Dickey hit hard as Atlanta Braves fall to Nationals 10-5
By Scott Ferris
Youngsters excel on offense but Braves can’t overcome Nationals offense in 10-5 loss.
On Monday, the Atlanta Braves pitching staff allowed 10 runs and still managed to escape with a victory after the offense exploded for 11.
On Tuesday, they attempted the same feat only to find out that giving up double-digit runs is actually a pretty bad strategy… when their bullpen is more-or-less useful.
Washington started the scoring early.
With one out in the bottom of the first, recent minor-league pick-up Ryan Raburn laced a triple high off the wall in right field. One batter later, Bryce Harper plated the game’s first run with an RBI groundout to second.
Three pitches later, Ryan Zimmerman absolutely unloaded on a pitch for his 18th home run of the season.
Three more pitches later, Daniel Murphy followed suit to give Washington an early 3-0 lead.
Atlanta would respond by loading the bases in the top of the second but failed to score when Dickey grounded out weakly.
Knuckle Up
Despite the team’s inauspicious start, Dickey seemed to settle into a groove after the first.
Following the Murphy home run he retired 13 of the next 14 batters he faced, six via strikeout. The only blemish was a single by Nationals starter Joe Ross.
Unfortunately, the groove wouldn’t last.
In the bottom of the sixth Raburn led off with a single to right and advanced on a passed ball. Harper then hit an RBI single up the middle to bring Zimmerman to the plate with one on, nobody out.
While knuckleballs can be incredibly effective and make hitters look foolish at times, when a pitcher hangs one, it’s essentially batting practice.
"“I had (a good knuckleball) pretty much all night long, believe it or not,” he said. “t’s just, you make a handful of mistakes to these guys and they’re homers, and you make good pitches and they duck-fart one into right and there’s a four-, five-chopper up the middle, and then the next thing you know you’re down in the hole."
Dickey would go on to allow a single to Murphy and hit Anthony Rendon with a 69 MPH floater (to put men on first and second, still no outs) before being lifted for reliever Luke Jackson.
Unfortunately, Jackson didn’t fare much better as the very next batter, Matt Wieters, would proceed to clear the bases with a towering double to right-center. With both inherited runners coming around to score, this closed the book on Dickey’s performance.
Dickey would finish with an ugly line: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 3 HR.
While the Atlanta offense had been keeping pace with Washington up to this point, Dickey’s eight runs allowed would prove too much to overcome.
The Nationals would tack on two more runs for a final score of 10-5.
Best Braves Performers:
Despite the loss, a number of Braves actually had solid individual performances.
Matt Adams:
2-for-5, 2B, 2 R
Adams has continued to rake as a Brave. While it’s fun to envision him sliding over to third or taking over in an outfield corner, he’s realistically just boosting his trade value. If he continues to hit like this, expect a quality return on the trade market when Freddie Freeman returns.
Dansby Swanson:
3-for-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, BB
Swanson entered the season as the presumptive favorite for NL Rookie of the Year then promptly fell flat on his face. However, in recent weeks he’s shown exactly why so many expected him to blossom into a star. Tuesday was no different as his hustle and timely hitting and kept Atlanta in the game until the Nats offense exploded.
Other Notables:
Rio Ruiz: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, BB
Ender Inciarte: 2-for-5, RBI
Brandon Phillips: 3-for-5, 2B
Next: Atlanta's Newest Top Prospect
The series will continue on Wednesday afternoon with struggling righty Julio Teheran facing off against Tanner Roark. First pitch is at 4:05 PM EST.