Braves vs. Nationals Series Wrap

Woohoo another sweep! The Atlanta Braves are on a roll. It has been so great to see the Braves finally get into a consistent wining groove…and get rewarded for it.

Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Josiah Gray, Braves won 4-2

After a three plus hour rain delay, this game was finally underway.

Charlie Morton pitched for Atlanta. His first inning got off to a very shaky start, but he was able to get himself under control and pitch a great game. He pitched six innings, allowed six hits, two runs, two walks, and he had seven strikeouts. After his first two pitches in the bottom of the first inning, it didn’t look like Charlie Morton was going to have a strong outing. However, he turned things around and was able to limit the damage to only two runs.

Washington scored their only two runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning. On the first pitch of the inning, Victor Robles, the Nats’ center fielder, led off with a double. Juan Soto scored him with a single, and then Josh Bell had a sac fly that scored another run to make it a 2-0 game, Nationals on top.

All of the Braves runs came on solo home runs. ALL of them! In the top of the fifth inning, Travis d’Arnaud hit the first solo shot. It was a line-drive laser, and his first home run since his return from the injured list. His homer made it a 2-1 game.

The second solo home run came in the top of the sixth inning. It was an absolute BOMB hit off the bat of my man, Ozzie Albies. His homer went a long way, and it tied the game up at two apiece.

In the top of the seventh inning, Austin Riley hit yet another solo home run for Atlanta. It went a long way too, and it broke the 2-2 tie, making it a 3-2 game Braves on top.

And, then, to score the fourth and final run for the Braves, Dansby Swanson hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning. That made a final score of 4-2, and the Braves took game one.

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Patrick Corbin, Braves won 12-2

Max Fried pitched a great game for Atlanta. Not to mention he contributed at the plate too! He went six innings, allowed five hits, two runs, ZERO walks, and he had seven strikeouts. He gave up one run in the fourth, and one in the sixth, but other than those two runs, he was lights out.

The top of the third inning is where the Braves started their scoring. Guillermo Heredia led off the inning with a strikeout, and then Max Fried reached base on a single. Ozzie Albies hit a booming triple to center field. His triple scored Max Fried from first base! Jorge Soler struck out to make the second out, and then Freeman scored Ozzie with an RBI single, making it 2-0 Braves.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Josh Bell had an RBI single that scored Victor Robles who singled to lead off that inning.

Atlanta added onto their lead in the top of the fifth inning. Guillermo Heredia led off with a single, and Max Fried advanced him to second on a sac bunt. With one out, my man Ozzie Albies hit a gigantic two-run home run! His two-run shot made it a 4-1 game, Braves on top. Soler followed Ozzie’s homer with a walk and Freddie followed him with a single. Dansby Swanson hit a two-RBI single to score Freeman and Soler, making it a 6-1 game.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Washington scored their second and final run, making the sore 6-2 Atlanta still on top.

The Braves, once again, added onto their lead. They scored three in the top of the seventh. Dansby Swanson hit a three-run homer…it went way out there! And they also scored another run in the top of the eighth inning when Soler grounded into a double play, but scored Joc Pederson while doing it. That made it a 10-2 game.

To score the final two runs of the game for the Atlanta Braves, Dansby Swanson and Adam Duvall both hit solo home runs in the top of the ninth inning. They were back-to-back bombs, and it was Dansby’s second home run of the night!

Game Three: Drew Smyly vs. Paolo Espino, Braves won 6-5

Woah. This was a suspenseful game! The Braves had a lead from the get-go, but the Nationals were relentless until the end. (I *love* these kinds of games…my mom does not!)

Drew Smyly didn’t have his strongest outing for the Braves. He only went four innings. And in those four inning, he allowed six hits, three runs, only one walk, and four strikeouts. Smyly threw 74 pitches across those four innings, and a lot of those were high-stress pitches.

Luckily, Atlanta started the scoring first. In the top of the second inning Stephen Vogt had an RBI groundout that scored Adam Duvall and made it a 1-0 game. In the top of the third inning, Dansby Swanson extended the Braves lead with a two-run home run. His homer made it a 3-0 game.

The Nats got on the board in the bottom of the third inning. Victor Robles had an RBI single that scored Luis Garcia, another runner scored on a wild pitch, and Juan Soto had a sac fly to make it a 3-3 tie game.

To break the 3-3 tie, Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley hit back-to-back solo home runs. Those two solo shots made it a 5-3 game. They also scored another run on a wild pitch, making it a 6-3 game, Atlanta on top.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Carter Kieboom for the Nationals hit a two-RBI single that scored Soto and Bell making it a 6-5 game.

Even though it was a close game, the Braves bullpen was able to preserve the lead and allow the Braves to sweep the Washington Nationals. Finally, our bullpen is doing its job. Keep it up, guys!

—

This series was huge for Atlanta. Not only did they keep their winning streak alive and keep the above 50/50, they also gained solo possession of first place in the National League East. Woohoo! I knew they could do it!!!