Braves at Nationals
The Atlanta Braves enter Wednesday’s contest at the Washington Nationals with a chance to win this showdown series against their National League East rivals, thanks to continued good work from Adam Duvall and Ender Inciarte - neither of whom figured prominently in their plans two weeks ago. With outfielder Nick Markakis sidelined with a fractured wrist, the duo sparked a 11-8 victory Tuesday by combining to go 7-for-10 with five runs scored and four RBIs.
Duvall homered twice during his four-hit night Tuesday and is 9-for-17 with three homers and five RBIs in four games since being promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday, while Inciarte (who missed two months with a back injury) finished 3-for-5 with two doubles to give him seven hits and two homers in his past four contests. The victory extended Atlanta’s lead over Washington in the NL East to 5 1/2 games and gave the Nationals just their 10th defeat in the past 30 games. First baseman Howie Kendrick went 3-for-5 for Washington, which scored its runs in the final four innings after the Braves built a 9-0 lead. Third baseman Anthony Rendon, who reached the 500 RBI plateau with a grand slam in Monday’s victory, singled Tuesday to give him hits in 18 of his past 20 contests and a .368 average in that span.
TV: 12:05 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Mike Soroka (10-2, 2.44 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Anibal Sanchez (6-6, 3.63)
Soroka hasn’t been as sharp as he was while compiling a 1.38 ERA through his first 10 starts, pitching to a 4.10 ERA while allowing 56 hits in 41 2/3 innings across his past eight starts. The 21-year-old (who turns 22 on Sunday) gave up one run on eight hits with five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings Friday at Philadelphia but could not get out of the fifth inning after throwing 37 pitches in the frame. Soroka, who entered Tuesday third in the NL in ERA and 10th in WHIP (1.13), is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 10 hits allowed in eight innings across two starts against the Nationals this season.
Sanchez is not as heralded as the rest of the Washington rotation but the veteran has helped fuel the Nationals summertime success, pitching to a 2.58 ERA with a .210 opponents batting average in his past 10 starts. The 35-year-old is 6-0 in that span while allowing one earned run or fewer six times, giving up one run on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts over seven innings Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sanchez has faced the Braves three times in his 10-start spurt, going 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 13 hits allowed and 17 strikeouts in 17 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Atlanta acquired RHP Chris Martin from Texas on Tuesday, adding a pitcher to its shaky bullpen (which allowed six runs in 2 1/3 innings Tuesday) with a 10.8 K/BB ratio and 1.03 WHIP this season.
2. Washington SS Trea Turner homered Tuesday and in 61 career games against the Braves is hitting .339 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs.
3. Braves 2B Ozzie Albies, who entered Tuesday tied for fourth in the NL in multi-hit games with 37, doubled twice en route to a 3-for-5 night.