Derek Lowe might not have been the first name to come to mind if you mentioned the word “stopper” but that was exactly the performance he turned in on Monday night. Lowe turned in arguably one of his best outings of the season pitching eight innings and striking out a career high 12 Nationals hitters. On his way to 12 Lowe notched his 1500th strikeout of his career. His performance was not a moment too soon for the Braves who are desperately trying to keep pace with the Phillies while also maintaining an edge in the Wild Card standings.
The Braves got all of the offense they needed in the second inning scoring all four of their runs. The first coming via back to back walks that were then followed by back to back balks by Nationals starter Yunesky Maya. That was followed by a double from the suddenly red hot Nate McLouth to give the Braves a 2-0 advantage. Matt Diaz later tripled home a run and Omar Infante brought Diaz home before the inning was over on an RBI single of his own to give the Braves a 4-0 advantage.
Other than the second inning the Braves didn’t do much offensively. They only totaled five hits for the game. Derek Lowe was clearly the story in this one. He only allowed six hits on the night and worked quickly and confidently throughout. Since skipping a turn in the rotation with a sore elbow he has been lights out allowing only one run in fourteen innings pitched.
The Phillies maintained their lead over the Braves with an 11-4 victory over the Florida Marlins but the Braves were able to keep pace and still only trail by one full game. The San Francisco Giants were off last night and thus the Braves picked up a half game on them in the wild card standings. Game two of the Nationals series is tonight with Jair Jurrjens on the mound looking to shake off the remnants of a bad outing his last time out.
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