September 13, 2019 – Braves 5, Nats 0 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/max-scherzer-nationals-lose-opener-to-braves

 

Weather: 71 degrees, Overcast.

Wind: 5 mph, In From RF.

Umpires: HP--Drake, 1B--Timmons, 2B--Welke, 3B--Muchlinski.

Time: 3:16

Attendance: 39,730

 

Section 419, Row M, Seats 1-2 – one row below the top of the stadium, although we were so used to our top-row seats from previous “extra” games that we actually sat in Row N instead

 

A decent-but-not-great start from Scherzer, two more runs surrendered by the Bullpen From Hell, and an almost-complete lack of offense produced the expected result, as the Nats (Naughts?) fell once again to the 2019 NL East champs-to-be. Most of the members of the sellout crowd were left to hope that their Tony Two-Bags bobbleheads would not be the final Washington giveaway item honoring the wildly popular pending free agent.

 

Despite inconsistent command, Max battled the Braves successfully for the first three innings, most notably in the second when he struck out the side after a Nick Markakis single and a Matt Joyce walk. Things didn’t go as well in the 4^th, when Atlanta scored their first run on a Markakis double and a Joyce single, and a second when Dansby Swanson doubled two batters later. Markakis, in his first game back off the IL, struck again an inning later with a bases-loaded sac fly to make the score 3-0. The Braves added what proved to be unnecessary insurance runs in the 7^th (when Ozzie Albies went yard on Tanner Rainey’s first pitch of the inning) and 8^th (when Hunter Strickland retired only one of his four batters faced, before Javy Guerra came in to limit the damage).

 

There isn’t much to say about the Washington “offense”. They wasted scoring opportunities in the 2^nd and 4^th against Braves starter Mike Soroka, who gave up just one hit, along with three walks, in his six innings of work. Doubles by Robles in the 8^th and Soto in the 9^th were too little, too late.