The Atlanta Braves blew out the Washington Nationals 9-0 in Nationals Park on Wednesday afternoon in a rain-soaked affair that was delayed for nearly 90 minutes.
Here is Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
The top of the sixth was when the Braves took charge of the game.
Neither team had scored, and while the Nationals didn’t have many chances - they hadn’t even gotten their first hit yet - the Braves had squandered a bases-loaded-and-one-out situation just two innings before.
The sixth essentially looked like it would be more of the same: Ronald Acuña Jr. singled and stole second, just to watch both Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies behind him strike out.
Then, in the ultimate sign of disrespect, Washington chose to intentionally walk Michael Harris II, deciding they’d rather face Sean Murphy with two runners on.
About that.
Murphy got a 1-1 slider that was supposed to be below the zone (but wasn’t), and pulled a classic pull-and-elevate - it was only 95.3 mph and 367 feet, but that was enough to clear the left-field wall and stake Atlanta to a 3-0 lead.
Amazing what a healthy hip and consistent playing time can do for a former All-Star, huh?
Today’s Player of the Game
By a narrow 5% margin, 45% to 40%, Ronald Acuña beat out Sean Murphy for the award.
Just like Murphy’s homer in the sixth, Ronald’s was also a three-run shot, this one coming off of Max Kranick. While this specific homer was off of an elevated sinker, Ronald did get a weak liner off of a four-seamer to open the top of the 4th and ripped a four-seamer at 109 mph to open the 6th.
And that homer ended up being pretty impactful - it was his 200th of his career. Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Ronald Acuña Jr. reached 200 steals and 200 homers quicker than anyone else in MLB history, achieving that in 904 games. The names behind him?
Alfonso Soriano: 929
Eric Davis: 1,053
Bobby Bonds: 1,065
Sammy Sosa: 1,094
Barry Bonds: 1,094
Not a bad bunch to be grouped in with.
This is the continuation of a mini heater for Ronald, coming ever since he got a day off for a “mental reset”. Over his last seven contests, Acuña’s hitting .370/.452/.519 with six runs scored, four RBI, a home run, and two stolen bases. While the lone home run is a bit disappointing, he has 14 total bases in that span and has added four more on the basepaths (two stolen bases and twice advancing for ‘defensive indifference’ last night).
What You’ll Be Talking About
The offense finally broke out of their string of close wins (or losses), but there’s some odd ‘passing-of-the-bad-juju’ going on.
Ha-Seong Kim, last night’s Player of the Game for his three hits and strong defense, had a double and a walk today. He’s now 6-16 since he was called on to pinch-hit and walked off the Dodgers in game two last week, showing the ability to contribute via defense, baserunning, and at the plate.
At the same time, Matt Olson picked up a Golden Sombrero, going hitless with four punchouts in this one. It’s the extension of a cold spell for the first baseman, who is hitting .167/.219/.250 across his last 15 games with only one home run and just three RBI in his 60 ABs.
They’re not going to give him a day off, not when he is MLB’s current Iron Man. But hopefully Olson finds that Citizens Bank Park is as good a place as any to break out of this slump.
Looking for more discussion about this game?
Here’s today’s Postcast, where I went live to break down the contest.
What’s Next for the Braves?
The Braves have an off day before they head to Philadelphia for a crucial four-game set. Here are the announced pitching matchups for the series:
Fri: Chris Sale vs. Cristopher Sanchez
Sat: Martín Pérez vs. Zack Wheeler
Sun: Tyler Mahle vs. Aaron Nola
Mon: Bryce Elder vs. Jesús Luzardo
I know he got beat up last, but i think AJSS had 16 swinging strikes last nite.
I remember many years ago Tom Seaver threw his hardest pitch, 95 mph in the 9th
Inning. Torreabla the catcher trpled in the winning runs.