Nats go silent at the plate, can't win series in Atlanta (updated)

If they were going to produce a three-game winning streak and win a key road series against a division rival, the Nationals were going to need quality and length today from Patrick Corbin, plus a continuation of the power display their lineup showed the previous 48 hours.

They almost got the first. They didn't come close to getting the latter.

Corbin was outstanding for five innings, but wilted during a four-run bottom of the sixth that spoiled his start, and the Nationals lineup was rendered helpless by the previously unknown Tucker Davidson and three relievers in a 5-1 loss to the Braves that bore much more resemblance to the games this team played the previous two weeks than the previous two nights.

Instead of a legitimate winning streak in Atlanta to open this nine-game road trip, the Nats settled for a four-game split, unable to mount any kind of offensive charge with a lineup that was missing Kyle Schwarber (sore right knee) and Yan Gomes (caught the last five days in a row).

"We got a split. That's probably the worse-case scenario that we wanted," Josh Harrison, who took Schwarber's spot in left field for the day, said in a Zoom session with reporters. "We put ourselves in a position to win the series (and) came up short today. But at the end of the day, I think leaving a four-game series with a split is worst-case scenario for us."

The group of hitters that stepped to the plate today managed a grand total of four hits, two of which came with two outs in the ninth to prevent the team's eighth shutout in 53 games this season. (For comparison's sake the 2019 World Series champions were shut out eight times in 162 games.)

"We're in June. The weather's hot. Our guys are all healthy, fresh for the most part," manager Davey Martinez said of his 23-30 team, last in the National League East. "We've got to get some consistency in our lineup and just start hitting the ball like we're capable of. I know we can hit. There's no doubt about it. You've seen it. You've seen glimpses of it. Now we've just got to bring it every day."

The Nationals didn't get the offensive performance they needed today. But they also didn't get the start they needed from Corbin.

Having seen an injured Stephen Strasburg get pulled with one out in the second inning Tuesday night, then Jon Lester grind out 5 2/3 innings on short rest Wednesday night, the Nationals went into this one desperately needing length from Corbin. Really, it's an ongoing theme of the season, especially in recent weeks.

A Nationals rotation that is supposed to be the backbone of this team has produced only two starts of six full innings over the last 17 games. Both of those starts, unsurprisingly, belong to Max Scherzer.

Martinez knows it, and he knows it's time to start asking for more from his starters.

"Some of these guys have got to pitch now," the manager said before the game. "We've got to let them out there. We've done a good job trying to maintain their pitch count during games, but now we're in June."

So it was especially encouraging to see Corbin cruise through his first five innings today, setting himself up not only to complete the sixth but perhaps continue well beyond that. The lefty allowed only three of the Braves' first 18 batters to reach (two singles and a walk), throwing his fastball for strikes and keeping everything down in the zone to induce ground balls.

Then came the bottom of the sixth, and with it a complete reversal of fortunes. Corbin surrendered three groundball singles to the first four batters he faced, which was annoying but not necessarily a sign of a meltdown.

But then came the meltdown. It came in the form of a hanging slider to Dansby Swanson, who belted it 440 feet to left field for the dagger that gave the Braves a 4-0 lead and turned a quality start from Corbin into something worse.

"Obviously, we were cruising there until the sixth and I still felt good," the lefty said. "I thought I made some pitches. They got a couple hits there. I left the slider up to Swanson. It was frustrating 'cause I felt really good. I tried keeping us in the game there."

All of this, of course, was magnified by the Nationals' complete lack of offense on a day they were facing a 25-year-old making his third career start.

Summoned from Triple-A Gwinnett, where he sported an 0.90 ERA in three outings, Davidson looked like a far more accomplished pitcher than his pedigree suggested. He allowed zero hits through his first four innings, the only batter to reach Juan Soto (who drew two walks).

Jordy Mercer finally recorded the Nationals' first hit of the day in the fifth, giving them the makings of a rally. But with two on and nobody out, the bottom of the lineup came up woefully short. Alex Avila, getting a rare start against a lefty because Gomes desperately needed a break, struck out. Corbin couldn't get a bunt down in fair territory. And then Trea Turner grounded out on the first pitch he saw to end the inning without a runner so much as having been advanced 90 feet.

"Could've got a couple guys into scoring position with Trea up there," said Corbin, who had been 3-for-3 on sacrifice bunt attempts prior to this one. "It's frustrating. Bunting, I don't think it's as easy as a lot of people think it is. We practice it all the time. It was a high pitch, but it was a sinker, and I just got too above the ball there on the last one and fouled it off."

That was the only real scoring opportunity the Nationals gave themselves against Davidson. It made for another uneventful day at the plate from a lineup that thought it was starting to get something going the previous 48 hours but regressed right back to its previous form in a series finale that was there for the taking but was given away.

"We just couldn't get it done today," Martinez said. "It feels like you've got something going. Patrick was really, really good early on. Superb. But we just need to score a couple runs, give him some run support. It just couldn't happen."