The Washington Nationals were able to salvage a game and avoid a sweep at the hands of the first-place Atlanta Braves on Sunday, snapping a six-game losing skid in the process with a 6-2 victory at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Washington was only able to get five games in this past week, as Thursday’s scheduled contest against Arizona was postponed due to poor air quality. The game will be made up next Thursday (June 22) at Nationals Park.
The Nats dropped both games last week against the surprising Diamondbacks, who hold a 3.5-game lead over the Dodgers for first place in the NL West, before coming up short in their first two in Atlanta against the surging Braves.
Washington sits four games behind New York in last place in the division, still a full 13.5 games back of the Braves, but Sunday’s win could provide a little boost going into another tough upcoming three-game road series at Houston (Tuesday through Thursday).
The Nats will then return home for a seven-game homestand, beginning with a three-game set against the Marlins this weekend.
Designated hitter Joey Meneses (.307, 32 RBI) is riding a four-game hit streak into the week, and struck out just one time in 18 at-bats last week, while catcher Keibert Ruiz (.235, 25 RBI) went 3-for-11 in just three games played.
Luis Garcia (.276, 28 RBI) went 7-for-19 with three runs driven in, while shortstop CJ Abrams (.224, 29 RBI) was mired in an 0-for-11 slump before registering a base knock in Sunday’s win in Atlanta. First baseman Dominic Smith (.262, 16 RBI) launched a 440-foot homer in Sunday’s win, marking only his second round-tripper in his last 254 plate appearances.
Third baseman Jeimer Candelario (.251, 30 RBI) went hitless in his first nine at-bats of the week, part of an 0-for-16 slide, but collected hits in both Saturday and Sunday’s games, including the go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth to cap off the weekend.
Lane Thomas (.279, 30 RBI) had a 6-for-20 week at the plate with a pair of doubles, a triple, a homer, 3 RBI and 6 runs scored. Fellow outfielder Stone Garrett (.264, 15 RBI) only appeared in three games last week, but made the most of his seven at-bats by hitting a pair of home runs, including a grand slam in Tuesday’s loss to the D-Backs. Alex Call (.218, 20 RBI) had his five-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday, going 0-for-4.
Patrick Corbin delivered a quality start against Arizona Thursday, giving up three runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts and a walk across his six innings, but took the loss and fell to 4-6 on the season (4.89 ERA). He’s expected to get the start Tuesday at Minute Maid Park, as No. 5 starter Jake Irvin (1-3, 5.81 ERA) will have his turn in the rotation skipped.
Josiah Gray pitched well against the Braves in Friday’s 3-2 loss, allowing just a run on two hits to go with his six punchouts and four walks across five innings of work. He didn’t factor into the decision and is now 4-5 in 2023 with a 3.00 ERA, and will start Game Two against Houston Wednesday.
MacKenzie Gore (3-5, 4.04 ERA) took the loss on Saturday, surrendering five earned runs on four hits while walking one and fanning three in five innings. He’ll be gunning for his first win since April 26 when he takes the mound against the Astros on Thursday.
Trevor Williams (3-4, 4.11 ERA) picked up his first win in over a month Sunday, tossing five solid innings. He struck out six Braves batters and walked one, allowing a pair of runs on seven hits.
The Astros (37-29) have dropped their last two series against Toronto and Cleveland on the road, and are now five games back in the AL West standings behind Texas.
Houston will go with right-hander Hunter Brown (5-3, 3.69 ERA) in Tuesday’s series opener, lefty Framber Valdez (6-5, 2.36 ERA) on Wednesday, and then righty Christian Javier (7-1, 3.13 ERA) on Thursday.
Yordan Alvarez (.277, 17 homers, 55 RBI), Alex Bregman (.243, 9 homers, 39 RBI) and Kyle Tucker (.268, 8 home runs, 38 RBI) have led the Houston offense this season.
The Marlins (37-29), meanwhile, have won nine of their last 11 contests, pulling within 3.5 games of the Braves in the NL East.
Sandy Alcantra (2-5, 4.75 ERA) will likely get the nod in Game One Friday against Williams, then it’ll be Miami’s Braxton Garrett (2-2, 4.10 ERA) against Irvin on Saturday, followed by lefty Jesus Luzardo (5-4, 3.79 ERA) going up against Corbin on Sunday.
Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez leads the majors with a .397 batting average heading into the week, and is carrying an eight-game hit streak. Designated hitter Jorge Soler leads the team with 19 home runs (good for second in the league) and 38 RBI.
This Week’s Schedule
- Tuesday at Houston, 8:10 p.m. (MASN)
- Wednesday at Houston, 8:10 p.m. (MASN)
- Thursday at Houston, 8:10 p.m. (MASN)
- Friday vs. Miami, 7:05 p.m. (MASN, MLBN*)
- Saturday vs. Miami, 4:05 p.m. (MASN)
- Sunday vs. Miami, 1:35 p.m. (MASN)
*-Out of market only
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