Braves at Nationals
The Atlanta Braves moved closer to the National League East title and aim for a three-game sweep Sunday at the Washington Nationals, but in the process of Saturday’s 10-1 victory lost a key bench piece when Charlie Culberson was hit in the face with a pitch. The infielder/outfielder took a fastball to his right cheek trying to bunt in the seventh and, after he left the field on a cart, Atlanta responded with nine runs in three innings to drop its magic number to four.
Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies recorded his fourth consecutive multi-hit day, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, and is 13-for-27 with two homers and six RBIs during his current six-game hitting streak. Left fielder Nick Markakis added four hits in his second game back for Atlanta after missing seven weeks with a fractured left wrist, and since returning is 6-for-9 with three RBIs. The Nationals lost for the seventh time in their past 10 games and are 1-5 against Atlanta in that span, getting two hits from center fielder Victor Robles and third baseman Anthony Rendon’s 118th RBI on the season in Saturday’s defeat. Washington’s bullpen completely imploded after Culberson was hit, allowing nine runs on eight hits with five walks in the final three innings, and saw its lead over the Chicago Cubs for the top NL wild card spot sliced to 1 1/2 games.
TV: 1:38 p.m. ET, TBS, FS South (Atlanta), MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves LH Max Fried (16-5, 4.02 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Anibal Sanchez (8-8, 4.04)
Fried looks to rebound after one of his roughest outings of the season Tuesday in Philadelphia, as he allowed four homers - three in the first inning - and surrendered five runs on seven hits over five innings to lose for the first time since July 6. The 25-year-old had given up more than three earned runs once in his previous seven starts, pitching to a 2.90 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings in that span. Fried is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in two starts against the Nationals this season, dominating Washington on Sept. 5 in Atlanta while allowing just one hit with no walks and nine strikeouts over seven shutout innings.
Sanchez has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his past four starts, but overall has an ERA almost a run higher (4.55) in the second half than he compiled before the All-Star break (3.66). The 35-year-old suffered a tough loss Tuesday at Minnesota after allowing just two runs on four hits with five strikeouts in seven innings, but it was better than his Sept. 4 outing against the New York Mets in which he gave up seven runs on eight hits over five innings. Sanchez is 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in four starts this season against the Braves, with whom he went 7-6 with a 2.83 ERA a season ago.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Nationals dropped to 12-43 when scoring three runs or fewer.
2. Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman, who left Friday’s game with soreness in his right elbow from a bone spur, started Saturday and went 0-for-4 with a walk.
3. Both teams are chasing franchise records for most homers in a single season: Atlanta has tied the 2003 mark of 235, while Washington is three away from the 215 homers it hit in 2017.