Thursday's Braves Report: Another pitcher popped by a hit; schedules and the pennant race
Short outing for Sanchez, Braves bats come up short
Yet again, a Braves pitcher’s game ended early because of getting boinked with a hit.
This time, Anibal Sanchez was the victim, leaving after two. Atlanta’s bullpen, mainly Wes Parsons, turned in a somewhat respectable but effective performance, but the bats couldn’t help in a 6-3 loss to split the series with Washington.
Freddie Freeman went 3-for-4, Nick Markakis and Charlie Culberson 2-for-4 for Atlanta, which was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and left six on.
Atlanta was outhit by only one, and got homers from Markakis and Ronald Acuna, but couldn’t put anything together. Parsons’ most important number was five, his innings pitched, even though he gave up four runs on six hits, with three strikeouts and three walks. It gave the bullpen a needed rest which is likely to show the benefits from in the next few games.
How the schedules play into the race
Next 3
Friday, 7:35 p.m., vs. Milwaukee, FSSO
Saturday, 7:10 p.m., vs. Milwaukee, FS1
Sunday, 1:35 p.m., vs. Milwaukee, FSSO
From beat writers Gabe Burns/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mark Bowman/MLB.com, and David O’Brien/The Athletic on Twitter (and others when notable)
Harper’s shin is still swollen after getting HBP last night. X-Rays were negative and he’s available off the bench today./MB
Anibal Sanchez's 2.11 ERA is the all-time lowest mark by a qualifying pitcher against the Nationals/Expos. And his .909 winning percentage against them is the all-time best for any pitcher in 10 or more decisions./DOB
Instead of sitting Inciarte two days in a row, Snit has him in today's lineup vs. Gio Gonzalez. Inciarte has slashed .216/.281/.235 in 57 PA vs. LHP since the start of June, but he's 11-for-25 (4-for-12 since start of '17) vs. Gio. Plus, Duvall is 2-for-13 since joining Atlanta/MB
Stunning stat of the day: Braves' Anibal Sanchez is 10-1 with a 1.69 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) against the Nationals including 1-0 with a 1.69 ER in three games (two starts) this season./DOB
Markakis' solo shot was his 14th homer of the season -- his highest total since 2014. His four HRs vs. LHP is one less than his total from 2014-17/MB
Braves lose, 6-3. They didn't give up any ground to the Nationals in four-game split. The rookie bullpen arms weren't very impressive but they ate innings. 62-50./GB
With his eighth-inning solo shot, Acuna has now tallied six of his 13 homers since the All-Star break. He entered today tied with Ohtani, Palka and Soto for the most HR hit by a rookie since the break./MB
Sanchez could barely walk after today’s game. While he hopes to be ready for Tuesday, I think that hope rests between very optimistic and unrealistic. If he’s not available, we might end up seeing both Touki and Allard in that Marlins series./MB