Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 6-4 Win Over Braves
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
Scherzer Has Strong Start On Extra Rest
Scherzer didn’t have a dominant outing yesterday in terms of racking up the strikeouts, but he found a way to have success against the Braves. He went seven innings, gave up two runs on seven hits, struck out five, and walked two on 107 pitches (77 strikes).
His five strikeouts were the lowest he had in any game since August 15 against the Rockies (three). Despite the low strikeout total, he was pounding the strikezone as 23 of the 32 batters he faced saw first pitch strikes.
The Washington Nationals right-hander ran into trouble in the second when he allowed three straight hitters to reach base, including a RBI double by Jace Peterson to put the Braves ahead 1-0. But, Scherzer battled and retired the eight and nine hitters in the Braves order to end the inning.
Other than the second inning, Scherzer didn’t have many issues against the Braves. He is now 3-0 against the Braves this season with his ERA going down to 4.10. Since the All-Star Break, he is 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA in ten starts and opponents are only hitting .186.
As I said earlier, Baker did the right thing by giving Scherzer the extra rest because if you aren’t going to put most of the starters on the field, your ace has to be able to keep the opposing offense from scoring many runs. Yesterday, Scherzer did just that as he continues to improve his resume for a possible National League Cy Young Award.
Next: Turner Continues To Dominate Braves
Turner Continues To Dominate Braves
One of the regular starters who got to play yesterday was second baseman Trea Turner. Once again, Turner was the spark plug at the top of the order as he went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI’s. He ended up finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
Turner got the scoring started against the Braves in the bottom of the third inning. With the count at 1-2 and Jose Lobaton at second, Turner took a 1-2 sinker from Ryan Weber and hit it over the wall in left for his sixth home run of the season.
In the following inning, Turner drove in another run with a base hit to left on a four-seam fastball from Jed Bradley that scored Danny Espinosa. With his three-hit day yesterday, the 23-year-old is hitting .340 since the All-Star Break.
While Turner hasn’t had an extensive career so far, he has had some good games against the Braves. Keep in mind that he played in six games against the Braves last season. In 14 career games against the Braves, Turner is hitting .408 with four home runs and 11 RBI’s.
Turner is not a power hitter, but he seems to find a way to hit home runs against Atlanta pitching. His 10 RBI’s are tied with Daniel Murphy for the second most of any Washington Nationals hitter against the Braves (Bryce Harper has 14).
On a day where most of the regular starters were out of the lineup, Turner got a chance to play in the infield and made an impact on getting the homestand started on a winning note.
Next: No Need To Panic About Melancon
No Need To Panic About Melancon
After a scoreless eighth inning by Koda Glover, Baker went to his closer in a non-save situation in the ninth inning. Mark Melancon had his fair share of struggles yesterday against Atlanta. He started off the inning by giving up back-to-back base hits and throwing a wild pitch (third of the season).
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While Freddie Freeman had an infield single to cut the lead to 6-3, Melancon was able to use his cutter to get Matt Kemp to ground into a 4-6-3 double play on a 2-0 count. Then, Anthony Recker flew out to Brian Goodwin in right field to end the game.
Melancon has been solid for the Washington Nationals since they acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has converted all eight of his save chances and he has yet to give up a home run in 17 games (15.2 innings).
Next: Scherzer Picks Up 16th Win Against Braves
With that being said, there is one team that Melancon seems to struggle against and that is the Braves. In seven games against Atlanta, Melancon has five saves, but his ERA is 4.26 and Atlanta is hitting .370 against him (highest of any team that has faced this season).
Since he joined the Nats, the only team who has scored a run against Melancon has been the Braves. Luckily, for Melancon, the Braves will not be one of the teams that Melancon will see in the postseason. Despite those bad numbers, it shouldn’t stop fans from beng confident when Melancon takes the mound in the ninth inning, whether its in a save or a non-save situation.