After three innings Sunday afternoon, the last thing it looked like the Washington Nationals would do was rally to win a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves for the second time in two weeks.
But that is, in fact, exactly what they did. They drove in seven runs in the fourth, the most in an inning since May 2023, when they cruised to an 8-5 victory at Nationals Park.
“This group is fun. They play with a lot of energy, and that showed here in this series,” manager Dave Martínez said. “They don’t give up.”
The Nationals hadn’t exactly experienced this situation before: Playing on their 17th (and final) consecutive day, they struggled through three hitless innings against a pitcher who was making his major league debut, Braves right-hander Hurston Waldrep. But they had gone through similar moments and, with their third consecutive victory and their 17th comeback of the season, they experienced the process of regaining that joy.
So how exactly does that happen?
“Be more patient,” Martínez said. “I don’t mind being aggressive, but you have to get the ball into the zone.”
And what was that like?
It looked like CJ Abrams hit a deep fly ball to start the fourth and then nodded. It looked like Lane Thomas lined up the Nationals’ first hit to spark scattered cheers, Jesse Winker issued a walk to shake up the dugout and Eddie Rosario flew deep to instill some confidence in his teammates, even with two outs.
It looked like Luis García Jr. was working the batter count, hitting an opposite field single for his first run and flashing a big smile at his teammates. It looked as if Keibert Ruiz threw the first pitch he saw for a three-run homer into the Nationals bullpen, pointing toward the dugout as he approached first base and then toward the bullpen as he circled around it. (It also looked as if reliever Jacob Barnes caught the ball in the bullpen and passed it to bullpen coach Ricky Bones.)
It looked like Nick Senzel walking, Joey Gallo single, and Jacob Young walking. And then Abrams appeared to enjoy a few extra swings when Waldrep was removed from the game before hitting the dagger, a bases-clearing double off Aaron Bummer that gave the Nationals (30-35) a 7-2 lead and led Abrams shakes his hips toward the dugout.
“We learned it, we wanted to see more shooting (against Waldrep),” Abrams said. “I did a good job of getting on base, passing it to the next guy and getting it out of there.”
Ruiz drove in one more run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, and the bullpen held off the Braves (35-28) despite Jordan Weems giving up three runs in the ninth.
“It was an overkill,” said left-hander DJ Herz, who in his second major league start allowed two runs, struck out five and walked three in 4⅓ innings. “It was driving me crazy. I was applauding. He was screaming. I was like, ‘Let’s do this!’ “
The fourth inning blowout may have overshadowed an important day for the rotation. At Interstate 95, right-hander Josiah Gray (flexor muscle strain) made his first rehab start for low Class A Fredericksburg, allowing three earned runs in three innings that served as progress despite tepid results. On the mound at Nationals Park, Herz battled control issues that helped the Braves take a 2-0 lead into the second inning. And before the game, the Nationals announced they would skip Patrick Corbin’s next turn in the rotation, a move Martinez said was meant to give the left-hander a break.
That gives Washington more time to embrace its young core of MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and Herz, a group that is in line to add Gray and right-hander Cade Cavalli, who is in the final stages of rehab. from Tommy John surgery, over the years. next month or so. Corbin has the highest ERA and lowest strikeout rate of any qualified major league starter. In these four games against Atlanta, Gore, Irvin, Parker and Herz allowed six earned runs in 22⅓ innings, good for a 2.42 ERA.
“It’s cool to see these guys go out five or six innings at a time and everyone’s pushing,” Herz said. “We can move on right now.”
Herz, a 23-year-old who faced challenges with his command at Class AAA Rochester, overcame similar problems Sunday. Although he needed just 12 pitches to hit a one, two and three in the first, his command went off the rails in the second. After allowing an RBI single to Michael Harris II, the problems worsened. He walked Orlando Arcia to load the bases. He got two strikes on Jarred Kelenic before throwing two pitches high and in (which Kelenic objected to) and bouncing the next one in the dirt for a wild pitch and a 2-0 deficit.
He didn’t allow another run. He calmed himself down using a method he learned from the coaching staff: counting from five in “slow motion.”
“I love where they are right now,” Martinez said of his starting pitchers. “I love how they attack hitters. “It’s fun to watch.”
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