Gray impressive again, but done in by late homers (updated)

There are things you find out about ballplayers at 10 p.m. in front of a sellout crowd, and then there are things you find out about them at midnight in front of a few thousand fans who were willing to wait out the longest rain delay of the season.

They all matter in the end, and all of these experiences ultimately shape young ballplayers into the finished products they will become in due time. And they don't always have to produce positive results, as much as everyone wishes they would.

Tonight - er, make that this morning - the Nationals decided it was time to find out a thing or two about Josiah Gray, the first and most notable of their 12 recent trade deadline acquisitions to be thrust into the spotlight here.

The overall reviews of Gray undeniably have been positive. But the 23-year-old right-hander still has plenty of room to grow. And on this rain-soaked Friday night, that was on full display.

Given an opportunity to pitch into the seventh inning for the first time this season - in either the majors or minors - Gray succumbed to the only thing that has left him looking human since joining the Nats: the solo homer.

A leadoff blast to right-center by Austin Riley spoiled an otherwise stellar start by the rookie, the third solo homer Gray allowed over his final three innings, and the difference in the Nationals' eventual 4-2 loss to the Braves.

"The pitches that aren't located and going to get hit hard, and most of the time they're home runs right now," he said in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "Obviously, it's frustrating to have to deal with that every outing so far. But it's just something you learn from, something you grow with as a baseball player. That's something I'm looking forward to getting over that hump with and learning from that."

An East Coast ballgame that started after all the West Coast games had already begun, and ended after the entire out-of-town scoreboard had gone final, saw Gray excel against the same Atlanta lineup he dominated six days ago but falter late as his workload increased.

The former Dodgers prospect, a key piece acquired for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, struck out six, didn't walk anybody and again showed off an impressive repertoire of pitches. But he gave up solo homers in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, and that's all the Braves needed to emerge victorious, though they would add one more in the ninth off reliever Andres Machado for good measure.

The Nationals, who had three chances with the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, have now lost 10 of 11, their lone win coming thanks to Riley Adams' score-flipping homer with two outs in the ninth in Atlanta on Saturday. Dating back to July 1, they've lost 28 of 38.

"I can't complain about the way these guys are going out and playing," manager Davey Martinez said. "They're playing hard. I'm seeing a lot of positives, and that's a good thing. We've just got to get one hit, one double play, one thing to go our way in a game, and things will begin to turn around."

This one stung mostly because of the late hour in which it occurred. The threat of rain loomed all afternoon, and it didn't surprise anyone when the tarp was rolled out around 5:45 p.m. But the hope at the time was that the storm would blow through and the game would be able to begin on time. Or, at worst, with only a brief delay.

Then the rain arrived and stayed, and kept staying and kept staying even longer. But because everyone was confident it wouldn't last all night, they waited it out. And by 9:30 p.m., the fans were told they could return to their seats, and a few minutes later first pitch was announced for 10:15 p.m.

"I was just pacing around, watching some of the games that were on in the clubhouse and the batting cage, checking on the field occasionally to see how the rain was," Gray said. "But then I just kind of got an inclination: If we're going to play, I might as well start moving around again. And shortly thereafter, we got the random 40-minutes-away gametime. Thank God that I was moving, because if I wasn't that really would've been a bummer."

So it was that the Nationals began a home game this late for the first time since Aug. 12, 2017, a miserable night best remembered for the terrifying image of Bryce Harper slipping on a wet first base and suffering what the entire park assumed was a torn ACL but proved to be a mere hyperextension and bone bruise.

Those who stuck it out tonight weren't lacking in enthusiasm when the Nats finally took the field, Gray leading the way. And their spirits were only boosted by the rookie's dynamite top of the first, in which he retired the side on 12 pitches, striking out by Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman.

The Nationals lineup gave the fans reason to cheer in the bottom of the first, scoring two quick runs off Charlie Morton thanks to Victor Robles' leadoff double, singles by Alcides Escobar and Juan Soto and a sacrifice fly by Josh Bell.

But that's all the Nats would get against Morton, squandering several other opportunities to add a third, fourth or fifth run off the veteran right-hander. And that meant Gray's margin for error was slim.

For four innings, it didn't matter because the young righty was on point, allowing just one runner to reach base while striking out five. At that point, he had thrown nine total innings against the Braves in the last week, allowing a grand total of one earned run on five hits and one unintentional walk while striking out 15.

"I like how poised he is," Martinez said. "And today he showed some emotion. He's been one of those quiet guys who just goes out there and does his job. But he gave up the first home run, and he wasn't happy about it. I kind of like that from him. He got back out there and kept pounding the strike zone. It's good to see."

As the clock approached midnight, though, Gray began to fade, victimized not by sustained rallies or a complete loss of command but by the longball. Atlanta got him three times, once a piece in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, with Travis d'Arnaud, Ozzie Albies and Riley each connecting for solo homers.

As careful as they've been with him so far, the Nationals could've pulled Gray after the sixth, when his pitch count was 77. But Martinez decided to push him and see how he responded.

"It's part of his growth," Martinez said. "His pitch count is low. We were trying to get him up to 90 pitches. I thought he did really, really well."

The subsequent leadoff homer by Riley on a 2-2 fastball over the plate perhaps suggested it was the wrong call. But these days, the Nats are trying to learn about what they have and giving young building blocks a chance to prove their worth. On this late night - or early morning, depending how you want to view it - they learned Gray indeed has the stuff and poise to be a big part of the future but is far from a finished product yet.

"I knew I could go out and get those hitters out again with my best stuff," he said. "I was really excited to go out there for the seventh. Obviously, it didn't end up the way I wanted it to. But that's something you always want. You always want to take that ball."