Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt displayed his quick feet and rifle arm in the top of the sixth inning when he threw out Michael Taylor trying to steal third base for the second out, with two on and Washington ahead 1-0.
But it was what the defensively gifted catcher did with his bat in the bottom of the sixth that provided a greater lift for an offense and a team in dire need of one.
Three runs scored on Bethancourt’s bases-loaded single that skipped off the glove of first baseman Tyler Moore, sending the Braves to a 3-1 win to snap a five-game losing skid and prevent a Nationals sweep on a night when the newly crowned National League East champions used a lineup dotted with prospects and minor leaguers.
“We finally got a guy to come through in that big spot with a couple of guys on,” said Phil Gosselin, who had three hits including a leadoff single in the sixth inning to start the rally. “Bet’s been able to do that since he came up; he’s done it a few times. He’s done a great job offensively and defensively.”
Alex Wood (11-10) continued his run of strong pitching, allowing five hits, one run and one walk with eight strikeouts in six-plus innings. He left after giving up consecutive singles to start the seventh inning, and David Carpenter retired the next three batters on a fielder’s choice, a pop-up and a strikeout to preserve the 3-1 lead.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 44th save.
Bethancourt was credited with a two-RBI single and ended up at third on the three-run play, advancing on a throwing error by shortstop Danny Espinosa after Jason Heyward surprised the Nationals with a dash to the plate for the third run.
Bethancourt is 9-for-17 with runners in scoring position and two outs, easily the best average on a team with a meager .201 average in those situations before Wednesday, third-lowest in the NL.
“I was not trying to do too much,” Bethancourt said. “I was just trying to do my job, get some runs in with the bases loaded and two outs, basically put the ball in play. And that’s what I did. People say when you put the ball in play, things happen.”
The Braves won for just the fourth time in 15 September games and avoided losing any more ground to Pittsburgh, which has built a lead of 5 ½ games over them for the second and final NL wild-card spot with only 10 games left for Atlanta. The Braves also trail Milwaukee in the race for that last postseason berth.
Heyward and Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons left the game with injuries, Heyward two innings after being hit in the left thumb by a pitch in the sixth, and Simmons after tweaking his left Achilles tendon, manager Fredi Gonzalez said. Simmons said it was only a little sore after the game.
X-rays on Heyward’s thumb were negative, but it’s his throwing hand and he might need significant improvement if he’s to play Friday against the Mets, after the Braves’ day off Thursday.
Wood is 4-2 with a 1.84 ERA in his past 10 starts, and has allowed six hits or fewer in six innings or more in every one of them. It was the sixth time in those 10 games that Wood allowed one or no earned runs, and just the third time in that span that the Braves scored more than two runs while he was in the game.
In Friday’s 2-1 loss at Texas, he got no decision after giving up four hits and one run in seven innings. He had only allowed three hits Wednesday before a pair of singles to start the seventh, the second a soft infield hit.
“You always want to stay out there. I was going pretty good,” said Wood, who threw 93 pitches. “But we’re out here to win. We ended up getting the W tonight, and that’s all you rally care about. Skip (Fredi Gonzalez) wants to win just as bad as us. That was the best move for the club. It turned out pretty good.”
The Braves took the season series 11-8 against the Nationals, though it was small consolation after Washington wrested the division title that Atlanta won in 2013. The Nationals clinched it with a win at Turner Field on Tuesday, and the smell of champagne from their postgame celebration hung in the air in the visitor’s clubhouse a day later while most of their lineup regulars rested.
The Nationals took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning on Steven Souza’s first homer in his 16th major league at-bat, on a 1-1 change-up that Wood left over the plate. That extended Washington’s remarkable streak to 22 consecutive road games with at least one homer, the second-longest streak in the majors in the modern era (since 1900).
Washington rookie Blake Treinen allowed just three hits and one walk in five scoreless innings, but the Braves got to Ross Detwiler after the veteran left-hander entered in the sixth inning.
Gosselin led off the inning with a single, his second leadoff hit of the night. Ramiro Pena followed with an infield single, the first time the Braves had two hits in an inning in the past two nights.
After Freddie Freeman grounded into a fielder’s choice, Justin Upton struck out looking with runners on the corners. But just when frustrated Braves fans were probably ready to throw their hands in the air or their TVs out the window over another wasted scoring opportunity, Heyward was hit in the left hand by a pitch, loading the bases.
Up came the rookie Bethancourt, who, in his limited chances, hasn’t had the same kind of problems that most Braves have had in these situations. Bethancourt’s sharp grounder caromed off Moore’s glove as first baseman lunged to his right.
“He likes being in the big spots,” Heyward said, “and the best way to get comfortable in situations like that is to be in them. He’s come through for us every time.”
The ball sailed just past the hand of second baseman Jeff Kobernus into shallow right field, where Nate Schierholtz picked it up and held it too long before throwing it into the infield, not paying attention to Heyward, who took a chance and raced from third to make a head-first dive to the plate for the third run.
“You put the ball in play and funny things can happen,” Gonzalez said. “Jason Heyward’s head’s-up base running made a big difference to add on another run…. Bethancourt put the ball in play and getting us two runs, that’s a big at-bat. Woody (Alex Wood) was outstanding again.”
The Braves played music in the clubhouse after a game for the first time in six days. They only do that after a win.
“Our chairman came in and said, ‘It’s nice to come down the hallway when that music is blaring; that’s always a good sign,’” Gonzalez said. “So let’s keep the music going for a long time, see what happens.”
