After Dan Uggla stuck a dagger in the Braves with five late-innings RBIs including a three-run homer in the ninth inning to complete an epic comeback and give the Nationals a victory Tuesday, the guy who beat them with his bat Wednesday was an even more improbable source for a three-run hit.
Pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, who had three RBIs in the previous two seasons combined, had a bases-loaded single in the fourth inning against Alex Wood, giving the Nationals a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 13-4 victory at Turner Field that clinched the series, two games to one.
After the Braves turned things over to their bullpen in the sixth, it got ugly as Trevor Cahill gave up four runs in two innings and rookie John Cornely gave up four runs in the ninth inning in his major-league debut, including a three-run home run by Denard Span.
“They just whooped us tonight,” Braves third baseman Chris Johnson said. “That’s really all you can say about it.”
The Nationals lost six in a row before rolling up 30 hits and 26 runs while drilling Atlanta in consecutive games, dropping the Braves below .500 (10-11) for the first time this season. They have lost 11 of 16 since a 5-0 start.
“The series is over,” said manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves have lost three consecutive series, all to National League East teams — the Mets and Phillies on the road, and the Nationals to start a 10-game homestand. “We lost the series and now we’ve got the Cincinnati Reds for four games. We’ll see if we can get back on track.”
Wood (1-1) was charged with six hits and five runs in five innings, with one walk and eight strikeouts. The Braves’ starters ERA climbed to 4.23; there were only three National League teams with starters’ ERAs higher than that before Wednesday.
Trevor Cahill, who is 0-3 with an 8.03 ERA in three starts, had been scheduled to start Friday against Cincinnati, but was brought to relieve in the sixth inning Wednesday and gave up four runs in two innings. It appears likely the Braves will bring up elite pitching prospect Mike Foltynewicz to make his first major-league start Friday against the Reds.
Foltynewicz pitched Sunday at Triple-A Gwinnett, which would put him on normal rest if he were to start Friday against the Reds. He has a 2.08 ERA in four starts at Triple-A Gwinnett, with 30 strikeouts, 10 walks and one homer allowed in 21 2/3 innings.
Gonzalez said the Braves would announce Friday’s starter on Thursday.
Cahill has been wholly unimpressive since the Braves got him in a trade a few days before the end of spring training. The Diamondbacks are paying $6.5 million of his $12 million salary, but that doesn’t do much if anything to mitigate what a disappointment he has been, allowing 21 hits, 16 runs (15 earned) and eight walks with five strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings.
It remains to be seen if there’s any role the Braves would find him suitable in on their pitching staff.
For Wood, it was a night that took a downturn after starting out with much promise.
“Mechanically and from a stuff standpoint, I felt that’s the best I’ve been all spring,” said Wood, who struck out four in the first two innings, after totaling one strikeout in his previous two starts. “From that standpoint and the process of it, I was happy. Obviously I was disappointed in the result.
“Usually when I get that early lead is when I thrive. The inning when they got those runs, definitely disappointed from that standpoint.”
Wood was staked to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on A.J. Pierzynski’s two-run, broken-bat single, which extended the 38-year-old catcher’s hitting streak to 12 games – every game he’s played this season.
Wood had a 3-1 lead until the fourth, when Bryce Harper lined a one-out double off the right-field wall that began a rocky inning for the Braves left-hander.
“Not the same Woody,” Gonzalez said of the outing. “Good first inning and then just a lot of deep counts. He had 100 pitches in five innings. He battled. The Woody we love to see, the competitiveness, it was there. But (he threw) a lot of pitches, a lot of deep counts.”
Ryan Zimmerman followed Harper with a single, a run scoring on Kelly Johnson’s error on the play when he dropped the ball before throwing. One out later, Danny Espinosa singled and Uggla drew a walk to load the bases.
That brought up the pitcher Zimmermann, and Wood fell behind in the count 3-0. Zimmermann took two strikes, then fouled off a pitch before hitting a single to left-center that cleared the bases. With one swing of the pitcher’s bat, the Braves went from leading 3-2 to trailing by two runs.
“I don’t know if it was a focus thing or you are kind of pitching around (Uggla) and then it carries over to the pitcher and you’re behind 3-0 and then you’re just in a bad situation,” Wood said. “You work it back to full count, and with one of their other eight guys you might mix in something else there once you work it back to full count. You throw a fastball and play the odds. Zimmerman ended up getting a knock and you’ve got to tip your cap to him. It’s definitely tough on my part.”
Zimmermann (2-2) allowed eight hits and four runs (three earned) in seven innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts. He improved to 5-2 in 11 career starts against the Braves, including 3-1 with a 2.43 ERA in his past six.
