Check out my three takeaways from yesterday’s 6-4 Washington Nationals win over the Braves
Yesterday afternoon, Dusty Baker decided to make radical changes to the Washington Nationals (80-57) lineup before their game against the Atlanta Braves (54-84). After playing the night before on ESPN, Baker decided to rest a number of starting players, including Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper, and Jayson Werth.
To me, that was the right decision made by Baker to get all of these players a day off. Plus, this is where the team misses Stephen Drew, who is still on the disabled list with vertigo-like symptoms. If Drew was healthy, then Anthony Rendon and Danny Espinosa could get some days off on the left side of the infield.
One of the strengths for the Washington Nationals this season has been their depth off the bench. In the third inning yesterday, Chris Heisey came up with a huge three-run home run against Ryan Weber to get the Nats out to a 5-1 lead. Heisey and Trea Turner each had home runs in the third inning.
Even with most of the backups on the field, Max Scherzer was able to keep the Braves from having that big inning offensively. Scherzer gave up two runs over seven innings yesterday to pick up his team-high 16th win of the season.
While the Nats didn’t increase their lead over the Mets in the NL East, their magic number to clinch the NL East is now at 17 games. The one thing they did improve was their record against the Braves this season, which is now at 12-2.
Before Gio Gonzalez takes on Williams Perez tonight at Nats Park (7:05 p.m ET, MASN2), check out my three takeaways from yesterday’s 6-4 win by the Washington Nationals win over the Braves.
Next: Scherzer Has Strong Start On Extra Rest