ATLANTA - Some odds and ends to get you going on this Saturday morning before the Nationals and Braves return for a 4:10 p.m. game at SunTrust Park ...
* The bottom of the seventh last night, in which the Braves scored all four of their runs, obviously was the decisive inning of the game. How rare, though, was that outburst against Stephen Strasburg? Extremely.
Though many longtime fans will recall how Strasburg used to struggle in Atlanta, the right-hander had completely reversed that narrative over several seasons. In fact, he had won each of his last five starts here, going 5-0 with a 1.34 ERA.
And that three-run homer by Dansby Swanson to cap the inning? It was the first home run Strasburg had surrendered in this town since August 8, 2014, when he gave up four of them (to Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman, B.J. Upton and Tommy La Stella) at Turner Field.
That was a streak of 33 2/3 consecutive innings pitched in Atlanta without giving up a home run.
As for the left forearm cramp that ended Strasburg's night only a few minutes after the Swanson homer, both he and manager Davey Martinez insisted it was no big deal and won't be an issue moving forward.
"It's happened before," Strasburg said. "It's obviously humid out there. I think it's something related to dehydration. It just tightened up on me."
Strasburg notoriously had to leave a 2012 start in Atlanta due to dehydration on a 106-degree afternoon. Suffice it to say, he has been much, much better dealing with the conditions in the years since.
* Trea Turner recorded one of the Nationals' two hits in the game, a ninth-inning single, and in doing so extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games. Turner hasn't necessarily been red-hot at the plate - he's batting a modest .281 (16-for-57) during the streak - but he has been a consistent performer at a time when the Nats have needed it, with so many regulars injured or struggling.
* Speaking of injured regulars ... both Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy played last night for Double-A Harrisburg. Eaton, making his rehab debut with the Senators, went 0-for-2 with a walk and played five innings in center field. Murphy, making his fifth appearance on this rehab stint, went 1-for-3 with two walks and was charged with three errors in nine innings at second base.
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