Coming off their first series win in three weeks, the Nationals went back on the road for four games against the division rival Atlanta Braves, where Washington took three games out of four with an 8-4 win on Monday, a 2-0 loss on Tuesday, a 7-2 victory on Wednesday, and a 3-1 win on Thursday.
The Nationals look to be back on track as they have now won five of their last seven contests, with the team now at 26-29 in third place in the NL East and still a long way to go.
One impressive stat after Thursday night is that Washington’s pitching has now given up zero or one run in 20 percent of their games this season, and two or fewer runs in 33 percent of their games. The pitching did look strong for the most part through this four-game series, especially from the rotation.
Mitchell Parker got the start on Monday and had another strong performance, going 6.1 innings and striking out six Braves batters. Parker also pitched a shutout until the seventh inning and got his fourth win of the season.
Jake Irvin also had a stellar performance on Tuesday night as he tossed a career-high 10 strikeouts through six innings. The problem: He didn’t get any run support as Atlanta pitcher Max Fried pitched eight shutout innings against the Nationals.
The next day, MacKenzie Gore also had a 10-strikeout performance, becoming the 11th Washington pitcher ever to do it. Gore also went 5.1 innings on 97 pitches for his fourth victory on the mound in 2024.
Finally, Trevor Williams once again looked great on the bump as he combined with four relievers on a five-hitter. Williams went 5.2 innings and struck out four Braves.
Batting-wise, the Nationals came through with 21 total runs and multiple hits in their three wins against Atlanta this week. The team even amassed seven hits in their 2-0 shutout loss on Tuesday.
In Monday’s victory, Washington totaled 15 hits and jumped out to an 8-0 lead by the top of the sixth. C.J. Abrams and Nick Senzel each had two RBIs, while Jacob Young went 3-for-4 at the plate with one RBI, and Eddie Rosario and Jesse Winker each scored two runs and batted in a run.
Abrams launched a solo home run to deep right in the second inning and then a sacrifice fly to right in the sixth, while Nick Senzel hit a two-RBI double early on in the contest. Lane Thomas also returned to the lineup from the 10-day IL and finished with a pair of hits.
In Wednesday’s victory, the Nats offense came through with 13 total hits, as Thomas went 3-for-4 at the plate with a three-run homer in the top of the fifth, looking like he has recovered from his sprained MCL injury. Young and Keibert Ruiz also had two RBIs in the game.
Finally, in Thursday’s victory, Washington’s three runs all came in the third inning when Joey Meneses hit a two-RBI double and then Jesse Winker doubled to drive in Meneses.
Next up, the Nationals head up north on the road for a three-game interleague series with the red-hot Cleveland Guardians.
