Dansby Swanson is a candidate to start at shortstop for the National League All-Star team, and his latest late-inning heroics have the Atlanta Braves in position to win a weekend series at the Washington Nationals entering Sunday’s finale. Swanson belted a three-run, tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning of a wild 13-9 victory Saturday, matching his career high of 14 homers and raising his average in the seventh inning or later this season to .333 with six homers and 17 RBIs.
Atlanta scored 12-plus runs for the fifth time in 20 games this month, improving to 15-5 since June 1 and extending its lead in the NL East to 5½ games over Philadelphia and 7½ over the Nationals, as Swanson finished with three runs scored and four RBIs and first baseman Freddie Freeman matched a franchise record with RBIs in 10 consecutive games after driving home five Saturday. It was a devastating loss for Washington, which had won 17 of its previous 25 games to move with one game of .500 entering Saturday and held an 8-4 lead after five innings. Left fielder Juan Soto continued his hot play of late, finishing 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs Saturday to improve his numbers in the series to 5-for-7 with a double, two triples and two runs scored. Third baseman Anthony Rendon scored three times while going 2-for-3 with a walk, but Washington’s bullpen gave up nine runs, eight hits and five walks in three innings as the Nationals’ five-game winning streak ended.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FS South (Atlanta), MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Mike Soroka (8-1, 2.12 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Austin Voth (NR)
Soroka rebounded from his worst start of the season June 12 against Pittsburgh to beat the Mets on Monday, scattering six hits while allowing three runs in six innings of a 12-3 victory. The 21-year-old has given up 12 earned runs in four June starts – after posting a 1.07 ERA through his first eight starts – but is 3-0 this month with only four walks in 25 2/3 innings. Soroka, who entered Saturday second in the NL in ERA and fourth in WHIP (0.98) while holding opponents to a .201 batting average, makes his first career appearance against Washington.
The Nationals will summon Voth from Triple-A Fresno to make his 2019 major-league season debut, where he went 3-5 with a 4.40 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings over 12 starts. The 26-year-old made four appearances with the Nationals as a rookie last season, going 1-1 with a 6.57 ERA in four games (two starts) with 11 strikeouts but three homers allowed and six walks in 12 1/3 innings. Voth pitched one inning of scoreless relief against Atlanta on Sept. 14 last season.
WALK-OFFS1. Washington CF Victor Robles left Saturday’s game in the second inning with dehydration symptoms after dropping to one knee between pitches.
2. Soto extended his hitting streak to eight games Saturday and is batting .481 with eight RBIs during that span.
3. Atlanta’s victory Saturday ended a five-game losing streak to the Nationals dating to 2018 and marked its first in four tries against Washington this season, as the Nationals have outscored the Braves 32-24 in 2019.