Happy September, y'all. Somehow the calendar has flipped over to the final month of the regular season.
(And of course, happy SB Nation app launch day to all who celebrate! What are you waiting for? It's available now on iOS
or Android
, and more info is available here
.)
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After a near-dream of a homestand in which they went 6-1 against the NL West with two sweeps, the Braves will now hit the road to try to start a new win streak. First up: a cheeky two-set against the Washington Nationals.
Much of the (unexpected) chatter about the Nats this season has been about their incredible offense. But the last time we saw them, Washington came into Truist Park and were swept in four games.
Now the conversation is a little different, as they're eight games under with a 66-74 record. They're fresh off taking nearly sweeping the Marlins in a four-game series, but the singular loss was brutal: leading 2-0, their bullpen blew it and allowed the Fish to rally for six
runs in the top of the ninth. With 35, their bullpen is now two blown saves shy of the MLB record.
It would be very nice to see the Braves get to this notoriously-awful bullpen for once to get the offense going ahead of a pivotal weekend series. But first they have to contend with right-handed pitcher Jake Irvin (2-8, 5.62 ERA). Irvin last started against the Braves on July 30, where he started characteristically strong before the offense mounted a rally in the middle frames to win, 5-4
. During his May 23 start, he no-hit them for five innings and earned the win in the 2-0 loss.
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In his ten games against the Braves, he has a 3-4 record and 4.08 ERA. The team is 29-for-134 for a .215 AVG and .661 OPS. Lefties Michael Harris II and Matt Olson lead the team with 20+ ABs with a .292 and .190 AVG respectively, though the latter does have two homers.
The other team member with two homers off him is Mike Yastrzemski, and Ronald Acuña Jr. has one.
The Braves will counter with their own righty in AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 5.93 ERA), making his third start since being recalled on August 18.
AJ is coming off his longest outing of the year, going five innings versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. He threw 93 pitches and surrendered five hits, three earned runs, three walks, and struck out three.
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Only four Nats have faced AJ previously. CJ Abrams leads the team with seven ABs with Keibert Ruiz closely behind with six. Abrams, Ruiz, and Jose Tena have each recorded at least one hit. Jacob Young has had no such luck in his two ABs. For other Nats of note, James Wood is currently rehabbing and will likely return tomorrow.
The May Braves couldn't solve Irvin, but the July Braves were able to give him a loss to the tune of five earned runs in five innings. Let's see what September brings.
Game Info
Game Date/Time:Tuesday, September 1, 6:45 p.m. ET
Location:Nationals Park, Washington, DC
TV:BravesVision
Streaming:MLB.tv
Radio:680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, Los Bravos
