ATLANTA – There were a lot of encouraging things about Friday night’s game for the Nationals. Except for the one thing that matters more than anything else: the outcome. Their 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Braves was ugly, with CJ Abrams committing a throwing error to allow the winning run to score.
So, they’ll have to dust themselves off and try to get back on track tonight in the second game of the weekend series, hoping to score more than two runs this time. They’ll be facing a seemingly less daunting opposing pitcher in Charlie Morton, the 40-year-old right-hander with a 4.29 ERA. The Nats have roughed up Morton twice this season, scoring 13 runs on 19 hits in 10 2/3 scoreless innings. Abrams (4-for-9, two homers) has excellent numbers against him, though you have to also note the two others with awful career numbers against him: Luis García Jr. (2-for-16, seven strikeouts) and Joey Gallo (0-for-20, two walks, 16 strikeouts).
Jake Irvin has been outstanding in his two starts against Atlanta this season, totaling 12 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts. The right-hander is still trying to right his wayward ship overall, though, having posted a 6.20 ERA over his last eight starts, victimized by a whopping 14 homers in the process.
The Nationals did make a roster move this afternoon, officially placing Alex Call on the 10-day injured list with a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot. For now, his replacement is Drew Millas, giving the team three catchers through the rest of the weekend. We’ll have to see what they decide to do Monday when they promote Dylan Crews from Triple-A and have to remove someone from the roster to make room for the top prospect.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 7:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
DH Juan Yepez
2B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz
3B José Tena
1B Andrés Chaparro
RF Joey Gallo
CF Jacob Young
RHP Jake Irvin
BRAVES
CF Michael Harris II
2B Whit Merrifield
DH Marcell Ozuna
1B Matt Olson
C Travis d'Arnaud
RF Ramón Laureano
LF Jarred Kelenic
3B Gio Urshela
SS Orlando Arcia
RHP Charlie Morton