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Washington Nationals: Turner’s Two Home Runs Not Enough Vs. Braves

By Ricky Keeler

Sep 17, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman Trea Turner (7) hits a single against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman Trea Turner (7) hits a single against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Despite two home runs from Trea Turner, the Washington Nationals lost this afternoon’s game against the Braves, 7-3

One player who has loved hitting at Turner Field is Washington Nationals center fielder Trea Turner. Turner hit two home runs this afternoon, but the Braves were able to get to Gio Gonzalez as the Nats left-hander didn’t finish five innings. The Braves won the game 7-3 and the Washington Nationals magic number to clinch the NL East remains at six.

The Washington Nationals got off to a fast start in the top of the first when Turner hit the third pitch of the game to left for a home run against Braves starter Josh Collmenter. But, that Braves got that run back in the bottom of the inning on a RBI single by Nick Markakis against Gonzalez.

In the third inning, Gonzalez ran into more trouble. Atlanta’s top of the order had four straight singles to begin the inning. One of them ended up being a RBI for Freddie Freeman. Although Gonzalez limited the damage to two runs in that inning when Markakis grounded into a double play, Atlanta still had a 3-1 lead.

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On the first pitch of the top of the fifth, Turner hit a cutter from Collmenter over the wall in left for his second of the day to cut the Braves lead to 3-2. The home run was Turner’s 11th of the season. In this series, he is 7-for-10 with three home runs and four RBI’s.

While Turner had great success against Collmenter, the rest of the lineup struggled. Collmenter went five innings, gave up two runs on four hits, struck out eight, and walked three on 94 pitches (60 strikes) in the win. The other two hits besides the home run were a Daniel Murphy double in the third and a Ryan Zimmerman single to lead off the fourth.

Atlanta continued their success against Gonzalez in the bottom of the fifth. Markakis picked up his second RBI of the day when his one-out single to right drove in Ender Inciarte.That would end Gonzalez’s afternoon. While he only gave up one extra-base hit, the lefty gave up a lot of soft contact today. He went 4.1 innings, gave up six runs on nine hits, and struck out seven on 88 pitches (58 strikes) in the loss.

As the inning continued, Trevor Gott allowed a RBI single to Anthony Recker. Then, he walked Gordon Beckham with the bases loaded two batters later, which doubled the lead to 6-2. Recker’s second RBI of the day came in the seventh when he singled to left against Koda Glover.

While the Washington Nationals got a run back in the top of the seventh on a Jayson Werth fielder’s choice, their rally ended up being cut short. Murphy popped out to left after he swung at a 3-0 pitch and Bryce Harper flew out to center with Turner on third base.

Next: Defense Wins Championships

Next Game: The Washington Nationals (88-60) will play their final game ever at Turner Field tomorrow afternoon against the Atlanta Braves (57-91). You can catch the game on MASN at 1:35 p.m ET. Joe Ross (7-4, 3.49 ERA) makes his return to the Nats rotation against Matt Wisler (6-12, 5.00) for the Braves.

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