Nats still in search of some power

ATLANTA – However close the first two games between the Nationals and Braves this weekend were, one thing has been abundantly clear: One team has power in full supply and one is seriously lacking.

You can probably guess which team is which.

The Nationals were doomed by this stark difference yesterday. The Braves hit two home runs, both two-run shots. The Nationals hit one, a leadoff homer by Stone Garrett in the top of the ninth in what ended up being a 6-4 loss.

Digging a little deeper shows the power difference is more than just home runs.

The Braves barreled four balls from Nationals pitching: Two doubles and the two homers. The Nationals barreled just one: Luis García’s deep fly ball in the first inning that was a sacrifice fly instead of a two-run homer.

Difference in power leads to Nats' sixth straight loss (updated)

ATLANTA – A major difference between the Nationals and Braves is power at the plate. The Braves have it. The Nationals do not.

The Nats have hit the second-fewest homers in the majors and fewest in the National League. Meanwhile, the Braves have hit the third-most in the majors and second-most in the NL.

That difference was pretty glaring in today’s 6-4 loss in front of 40,799 at Truist Park.

When the offense doesn’t have a lot of pop, you need pitching that also keeps the ball in the field of play and doesn’t give up a lot of free baserunners so that those one-run shots don’t turn into multiple runs.

MacKenzie Gore has done a much better job of limiting walks recently. After giving up multiple in nine of his first 10 starts, he had given up just one over his last two starts coming into today’s rematch with the Braves.

Smith gets rare day off, Chavis gets first start at first

ATLANTA – After last night’s tough 3-2 loss in the series opener, the Nationals are making some significant changes to their lineup for this afternoon’s second game against the Braves.

Against rookie left-hander Jared Shuster, who the Nats knocked around for four runs on six hits and five walks in their first meeting on April 2, lefty bats Dominic Smith and CJ Abrams and switching-hitter Keibert Ruiz are all out of today’s starting lineup.

In their places: Michael Chavis is starting at first base and batting seventh, Ildemaro Vargas is playing shortstop and batting eighth and Riley Adams is catching and batting ninth. And as has been typical against a lefty starter, Stone Garrett is starting in left field instead of Corey Dickerson, batting fifth.

“It was just the plan coming into the series,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame meeting with the media. “I'm trying to keep everybody involved. Get some guys days off. We're getting to a point where it's starting to warm out there. It's tough to play 162 games, so I want to keep these guys fresh and get these other guys in and get them some at-bats. So we'll see how they do. Riley has been playing well. I wanted to get Chavy in there and Vargas has been playing well as well. And Garrett, he platoons with Corey in the outfield, so he gets a chance to play today.”

It’s Smith’s first day off since April 27 against the Mets in New York, when Joey Meneses started at first and Garrett was the designated hitter. The veteran first baseman has struggled to the tune of a .265/.347/.301 slash line, .648 OPS, five doubles, one home run and 14 RBIs in 59 games. And while he has played strong defense for the majority of the season, he was unable to make a run-saving play on a chopper last night, which allowed the tying run to score in the eighth inning.

Game 63 lineups: Nats at Braves

ATLANTA – Sixty-two games down, 100 to go.

The Nationals will try to bounce back from last night’s tough loss and end a couple of streaks today: Their own five-game losing streak and the Braves’ six-game winning streak.

For the third time in his young career, MacKenzie Gore will face the Braves, the team he made both his major league and Nationals debuts against. He delivered the Nats their first win of the season back on April 2, striking out six over 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 victory.

Gore has done a good job of getting deep into games and limiting walks in his last two starts. Against the Royals and Phillies, the young lefty completed 13 innings with 17 strikeouts to just one walk. He’ll aim to continue that trend against a tough Braves lineup.

In a repeat of that April 2 pitching matchup, lefty Jared Shuster will make his seventh major league start for the Braves. The 24-year-old is 2-2 with a 4.99 ERA and 1.337 WHIP to start the season. He gave up four runs on six hits and five walks while taking the loss his first time against the Nats.

Gray battles command issues, Finnegan battles fortune in loss to Braves (updated)

ATLANTA – The Nats are in the middle of a brutal stretch. Tonight began the fifth of six straight series in which they are facing division leaders, defending pennant winners and reigning world champions.

No one is going to feel sorry for them. But this 3-2 loss to the Braves in front of 40,297 at Truist Park felt pretty painful, with a one-run lead turning into a one-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth.

“Tough loss," manager Davey Martinez said after the game. "We played well 'til the bottom of the eighth. As I always say, when you give good teams extra outs, they're gonna get you. And that's what we did in the bottom of the eighth.”

With the Nationals six outs away from a series-opening victory, Kyle Finnegan ran into some tough luck in the bottom of the eighth as the Braves scored two runs (one earned) to take the lead and extend Atlanta’s streak of five straight come-from-behind victories and six straight wins overall.

Finnegan took a liner from Sean Murphy off the lower half of his body for a leadoff infield single. Then another single by Eddie Rosario just got past Luis García and the batter advanced to second on an error by Lane Thomas in right field to put two in scoring position.

Game 62 lineups: Nats at Braves

ATLANTA – The Nationals have escaped the haze that engulfed the Washington, D.C. area and forced a postponement of yesterday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks. Now they find themselves outside downtown Atlanta to take on the Braves for three games, their first against the division leaders since the opening series of the season.

The Nationals enter this weekend having lost seven out of their last nine. For what it’s worth, the Braves also struggled to end May, going through a stretch of losing seven of 11, before turning it around to win six of their last seven, including a three-game sweep of the Mets here this week.

With yesterday’s postponement, Davey Martinez gave his starters an extra day of rest, with Josiah Gray now starting tonight’s opener. The right-hander’s 3.09 ERA is the lowest in the rotation, but he has struggled as of late. He did not complete six innings in any of his last three starts, giving up seven runs over 14 ⅓ innings (4.40 ERA) in the process.

Gray’s worst outing of the year came against these very Braves in his first start, in the Nats’ second game of the season. He gave up five runs and three home runs – including one each to the first two batters he faced – over seven innings while taking a 7-1 loss. In his career, he is 1-2 with a 3.33 ERA and 1.037 WHIP over five starts against Atlanta. He has, though, pitched well here at Truist Park, going 1-0 and allowing just one earned run in 10 innings over two starts.

The Braves are sending 20-year-old right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver to the mound for his first major league start. The Braves' No. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, Smith-Shawver impressed in his big league debut, pitching 2 ⅓ scoreless innings with three strikeouts Sunday against the Diamondbacks. He had a 1.09 ERA, 0.939 WHIP, 12.3 strikeout-per-nine rate and 3.75 strikeout-per-walk rate over seven starts between High-A and Triple-A to begin this season on the Braves farm.

O's game blog: The series begins with the first-place Atlanta Braves

The Orioles schedule gets much tougher beginning tonight and, after a strong 21-10 start, we will get a good look at how they do against some top teams that are straight ahead on that schedule.

In April and counting the three games at Kansas City, the Orioles played 19 of 31 games versus clubs with current losing records. They played 12 games against winning record clubs, going 6-6 against Texas, Boston and the New York Yankees.

But the Orioles’ next three series will all be against first-place clubs and clubs that join Baltimore with the four current best records in MLB.

.813 – Tampa Bay
.688 – Atlanta
.677 – Orioles
.625 – Pittsburgh

The Orioles are keeping good company in this group but now their next nine games are against Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. The play four after that with the second-place Los Angeles Angels, a club that is currently only one game out of first place. After that series, they play nine in a row against Toronto, the Yankees and Texas.

Update on Hays' finger injury, Mateo batting leadoff tonight in Atlanta

ATLANTA – Austin Hays is out of the Orioles’ lineup again tonight while waiting for the gash to heal on his right middle finger. He’s wearing a soft splint on it.

“It’s improved a little bit more,” he said. “We’re still just trying to be careful with it so we don’t turn it into something worse. But the same, day-to-day. Just trying to give it that little bit of extra time and make sure it’s fully ready to go. But still available off the bench if opportunity shows up where I need to be there.”

Hays was hit on the finger by Corey Kluber’s 88 mph sinker, and a cut opened on the inside knuckle beneath the bruise. The Orioles had it cleaned out Wednesday.

A blood blister formed when the ball caused the finger to get pinched against the bat, and the cut was discovered.

“There was just no way to know that it was there before,” Hays said. “At that point, we couldn’t put stitches in it. It’s not something that needs to be stitched. It just needs to heal and close up a little bit. But it’s right there.”

Finnegan bounces back for first save of season

Kyle Finnegan has once again found himself as the Nationals’ de facto closer. With Tanner Rainey and Sean Doolittle rehabbing their respective elbow injuries and bullpen mates Carl Edwards Jr. and Hunter Harvey being used in more of a setup role, the 31-year-old right-hander has been used most often in the ninth inning. Or in whatever high-leverage situation manager Davey Martinez deems as the “save” opportunity.

“Yeah, it's great,” Finnegan said of the confidence he has from Martinez in the closer’s role. “I found myself in that position the last two years. So it's familiar territory. I think getting the last three outs of a game is special and it's awesome. I don't think it's my job to win the game. Our team has already won the game at that point. It's just my job to get those last three out. I don't try to make the moment too big. We've got the game in hand, just go out there and get three outs, and limit damage and secure the win.”

Finnegan pitched to a 3.55 ERA with 11 saves over 68 appearances in 2021 and a 3.51 ERA with another 11 saves last year. Both of his first two appearances of 2023 have come in the ninth inning with differing results.

Facing the bottom of the Braves lineup on Opening Day, he issued two walks and a two-run double as part of a three-run ninth inning that turned a two-run game into a five-run Atlanta lead.

But with the season’s first save opportunity coming in Sunday’s finale, Martinez trusted Finnegan again to retire the heart of Atlanta’s order to seal the first Curly W of the 2023 campaign. While it took him 23 pitches to complete the ninth on Thursday, Finnegan needed only eight efficient pitches Sunday afternoon to get two groundouts, a flyout and the save.

Orioles' split-squad lineups against Detroit and Atlanta (pitchers added)

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles will play the first of two scheduled split-squad game days today. Part of their roster will be at Ed Smith Stadium hosting the Tigers and part of the roster heads to North Port to play the Braves.

The Orioles (6-8-2) will also play two games on March 19, facing the Yankees and the Pirates.

Right-hander Kyle Gibson (0-0, 1.80 ERA), a possible O’s Opening Day starter, gets the home start in Sarasota versus the Tigers. Right-hander Spenser Watkins (0-0, 1.80 ERA) starts against the Braves.

O’s home lineup vs. Tigers
Austin Hays CF
Adley Rutschman DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Gunnar Henderson SS
James McCann C
Adam Frazier 2B
Franchy Cordero LF
Nomar Mazara RF
Jordan Westburg 3B

Kyle Gibson RHP

Is the expanded playoff bracket more beneficial for lower seeds?

GettyImages-613204096

Major League Baseball’s expanded postseason bracket takes center stage for the first time this October. Even without the Nationals involved for the third straight season, it should be an interesting month of playoff baseball.

Instead of two teams playing in each of the Wild Card Games that were used in nine of the last 10 seasons (the shortened 2020 season had eight teams each from the National and American leagues make the playoffs), there are now three wild card teams in each league to complete in the 12-team field.

The 12 teams are placed in a bracket similar to the National Football League’s old 12-team playoff field, with the top two seeds in each league receiving a first-round bye while the Wild Card Series are played. The difference being there is no reseeding after the first round.

Without reseeding in the Division Series, the matchups in the first round are the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed (winner to play the No. 2 seed) and the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed (winner to play the No. 1 seed). This is so the No. 3 seed, the third division winner, cannot match up with the No. 1 seed, the league’s best record, in the second round.

But is this format more beneficial for the lower seeds?

While creating their own playoff atmosphere, Nats want to play spoiler

The Nationals were never really in contention for the postseason this year. They were officially eliminated from playoff contention earlier this month, sealing their third straight season without playing in October since the 2019 World Series championship.

But they have been able to play a role in the upcoming postseason by playing against teams still fighting for a division crown or wild card spot.

Twenty-five of the Nationals’ last 31 games to end the season would have come against playoff-hopeful teams by the end of the three-game series against the Mets that starts at Citi Field tonight. Of those 25 games, 19 are going to be against National League East rivals.

The Braves and Mets have been locked in a close battle for the NL East title and the No. 2 seed in the National League, which includes a bye of the Wild Card Series. The team that finishes in second will host the three-game Wild Card Series starting Friday.

The Mets just suffered a three-game sweep in Atlanta at the hands of the Braves, relinquishing their once 10 1/2-game lead in the division. The Braves now have a two-game lead in the NL East and a magic number of one to clinch the division crown for the fifth straight year. That means any combination of a Braves win or a Nationals win this week would ensure a wild card spot for the Mets, who are still looking for their first division championship since 2015.

Nats shut out by Elder, lose 100 games for first time in over a decade (updated)

This season has been headed in this direction for a while. It was a matter of when, not if, the Nationals would lose their 100th game of 2022.

Well, it happened tonight in the 153rd game on the schedule via an 8-0 series-opening loss to the Braves in front of an announced crowd of 24,684 at Nationals Park. For the first time since 2009, when they went 59-103, the Nationals have lost 100 games in a single season.

Thirteen years ago, the Nationals suffered their second straight 100-loss season. But those years netted the franchise back-to-back No. 1 overall picks, used to draft Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.

A string of success followed that was matched by only a few other teams in the major leagues. From 2012-2019, the Nats won four National League East division titles, a wild card game and the 2019 World Series. They also finished above .500 in each of those eight years.

But those days of winning are gone for now. The Nats are going to suffer their third straight sub-.500 campaign and last-place finish in the NL East. They’re now the first team to lose 100 games this year.

Game 153 lineups: Nats vs. Braves

The last full week of the regular season is here, and with 10 games against division rivals playing for postseason positions remaining on the schedule, the Nationals can have an effect on the October playoff picture.

Tonight begins a three-game set against the Braves, who beat the Nats two out of three last week in Atlanta. The Braves have already secured their spot in the postseason but are looking to gain ground on the Mets, who have a 1 ½ game lead in the National League East and are idle today before starting a home series against the Marlins tomorrow. Having struggled against divisional foes all season long, the Nats are just 4-12 against the Braves this year and 1-6 against them at Nationals Park. 

Cory Abbott will make his eighth start of the season tonight while still searching for his first major league win. He’s 0-3 with a 4.85 ERA over his 14 appearances on the season with a 5.70 ERA as a starter. His lone outing against the Braves came in his last start a week ago, when he allowed four runs with six hits and two walks over four innings at Truist Park.

Likewise, rookie right-hander Bryce Elder will make his second consecutive start against the Nats. He held them to just one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over 5 ⅔ innings on Wednesday, a game in which the Nats rallied to win. Elder is 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA over his eight appearances, seven of which were starts.

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside of D.C. and Atlanta markets only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 70 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field 

Martinez on Adrianza trade, Harris return and selecting Vargas

And here. We. Go.

With the trade deadline about 24 hours away, the baseball world is already abuzz with moves and even more rumors. The Nationals, who figure to play a major role in this year’s deadline, have already gotten the ball rolling, making their first of the numerous trades expected over these next two days.

This afternoon the Nationals traded utility player Ehire Adrianza to the Braves, for whom he played last year, in exchange for 26-year-old outfielder Trey Harris. Adrianza signed a one-year contract with the Nats in March but had his season delayed due to a quadriceps strain during the last week of spring training.

After finally joining the big league club, the 32-year-old played a variety of roles for manager Davey Martinez, appearing at second base, third base, shortstop and left field over 31 games. Adrianza hit .179 with two doubles, seven RBIs, one stolen base and five runs scored with the Nats.

“I talked to Ehire. He gets an opportunity to go back to where he was from and go help them,” Martinez said during his pregame press conference. “And they're in the playoff run, so I'm excited for him that he gets to go back there. I wish I would have seen more of Ehire here because I know the kind of player that he is. He got off to a slow start, and I really believe it's because he was injured. You know, he had a bad injury with the quad and he really couldn't get going. But I loved having him. He was a constant professional. I know I could count on him going out there and doing whatever I asked him to do, no matter what. So I wished him all the best. And I told him, I said, ‘Maybe we'll cross paths again here one day soon.’”

Nats swept out of Atlanta with extra-inning loss (updated)

ATLANTA – When it rains, it pours. An ironic use of that phrase on a beautiful day just outside downtown Atlanta.

But it’s true for the Nationals, who dropped their fourth straight game and were swept by the Braves with today’s 4-3 loss in 12 innings in front of 32,053 at Truist Park.

Jordan Weems, who pitched two impressive scoreless innings Friday night, was charged with the bottom of the 12th. The Nats intentionally walked Matt Olson to put two runners on for the right-hander. Austin Riley, who hit the tying home run in the eighth inning, stepped up to the plate and delivered the game-winning RBI single.

Tanner Rainey put up two zeros in the 10th and 11th innings, not without some tense moments, though.

Going back to the seventh, Davey Martinez brought in Kyle Finnegan to face the top of the Braves order and protect a 3-2 lead. Finnegan struck out the side easily, and since he last pitched Wednesday, he was plenty rested to go back out for a second inning.

Game 88 lineups: Nats at Braves

ATLANTA – The Nationals need a win today to salvage this three-game series against the Braves and end this mostly miserable road trip on a high note.

Paolo Espino will lead them on the mound as he makes his sixth consecutive start. The right-hander hasn’t posted similar numbers as a starter to those he did when he was strictly a reliever. In 20 appearances out of the bullpen, he had a 2.03 ERA over a mainly low-leverage 26 ⅔ innings. Since he joined the rotation on June 12, Espino is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in 22 innings over five starts. He gave up three runs in one inning of relief against the Braves in his second outing of the season on April 12.

For the offense, Ian Anderson may present the best opportunity to do some damage off a Braves starter. The right-hander is 7-5 with a 5.09 ERA over his first 16 starts of the season. He gave up four runs on six hits and four walks in four innings plus three batters against the Nats on June 13. He has a 9.82 ERA in just 11 innings over his last three starts.

César Hernández is on the bench and not in his usual leadoff spot, with Luis García batting first instead. Manager Davey Martinez also has Juan Soto and Josh Bell swapping places in today's batting order.

All-Stars will be announced later today, so we’ll see soon who will be the Nationals’ representative in the Midsummer Classic.

Game 87 lineups: Nats at Braves

ATLANTA – It’s a new day and the Nationals will be looking to get past last night’s disaster, which saw them lose 10-2 in the series opener with a 75-minute rain delay and another position player pitching.

They’ll turn to Patrick Corbin to set the tone for them on the mound this afternoon. Although the overall numbers still aren’t great (4-10 record and 5.68 ERA in 17 starts), the veteran lefty has been very impressive over his last two starts, pitching to a 1.20 ERA with 16 strikeouts and three walks over a combined 15 innings. He did, however, give up six runs in just 2 ⅔ innings here at Truist Park in his second start of the season. Here’s hoping things have changed since the last time Corbin faced the Braves.

After mustering only Juan Soto’s two-run home run off Charlie Morton last night, the Nats offense hopes to be more productive against Kyle Wright, who has been one of the more consistent starters in the league. The 26-year-old right-hander is 9-4 with a 2.91 ERA over 16 starts this season, and he should be plenty fresh after only pitching four innings and throwing 71 pitches (both season lows) in his last start against the Cardinals. (Manager Brian Snitker removed him as a precaution after the Braves jumped out to a 6-0 lead.) 

Wright hasn’t faced the Nats since 2020, but is 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA in four career appearances (two starts) against Washington.

The weather here is once again not great for baseball. The light rain falling is supposed to clear around the scheduled 4:10 p.m. first pitch, but then it’s supposed to storm all night starting around 6-7 p.m.. They may be able to start this game. Whether or not they finish is a different story.

Weems trying to prove worth in Nats bullpen

ATLANTA – Part of the rebuilding process, especially if you want to make it a quick turnaround back to contention, is finding diamonds in the rough. Whether that’s in the draft, international market or free agency, adding productive pieces that may have been overlooked by other teams is a good way to put together a contender.

It’s still early with a small sample size, but Jordan Weems is hoping to be one of those diamonds in the rough for the Nationals.

You may look at his overall numbers and think there’s no way. A 29-year-old right-handed reliever who has been cast off by three other teams? Who was drafted in 2011 but didn’t make his major league debut until 2020 as a 27-year-old? Who has a 6.53 ERA in only 25 big league outings? Who had a 7.27 ERA and 1.731 WHIP in just 8 ⅔ innings over eight appearances coming into Friday’s series opener in Atlanta?

How is that a diamond in the rough?

Well, if you take a look at Weems’ more recent numbers, you'll find there are some positive developments that suggest he’s perhaps turning a corner. At the very least, he’s turning himself into a reliable arm out of Davey Martinez’s bullpen.

Disastrous second inning dooms Fedde, Nats in loss (updated)

ATLANTA – It’s been hit or miss for Erick Fedde this year. Really, it’s been hit or miss for Erick Fedde throughout his career. But he hasn’t been put under the microscope until these past two seasons as he has solidified himself in the Nationals rotation.

Sometimes he’s sharp and can use his arsenal effectively to turn in a quality (if not better) start, although he typically gets himself into high pitch counts.

Other times he’s flat and serves up easy pitches for the opponent to hit, which puts his team in a hole and also drives up his pitch count.

Tonight’s series opener against the Braves was the latter as a five-run second inning doomed Fedde and the Nats en route to a 12-2 loss in front of 41,725 fans at Truist Park.

Fedde put himself in a small deficit from the start. In the first inning, he served up a solo home run to Matt Olson on an inside and slightly elevated cutter. He needed 16 pitches to complete the first frame, a pretty standard start for the right-hander.