Reaction: Washington Nationals Continue To Dominate Braves

4^th Inning Runs The Difference

Early on in the game, the Nationals couldn’t get much going against Braves’ starter Matt Wisler. Wisler had five ground ball outs through the first ten batters and made a great fielding play on a bunt by Bryce Harper in the bottom of the first inning.

However, in the fourth, the Nats were able to find a way to get on the scoreboard. After getting his first hit as a National last night, Stephen Drew took advantage of the third straight fastball he saw from Wisler and hit it to right center for his first home run.

Then, Jayson Werth finally got on the home run column for 2016 when he crushed a two-run home run to center that gave the Nats their 3-0 lead. It will be interesting to see if that one home run gets Werth going on a hot streak.

As for Drew, while he is not Yunel Escobar at third base, he definitely is a good bench piece for Dusty Baker to utilize when he needs to give Anthony Rendon a night off. So far, Baker has built a good bench, but the question will be whether or not these players will play significant roles like the bench did last year with all the injuries?

All in all, I think Drew is a good fit for this team because he has that home run power and is a good defender at three positions, which means he can spell Rendon, Danny Espinosa, or Daniel Murphy.

Next: Roark Keeps Braves In Check

Roark Keeps Braves In Check

Even though he wasn’t supposed to start, Tanner Roark had some of his best stuff last night against the Braves. He went seven innings, gave up no runs on four hits, struck out three, and walked four on 100 pitches (60 strikes). So far, in two starts, he has yet to allow an extra-base hit.

The one pitch that Roark used the most last night was his two-seam fastball. According to Brooks Baseball, 63 out of his 100 pitches were two-seamers with 38 of them going for strikes. But, it was effective in holding Atlanta to those four hits:

Even when Roark got into trouble, he found a way to get the key double play, such as in the seventh inning when Mallex Smith grounded into the 1-6-3 double play. It was definitely an improved start from last week against the Marlins, but it also shows how good Roark can be when he’s on that routine.

Plus, the one thing that Roark has done in his career is dominate the Braves, regardless of how strong their lineup is. In 13 career outings (starter or reliever) against Atlanta, he has a 4-1 record with an ERA under two.

Next: Papelbon Off To Strong Start

 Papelbon Off To Strong Start

While it has only been seven games, it is Jonathan Papelbon that is currently the Major League leader in saves with five. It wasn’t a pretty save last night when Papelbon gave up a one-out single to A.J. Pierzynski, but he got Erick Aybar to ground into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

So far, four of his five saves have come against the Braves, which has gotten him off to a great start. Plus, this is the start Papelbon needed if he wanted to win back some of the fans after last year’s incident with Bryce Harper.

Papelbon is not going to be one of those closers that dominates every night, but at least he has the veteran mindset to get through a difficult situation. Here is what he had to say after the game about his great start:

“My stuff has felt real good. It feels better than it has in many years. I physically feel better than I have in a lot of years.” (h/t Chase Hughes, CSNMidAtlantic.com)

Next: Recap: Roark Shuts Out Braves As Nats Win 4th Straight

Papelbon was 10-for-12 in saves during the second half of last season with a 2.73 ERA. As I wrote during the offseason, Papelbon needed a first half like he had in Philadelphia where he was 14-for-14 in saves and had an ERA of 1.60.

The Nationals’ bullpen has been strong through the first week of the season. Last night, it was Papelbon and Oliver Perez (two strikeouts in the eighth inning), which continued to keep the Braves off the scoreboard after Roark’s strong outing.