Doug Fister dominates as Washington Nationals win 6th straight, sweep Braves
By Pablo Roa
On a day in which neither Bryce Harper or Anthony Rendon were in the lineup, the Washington Nationals’ offense put on a show against Atlanta Braves’ pitching.
A seven-run outburst by the offense coupled with a dominant performance by starter Doug Fister led the Nationals to a 7-0 victory over their rivals from the south, sealing a three-game sweep of the Braves and extending Washington’s winning streak to six games.
The Nationals’ offense got things going early on and never looked back. Yunel Escobar made it a 1-0 game in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI groundout which scored Denard Span from third. While the Nationals’ offense looked to be clicking early on, the Braves’ defense helped the Nationals extend their lead in the second inning.
With Wilson Ramos at second base and no outs, Ian Desmond hit a routine ground ball to Braves’ third baseman Kelly Johnson. Johnson fielded it cleanly but threw the ball into the stands, allowing Ramos to score from second and make it a 2-0 game. Later in the inning, Michael A. Taylor made it a 3-0 game on an RBI double to center field, scoring Desmond.
Unfortunately for the Braves, the Nationals’ offense wasn’t done.
Clint Robinson made it a 4-0 game on an RBI single in the third inning that scored Yunel Escobar. At first it wasn’t clear if Escobar had avoided the tag of Braves’ catcher A.J. Pierzynski and Atlanta challenged the ‘safe’ call on the field. Fortunately for the Nationals, the call was upheld and the run scored. Washington stretched its lead to 6-0 on a two-run homer by Desmond later in the inning, before scoring their seventh and final run on an RBI single by Matt den Dekker in the eighth—his first hit as a National.
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While the offense was crushing Braves’ starter Matt Wisler, Fister was putting on a show of his own on the mound.
The right-hander dominated in his second start since coming off the disabled list, throwing seven scoreless innings while allowing just four hits and striking out four. With Fister’s performance, the starting rotation has now thrown a franchise record 41 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.
The Braves’ lineup wasn’t able to do much of anything against Fister, and the bullpen was just as dominant once the right-hander left the game. Blake Treinen pitched the final two innings in dominant fashion, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out two batters to preserve the 7-0 victory for the Nationals.
Next Game: The Nationals look to keep their winning streak alive tomorrow night in Philadelphia, as Max Scherzer—fresh off his first career no-hitter—takes the mound to try to extend his own recent streak of dominance. The Phillies will counter with right-hander Aaron Harang. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.