Nats can't convert late chances at plate, lose to Braves (updated)

With a roster that is less than ideally constructed and a matchup against a left-handed starter this evening, Nationals manager Davey Martinez wound up fielding a lineup loaded with right-handed hitters and a bench loaded with big names who he could choose to insert somewhere along the way when the right situation arose.

Trouble is, Martinez never got around to using Juan Soto or Josh Bell when either would've had a chance to bat with a chance to make a big difference. Instead, it was Yadiel Hernandez in a key spot in the fifth inning, then Andrew Stevenson to lead off the eighth. All the while, Soto (who is only available to pinch-hit until his left shoulder is deemed ready to make throws in a game) and Bell waited for their turn.

And by the time it finally came for one of them, it was essentially too late. Soto, who was on deck when Victor Robles popped up on the first pitch he saw with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth, couldn't do any better than lead off the ninth with his team trailing by two runs.

So it didn't really make much difference. The Nationals lost 5-3 to the Braves because the guys who were at the plate at the critical moments couldn't deliver.

Despite a furious rally in the bottom of the eighth that saw Trea Turner homer and the Nats put the tying runner in scoring position, Yan Gomes struck out at the end of an eight-pitch battle with lefty A.J. Minter and Robles popped up on the first pitch he saw with the bases loaded, just as Soto was popping out of the dugout to stand in the on-deck circle for a pinch-hitting opportunity that wouldn't come yet.

"I'll lose sleep over it, of course, because he's there," Martinez said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "But you know, in the long run, I know we're going to have him for the duration of the season."

There were other reasons the Nats lost their second straight to Atlanta. Erick Fedde gave up a pair of homers, the killer one a grand slam to Marcell Ozuna in the third, and dug his team into an early 5-0 hole. But the Nationals bullpen, led by Kyle Finnegan's immaculate top of the sixth, posted four scoreless innings to give the lineup a chance it couldn't take full advantage of.

Down four runs entering the eighth, the Nats did make it interesting. After Stevenson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Turner homered to left off righty Josh Tomling, cutting the deficit in half. And by the time Starlin Castro doubled down the third base line off the newly inserted Minter, they had two runners in scoring position with one out and the ability to tie the game with a simple base hit.

Alas, Gomes struck out to end his long at-bat, and then after Kyle Scwharber worked an eight-pitch walk to load the bases, Martinez faced his toughest decision in a game full of them. With the bases loaded and two out, would he send Soto up to bat for the struggling Robles, or would he trust Robles to keep the inning alive so Soto could then pinch-hit for the pitcher behind him?

For Martinez, it really wasn't a decision. If Soto pinch-hit for Robles, he'd have to take the field for the ninth, with no other outfielders left on his bench. He wasn't going to do that to the just-activated slugger, still dealing with a left shoulder strain.

"I have to be smart with Juan," the manager said. "Bases loaded, that's the situation. But I'm not going to put him in the field right now, not until he tells me he's ready to go. That's just the bottom line."

It would've been fine had Robles delivered, but he popped out on the first pitch he saw, and that was that.

"I thought he had one of the best swings I've seen him take all year," Martinez insisted. "He just got underneath it. That's just the way it is right now, unfortunately."

The Nationals were in such a position because Fedde dug them into an early 5-0 hole. Things actually went swimmingly for the righty early on. He retired the first six batters he faced, none of them so much as getting the ball out of the infield. And though he surrendered a leadoff single to William Contreras in the top of the third, the situation proved to be more than manageable after he recorded two quick outs.

But then came the critical sequence of the night, a string of poor pitches and poor execution and questionable decisions. It began with a passed ball, a pitch that crossed up his catcher, Gomes. Next was a five-pitch walk of Ronald Acuña Jr., putting runners on the corners. Acuña immediately stole second without a throw, and that prompted the Nats to intentionally walk Freddie Freeman and load the bases for Ozuna.

In a vacuum, it was a perfectly defensible decision. Nobody has terrorized Nationals pitching over the years like Freeman. And yet, the reigning National League MVP hasn't looked himself so far this week. He entered the evening with a .208 batting average and for the series is now 0-for-7 with three strikeouts ... and two intentional walks.

"There was nothing really to calculate," Martinez said. "With a base open, I'm going to do that 100 out of 100 times."

For the second straight night, though, the Nationals were burned with the bases loaded. Ozuna jumped on Fedde's first pitch and drove it to right field, taking advantage of a strong breeze that helped lift it over the fence for the Braves' second back-breaking grand slam in 24 hours.

"It's kind of where I wanted to execute the pitch," Fedde said of his first-pitch cutter on the outer portion of the zone. "It maybe wasn't as sharp as I wanted it to be. I definitely, with the bases loaded, didn't want to get behind in the count. Obviously not the right pitch, or maybe he was sitting on it."

Just like Huascar Ynoa's slam Tuesday night, this one sucked all the air out of the building. A solo homer by Contreras in the fourth - the first of the rookie catcher's career - only added to the pain and left the Nationals staring at a 5-0 deficit that felt even larger than that.

Runs have been tough to come by for the Nats lineup on a consistent basis. Every time it appears they're ready to break out, they're shut down by an opposing pitching staff, as was again the case tonight.

Max Fried, making his return from a three-week stint on the injured list with a hamstring strain, didn't look rusty one bit. The left-hander mowed down the Nationals for five innings, allowing one run (Gomes' homer in the fourth) on four hits and needing only 72 pitches to do it.

And when the Nats did give themselves at least a chance to make things interesting with two on and nobody out in the fifth, they frittered it away in the blink of an eye.

With Fedde's spot due up, Martinez had some compelling options available on his bench: Soto and Bell. Perhaps neither slugger was a perfect matchup vs. Fried, but neither was the pinch-hitter Martinez ultimately sent to the plate: Hernandez. The 33-year-old rookie wasn't included in tonight's lineup, with Josh Harrison instead shifted to right field so the right-handed Jordy Mercer could start at second base.

But Hernandez was afforded a chance to bat in a big spot in the fifth ahead of Soto and Bell, and he wound up striking out on a 2-2 slider.

"I thought about (pinch-hitting); it was just a little bit too early," Martinez said. "I thought we could get to their starter a little bit and have those guys for a late punch. And Yadi's swinging the bat well. He hits lefties, righties really well. So I thought it was a good opportunity to get him an at-bat right there."

And when Fried following that by busting Turner's bat for a first-pitch double play to end the rally, the Nationals' comeback chances were dealt a serious blow.

"Just a tough pitch to swing at," said Turner, who has already grounded into five double plays this season. "If I had it back, I probably would've taken it. It's obviously a strike, but just a tough pitch to hit. Bad, I guess, at-bat by me."