Michael Harris II, who hit two of the team’s four home runs on Tuesday, led the Atlanta Braves to a decisive 12-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. Despite a setback when starting pitcher Reynaldo López left the game after just one inning due to a shoulder injury, the Braves put on an incredible display that included a total of 15 hits.
With his fastball velocity dropping from his typical 96 mph range to 89-94 mph, Lopez—who threw 25 pitches with 16 strikes—was plagued by shoulder discomfort. Even with his early exit, López and three relievers successfully held the Nationals—who have lost seven of their past 10 games—to just three hits. On Wednesday, Lopez is expected to have an MRI to further evaluate his condition.
While López’s first assessments were comforting, the decline in velocity was troubling, according to Braves manager Brian Snitker’s comments on the matter. “We will make a decision tomorrow after examining him,” Snitker stated. “I was caught off guard,” López said, acknowledging that the abrupt shift in his pitch speed had taken him by surprise. It surprised me to learn that my first pitch was only 89 mph when I had assumed it was 95 mph.
Harris achieved a multi-homer game for the fourth time in his career with his two home homers. In sharp contrast to the previous night, when the Braves were held to only two singles in a 1-0 loss against, Sean Murphy added a two-run home run, and Orlando Arcia added a solo blast.
The Braves scored three more runs in the fourth inning after their offense erupted for four runs in the third. MacKenzie Gore, the left-handed starter for the Nationals, was taken out by this offensive barrage after he gave up seven runs (only two earned) in 3 2/3 innings. Gore hit one batter, walked three, struck out three, and gave up six hits in addition to a wild pitch.
With their win, Atlanta and the Mets are now tied for the last NL wild card slot. It was Matt Olson’s third multi-hit game in the previous four, with two singles and a double, while Ramón Laureano and Murphy each had two hits and three RBIs. “In the third inning, we pretty quickly settled into a rhythm,” Laureano remarked it was all smooth sailing after that.”
López hit Nationals designated hitter Andrés Chaparro with a pitch in the first inning, but he struck out José Tena to end the inning. Frustrated by his inability to go on, López considered the significance of every game in their present standings.
López was replaced by right-hander Jesse Chavez (2-2), who stepped in and was efficient, giving up only one hit and striking out three. In addition, Chaparro garnered media attention when he stole second base, his first of the season and 23rd overall for the Nationals, matching the 1917 Pittsburgh Pirates.
