’re right there in the hunt.”
Stat to know
7.25 (The Braves have averaged 7.25 runs per game during their four-game streak.)
Quotable
“We’re getting hot at the right time.” – Muller
Up next
The Braves will try to achieve their first five-game winning streak Saturday when right-hander Charlie Morton (10-4, 3.69) faces young Nationals righty Josiah Gray, who was part of the trade that sent ace Max Scherzer to the Dodgers.
