The Braves’ winning streak ended with just one pitch. When Nationals newcomer Riley Adams smacked a two-run homer off Will Smith in the ninth to put his team ahead, it robbed the Braves of their fifth consecutive win.
Their run ended with a 3-2 loss Saturday to the Nationals, a game they led from the second batter in the bottom of the first inning until two outs in the ninth.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday:
1. The Braves entered the final inning with a 2-0 lead. Josh Bell’s walk and Ryan Zimmerman’s double created trouble. Smith induced a flyout from Carter Kieboom for the first out. Luis Garcia’s grounder produced the second out while scoring the Nationals’ first run.
Adams, acquired from the Blue Jays for closer Brad Hand as part of the Nationals’ trade-deadline purge, punished the first pitch he saw for his first career homer. Adams was 3-for-25 in his career entering the at-bat.
“It wasn’t my night tonight,” Smith said. “I want to do my job every time out but these guys are big-league hitters too. They hit pitches sometimes. That’s the way it goes in the bullpen.”
Smith hadn’t allowed a run in his past seven appearances. Saturday marked his third blown save in 25 opportunities.
“He put a good swing on a good pitch,” Smith said. “We executed our plan and he got me tonight. … We had a couple more pitches we’d planned to throw but obviously he got the first one and ruined everything there. I wouldn’t take it back. He just got me.”
2. It was a missed opportunity for the Braves. Not only did it snap their four-game winning streak, but a victory would’ve bumped them ahead of the Mets into second place in the National League East.
Instead, the Braves remain in third and dropped to two games behind the red-hot Phillies (58-53), who have won seven in a row.
3. Jorge Soler has made his presence felt since joining the Braves at the trade deadline. The outfielder hit a solo homer in the first inning Saturday, his third in seven games with the team. Soler has a hit in all but one of those contests.
Soler, acquired from the Royals for right-handed prospect Kasey Kalich, is hitting .360 (9-for-25) with three homers and six RBIs as a Brave.
“He’s a big dude that hits the ball hard,” starter Charlie Morton said. “That’s fun to watch. But I like seeing him in the clubhouse too. He and G (Guillermo Heredia) are pals. They knew each other. They’re friends. G says he’s a good dude. He comes in, he’s happy, smiling. He says hi to everybody. He’s a real good clubhouse guy. Easy to root for.
“I’m really excited that he’s here and excited to get to watch him play. I knew from his time in KC (Kansas City), getting to pitch against him a little bit and see him play, I always liked the way he played. I’m glad he’s on our side.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
4. Three of the first four Nationals reached to begin the sixth. Morton, after cruising through most of the evening, had run into one of those troublesome innings that has spoiled previous starts.
After a mound visit, Morton threw eight pitches to end the inning. Cool and collected, he struck out Yadiel Hernandez on three pitches and Josh Bell on five. It wrapped up six scoreless innings in which Morton allowed only three hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
5. First baseman Freddie Freeman exited after one inning due to an upper respiratory infection. Snitker said Freeman hasn’t been feeling well but he’s hopeful the All-Star will be available Sunday.
Stat to know
4 (Once again, a Braves winning streak stopped at four. They’ve had three four-game winning streaks but none longer.)
Quotable
“As a team, we’ve been playing a lot better. It looks like the Braves of last year with big hits, putting up zeroes, stuff like that. It just didn’t go our way tonight.” – Smith
Up next
The series concludes Sunday when lefties Max Fried (8-7, 4.05) and Patrick Corbin (6-10, 5.74) square off.
