Scoring burst backs Harang, helps take down Nats ... As he sat at his locker signing baseballs before Wednesday afternoons series finale against the Nationals, Freddie Freeman said he felt the Braves would get on a roll once they started taking advantage of prime scoring opportunities, like the one that fell apart when he and Justin Upton notched consecutive strikeouts to end Tuesday nights eighth inning. A few hours later, Freeman and Upton engineered an impressive offensive charge that added to Stephen Strasburgs miseries against Atlanta, and more importantly propelled the Braves to a 6-2 win at Nationals Park. With the victory, the visitors avoided a sweep and gained some momentum as they prepare to journey through the seasons final two weeks in search of a postseason spot. Upton drove in three runs and Freeman delivered a leadoff double in the decisive two-run sixth inning that doomed Strasburg and provided all of the necessary support for Aaron Harang, who halted his recent woes with a stellar seven-inning effort that was blemished only by an unearned run he surrendered with two outs in the fifth inning. While Harangs effort set the tone, the Braves had even more reason to celebrate that they tallied at least four runs in a second consecutive game for the first time since Aug. 29, which is also when they last won two straight contests. Though this was just their seventh win in their past 17 games, they guaranteed that they will remain at least 1 1/2 games within the Pirates, who are currently positioned to claim the National Leagues second Wild Card spot. It was not necessarily surprising that this offensive uprising began against Strasburg, who has gone 0-4 with a 4.98 ERA in nine starts against the Braves since the start of the 2013 season. His struggles in these matchups have helped Atlanta win 23 of the 35 games played against the Nationals during this span. But despite winning 10 of the 16 games played thus far between the division rivals, the Braves will likely not catch the Nationals, who own an eight-game lead in the NL East with 18 games to play. After Harang and Strasburg traded zeros through the first four innings, the Braves struck first when B.J. Upton began the fifth inning with his second homer of the season off the Nationals right-hander. Harang then squandered the lead when he surrendered consecutive two-out singles ahead of a passed ball that deflected off Christian Bethancourts glove and allowed Denard Span to score. Freeman, who has hit .476 (30-for-63) against the Nationals, opened the sixth inning by hitting an opposite-field liner into the left-field corner. Justin Upton followed with an RBI single that deflected off second baseman Asdrubal Cabreras glove. Before ending his six-inning effort, Strasburg allowed Tommy La Stella to double and score on a Bethancourt single. Harang helped himself by beginning the three-run seventh with a single off Jerry Blevins. Justin Upton highlighted the inning with a two-run double that he hit off Ryan Mattheus. NOTES: *C Evan Gattis (strep throat) returned to the locker room after spending the previous two days at the teams hotel. Manager Fredi Gonzalez kept him out of Wednesdays lineup and said Gattis will likely serve as Atlantas designated hitter for the upcoming series in Texas. *Nationals 3B Anthony Rendon (illness) and SS Ian Desmond (back tightness) were kept out of the starting lineup. Desmond left Tuesdays game after five innings with back tightness. Nationals manager Matt Williams said the shortstop could have played Wednesday. *Braves LHP Alex Wood (10-10, 2.90) starts Friday against the Rangers. *Nationals: Tanner Roark (12-10, 2.97) faces Bartolo Colon (13-11, 3.96) on Thursday as the Nationals begin a four-game series at the New York Mets. Below: Aaron Harang #34 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Wednesday. Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals walks to the dugout after the end of the sixth inning. B.J. Upton #2 of the Atlanta Braves tosses his bat after striking out in the second inning against Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals. Upton later homered in the 7th inning. Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves hits a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals. Freeman and Upton engineered an impressive offensive charge that added to Stephen Strasburgs miseries against Atlanta. Denard Span #2 of the Washington Nationals slides into home plate and scores in the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on Wednesday.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 00:06:31 +0000
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