WASHINGTON — Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was asked Friday afternoon about the New York Mets’ six-run ninth-inning rally to beat St. Louis a day earlier, which cut a game off Atlanta’s magic number to clinch the wild card.
“We’ve still got to go out and win ballgames ourselves,” he said. “Not only to clinch the wild card, but to go into the postseason with some kind of momentum. We’re playing good baseball. ... We just haven’t been able to get the hit when we need it.”
A few hours later, they got the big hit. Then another. And a couple of more.
The Braves scored three runs in the first inning against phenom Stephen Strasburg and rolled to a 7-4 win over Washington at Nationals Park.
“Huge," left fielder Martin Prado said after Atlanta reduced its wild-card-clinching magic number to three with five games left on the schedule. "Everybody was pumped up... Every at-bat, every game, every inning is huge from now on.”
Dan Uggla had three hits and two RBIs for the Braves, who moved three games ahead of second-place St. Louis in the National League wild-card standings, after the Cardinals lost 5-1 to the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
Braves pitcher Tim Hudson (16-10) left the game in the sixth inning after cramping up, and went to a local hospital to receive fluids. Initially it appeared that Hudson strained his neck or shoulder, but the Braves said afterward that he just needed fluids and was otherwise fine.
“He cramps up every once in a while," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "It’s nothing serious. It’s something he has a history of, and it was probably a little more humid than we expected for September here. But he’s fine, other than that.”
“He was running on fumes there and he gave me the evil eye when I took him out. This guy wants to pitch and wants to compete. He’s special.”
As Gonzalez did a postgame news conference in his office, there was loud cheering from Braves players down the hall in the clubhouse when the Cubs' Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning against the Cardinals.
Any combination of Braves wins and St. Louis losses totaling three would give the Braves their second consecutive wild-card playoff berth. Atlanta's magic number against third-place San Francisco was down to one after the Giants lost to Arizona on Friday.
"It's crunch time and any kind of help we can get from the Mets, or the Cubs tonight, it's going to be huge," Uggla said. "We don't have that many games left, and we have to of course take care of our business over here as well, and worry about whatever happens with them after we take care of our business.
“To get this win tonight and get back on track -- we’re going to come back out tomorrow with the same fire we had tonight.”
After Jonny Venters gave up a Jayson Werth homer in the eighth inning, Craig Kimbrel gave up one hit in the ninth before recording his league-leading 46th save on his second strikeout of the inning.
Hudson gave up three runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings, including hits to four of the last five batters he faced. He appeared to have some tightness in the neck after Michael Morse doubled with one out. Hudson stayed in the game to face four more batters.
For his career, he improved to 144-2 with 25 no-decisions when given a lead or 3 or more runs
“It was big," Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said of the win. "I think the guys responded well. Obviously there was a lot of hype around their starter and not a lot of people gave us a chance to win tonight. We came out swinging the bats well in the first, got his pitch count up.
“Huddy was not what he was last time [Hudson pitched eight scoreless innings against the Mets on Saturday], but good enough. And the bullpen did a good job, as usual. When you go out and scored seven runs with Huddy on the mound and our bullpen, it’s a good recipe.”
Brian McCann added a two-run double in the three-run fifth inning, a good sign from the All-Star catcher mired in the worst slump of his career since returning from the disabled list in mid-August. He had batted .168 in his previous 32 games.
Strasburg (0-1) made his fourth start since returning from elbow surgery and was charged with three runs (two earned) and five hits in four innings, with no walks and three strikeouts. He was on a strict pitch count and threw a season-high 75 to get 12 outs.
It’s the second time Strasburg has faced the Braves in 16 career starts, and the second time he’s lost to them and Hudson. The hard-throwing right-hander gave up three runs in 6 1/3 innings at Turner Field on June 28, 2010, in his sixth major-league start.
Strasburg has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 13 of 16 starts.
“He’s the real deal," Jones said. "He’s got great stuff. He made some mistakes in the middle of the plate in the first inning, but once he settled down he got his location, was throwing the ball inside. Changeup was a devastatating a changeup as I’ve seen.”
The Braves, after losing four of six games during consecutive series losses to the Mets and Florida, snapped a string of four consecutive series-opening losses and improved to 4-3 this season at Nationals Park, where they’ve not played well in the past.
They sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning and got three consecutive one-out singles from Prado, Jones and Uggla, whose hit provided a 1-0 lead. Freddie Freeman’s two-out single drove in the second run, and another scored when Jack Wilson’s grounder went between third baseman Ryan Zimmerman’s legs.
“Any time you can jump ahead like that in those early innings, you have to take advantage of those opportunities," Uggla said. "We had a chance in Florida against [Anibal] Sanchez in the first inning and didn’t get it done. We ended up scoring some later on, but anytime you can kind of put them on their heels just a little bit as early as you can, it makes a difference.”
Strasburg retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, with Uggla’s third-inning single the only exception. Uggla is 5-for-6 with five RBIs in his career against Strasburg.
“He’s got an overpowering fastball, an above-average curveball and an above-average changeup," Uggla said. "He’s right back on track and looks like he’s worked his butt off to be where he is now. Everybody knows he’s got an unbelievably bright future ahead of him... Just so happens we got a couple of hits off him and got some runs, got his pitch count up and got him out.”
Collin Ballester replaced Strasburg to start the fifth inning, and three of the four batters he faced reached on two walks and Uggla’s RBI double. Lefty Atahualpo Severino relieved Ballester and was greeted by McCann’s two-run double that pushed the lead to 6-1.
The Braves led 6-3 before Werth homered to start the eighth, just the second homer allowed by Venters this season. The left-hander has a 5.84 ERA in his past 13 appearances, allowing 13 hits, eight runs and nine walks in 12 1/3 innings.
The Braves added a run in the ninth when Michael Bourn alertly scored from second base on Jones’ fielder’s choice. Bourn got in a rundown between second and third, then ran home when the Nationals turned their attention to Jones and no one covered the plate.
“I took it for granted that they were going to get Bourny out, and I just wanted to get in scoring position," said Jones, who was all the way to second base before Bourn retreated to second, then turned back and got in a rundown.
"Once I saw that Zim [third baseman Ryan Zimmerman] dropped the ball and Bourny was going to be safe, I was in no-man’s land," Jones said, "and I just had to stay in it as long as I could. Fortunately for us nobody was covering home, and Bourny walked home....
“Speed kills. Not my speed, his speed.”
Bourn also had two stolen bases to raise his majors-leading total to 58.
