The Braves took on the Nationals as they looked to reach a .500 record again with a pitching matchup that looked to be in the Braves’ favor. AJ Smith-Shawver faced off against Trevor Williams.
Williams had a 5.88 ERA on the season before the start, but the Braves have struggled mightily offensively this season, at least by their standards based on the talent they put on the field.
AJ Smith-Shawver did well in the first inning. He struck out the first hitter he faced. He did slip up and hit Amed Rosario and then had a wild pitch to move him to second but then struck out red hot James Wood. He then was able to induce a ground out from Keibert Ruiz.
The Braves shook up the lineup today by putting Drake Baldwin second in the lineup. It did not work out in the first inning. Verdugo flied out, Baldwin grounded out on the first pitch, and Ozuna lined out. The Braves were sat down on nine pitches in the inning.
Things got shaky in the second for AJ Smith-Shawver. He walked Nathaniel Lowe to lead off the second. He was able to strike out Josh Bell, but then Alex Call doubled to put runners on second and third and then walked Tena to load up the bases. Smith-Shawver showed his ability to shake off nerves after a mound visit and promptly forced a groundout to prevent any runs.
The Braves did not look any better in the second. Olson and Riley both struck out and then Harris popped up. Smith-Shawver got back to looking great in the third when he sat down the Nationals by facing the minimum number of hitters. He struck out Abrams for the second time in the game, he then induced a groundout and a pop up.
The Braves finally got the offense rolling in the bottom of the third, even if it was due to some good fortune. Albies struck out, but then Eli White was able to reach base on a throwing error. White then stole second. Nick Allen was then able to squeak a grounder up the middle that was just missed by Abrams. This scored White from second to make the score 1-0. Verdugo then flied out and then Baldwin continued his hot streak with a single. It looked for a second that the Braves may keep it going when Ozuna smoked a 103 MPH ball off the bat down the line, but Lowe made a diving stop and flipped it to Willaims to kill the momentum and end the inning.
Smith-Shawver continued to look solid in the fourth. He did not accumulate any strikeouts, but sat down every hitter, making it seven straight hitters in a row retired. Olson, Riley, and Harris were due up in the same inning again. The results were the same the second time. All three were retired.
In the fifth Smith-Shawver continued to deal. He did give up a hard-hit ball to Tena, but fortunately it was caught. For those tracking, that is ten straight hitters retired by Smith-Shawver.
The fifth inning is where the Braves offense really came through. Albies was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Eli White was retired, but then Nick Allen singled to put runners on the corners. Verdugo, who’s birthday is today, came through with a single to make the score 2-0. Drake Baldwin wasted no time and got an RBI of his own with a line drive single to make the score 3-0.
This ended the game for Trevor Willaims who was replaced by Brad Lord. Ozuna then added some insurance with a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-0. Olson grounded out to end it, but some serious damage had been done. The Braves scored four runs yesterday and that was not enough, but signs were looking good.
Smith-Shawver stayed in for the sixth inning. His streak of ten hitters retired was snapped when CJ Abrams singled to lead off the inning. Smith-Shawver was able to strikeout Rosario, and then after two pickoff attempts Drake Baldwin was able to catch Abrams attempting to steal second. At least, that is what we thought. The Nationals challenged the play and it was overturned. Wood struck out. Ruiz then hit a grounder right at Riley and for the second game in a row he committed an error. Abrams was able to score from second to make the score 4-1 and Ruiz reached first. The Braves were able to end any more damage when Ozzie made the routine play on a grounder from Lowe to end the top of the sixth.
Riley then was the first hitter up in the bottom of the sixth. He hid a hopper to SS and got beat by a step. Harris hit a liner right up the middle, but Abrams was right there. Ozzie Albies was able to get a bloop single to right field that Alex Call dove for but missed. There was nothing going though as Eli White struck out on a foul tip.
AJ Smith-Shawver was removed before the seventh and replaced with Pierce Johnson. Smith-Shawver ended his out with 6.0 innings pitched, two hits, one unearned run, two walks, and six strikeouts. His season ERA dropped to 2.33.
Johnson did not start off the inning in an optimal fashion with a walk to Josh Bell. He was able to get Alex Call to fly out to Eli White. He then got Tena to hit a soft grounder that Ozzie fielded for the second out. Young then grounded the ball to Riley, who was able to make the play look smooth to end the top of the seventh.
Andrew Chafin came in to pitch the seventh for the Nationals and after a pitch com issue he faced Nick Allen. Allen then walked on four pitches, reaching base for the third time this game. For some reason Verdugo attempted a bunt on the first pitch and ultimately hit a line drive straight up the middle, but Abrams was playing close to second like he was against Harris earlier and fielded it routinely. Baldwin hit a hard grounder to second and was able to beat out the play for his third hit of the game. This hit made him seven for nine in the series. Zach Brzykcy came in to relieve Chafin. Ozuna then struck out. Matt Olson drew a full count and smashed one deep, but it was foul. He then hit a routine fly out to CF to end the inning.
Dylan Lee came in to pitch the eighth and CJ Abrams wasted no time and hit a solo shot to the chop house. Lee has been exceptional this season, so it was a bit shocking to see the HR off of his slider. Rosario then singled with two strikes. Fortunately, Lee was able to get Wood hit comebacker which was turned for a double play. It was a good thing that happened because he then through a fastball right down the middle that Ruiz smacked for a double. No further damage done when Olson was able to field the ball on a not so easy grounder down the line to end the top of the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, Riley settled down and led off the inning with a double to the left center gap. Harris hit a sharp grounder to second that was stopped on a diving play that moved Riley to third. Albies could not bring the runner from third in when he struck out. This brought up Eli White who drew a 3-2 count and hit a single just out of the reach of Rosario to score Riley and make the score 5-2. Nick Allen flew out to RF to bring us to the top of the ninth.
Raisel Iglesias was called upon for the save opportunity. Iglesias’ inning did not start in his favor. Bell was able to leg out a slow roller to third on a accidental perfectly placed grounder. That was no matter though. He was able to force a force out at second followed by a double play to end it.
The Braves are now 2-5 in games where winning would give them a .500 record. Drake Baldwin continued to rake with three hits, and the Braves capitalized on key hits with runners in scoring position to aid an excellent start from AJ Smith-Shawver who now has a 2.33 ERA on the season after being optioned after his third start.
The Braves will face the Red Sox tomorrow when Chris Sale will take on Garrett Crochet. First pitch is at 7:10 EDT.
