Nats send message, then topple Braves (updated)

For Sean Nolin and the Nationals, the message (standing up for a star teammate against an opponent that appeared to hit him on purpose the previous night) superseded all else. If it meant the rest of the pitching staff would face an extreme uphill battle from that point on, so be it. The message, even if nobody would publicly admit it after the fact, was more important.

And when Nolin intentionally threw at Freddie Freeman on successive pitches in the bottom of the first tonight in Atlanta, drilling the reigning National League MVP in the hip on the second one, the message was sent. The Nats weren't going to let the Braves - or, more specifically, closer Will Smith - get away with Tuesday night's plunking of Juan Soto.

In doing so, Nolin surely won over his clubhouse. But in doing so, the 31-year-old journeyman left-hander also left his bullpen to cover the remaining 8 2/3 innings of the game. Who knew how that would play out against a menacing Atlanta lineup?

Turns out, it played out splendidly for the Nationals, who rode homers by Soto and Josh Bell and the gutsy efforts of six relievers to pull off a 4-2 victory at Truist Park.

On a night when their starter was ejected only eight pitches in, the Nats watched as Patrick Murphy, Andres Machado, Mason Thompson, Austin Voth, Wander Suero and Kyle Finnegan took care of the rest.

"They did outstanding," manager Davey Martinez said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "You never assume your pitcher's going to come out in the first inning. But they manned up, and a couple guys pitched more than they had before and they did great."

Soto also did his part as only he can: The young star launched a 432-foot homer in the top of the seventh to give the Nationals the lead for good, gave a brief look at the Braves dugout and ultimately blew a kiss toward right-center field - he said it was directed at fans who had been yelling at him all night - after he crossed the plate.

"It was impressive, how far it landed," Soto said of his blast, laughing. "It feels really good, just to get the lead and try to come back in a game like that where we don't get two hits until the sixth inning, seventh inning. It just feels good to be back and fighting and win the game."

The backstory to all this: On Aug. 17, 2020, Smith took exception with Soto standing in his sightline as he warmed up to pitch the ninth inning. Soto promptly homered on the first pitch he saw, then stared down the lefty as he made his way around the bases. Then on opening day this season, Soto delivered a walk-off single off Smith to give the Nationals a thrilling victory in front of a home crowd for the first time since the October 2019.

The two faced each other three other times this season without incident, Smith not wanting to take any chances in games that all were within two runs at the time. But with the Braves up 8-5 in the ninth Tuesday night, the Braves closer drilled Soto on his right side.

It was only the sixth time Soto has been hit by a pitch in his career, the first by anyone on Atlanta's staff. But given the history between the two, it's not surprising if the Nationals dugout saw some purpose behind Smith's inside fastball, even if Smith himself insisted to Freeman there was none.

So it wasn't surprising that something happened tonight, whether you agreed with the rationale for it or not. It was perhaps surprising when it happened right away: With one on and one out in the bottom of the first, Nolin fired a 90 mph fastball behind Freeman's head and to the backstop. Then he drilled the Braves star with a subsequent 91 mph fastball to the right hip.

"It's the first inning of the game. And obviously it's super humid out, compared to places we've been playing," Nolin said. "It just happens. The ball slips out of your hand. Rosin, for me, doesn't do much."

Asked directly if he was trying to send a message with those pitches, the lefty replied: "No, I wasn't."

Freeman quietly took his base as the umpires gathered in the middle of the diamond to discuss what, if anything, should be done about it. And after a brief conference, Lance Barksdale ejected Nolin, who didn't put up much of an argument.

When the inning ended, Soto made a point to jog toward Freeman, and the two superstars put their arms around each other and smiled. Freeman then walked over to the visitors' dugout and bumped fists with Martinez while engaged in what appeared to be a cordial conversation.

"Freddie came over, I talked to him for a minute and he said he was good," Martinez said. "I said: 'Look, I never tell anybody to hit anybody, ever,' and I have the utmost respect for Freddie. I love watching him play. He plays the game the right way. So, it's all good."

All of that diffused a situation that could've spiraled out of control if handled differently, but there's now the matter of Nolin's fate. Major League Baseball traditionally suspends pitchers roughly seven games for intentionally throwing at hitters, and sometimes suspends the pitcher's manager for at least one game as well. Complicating this situation: Nolin could be in line for a demotion to Triple-A Syracuse if the Nats opt to keep lefty Josh Rogers in their rotation following an impressive debut Saturday against the Mets.

"Every time I go out there, I'm trying to pitch strong and compete," Nolin said. "Obviously, I'm definitely disappointed taxing the bullpen. I didn't even throw a full inning. That's probably the biggest thing."

Indeed, that seriously complicated matters for this game. After lamenting how much his ineffective rotation has caused added stress to his inexperienced bullpen, Martinez now needed to ask that relief corps to record 26 outs in order to win a ballgame.

All things considered, Martinez couldn't have asked for much better from the beleaguered group. Murphy set the tone with 2 2/3 scoreless innings on 46 pitches. Machado gave up a solo homer to Adam Duvall in the fourth. Thompson struck out a pair during a scoreless fifth. Voth threw a 3-2 curveball way down and in to Eddie Rosario and watched the Braves left fielder somehow drive that pitch down the line for a game-tying homer in the sixth but bounced back with two outs in the seventh. Suero then retired all four batters he faced, getting the ball to Finnegan, who got Freeman to line out to left to end the game.

"We just tried to pass it on to the next guy," Murphy said. "Everybody do their job, pass it on and keep us close and hope the offense could pick us up."

The Nationals got their first two runs in starkly different fashion. They scored off Touki Toussaint in the top of the first without benefit of a hit, turning an error, a hit batter and two productive outs into a 1-0 lead. Three innings later, they made it 2-0, thanks to one big blast from Bell, who hammered Toussaint's first-pitch curveball to right for his 25th homer of the season.

And when Soto delivered his unofficial response to all of the proceedings with one of the most jaw-dropping homers of his career, the Nats were now in position to get the best kind of revenge.

"He just wants to play the game," Martinez said. "He didn't really say much last night about anything. He was just ready to play today."