The Braves nearly completed another epic comeback last night much to the dismay of the dreadful Nationals bullpen. A two-run home run off the bat of Austin Riley (his sixth of the year) cut Washington’s lead from three to one in the eighth. Dansby Swanson would allow Freddie Freeman to end it with two outs in the ninth, but Sean Doolittle came through for the Nats with a strikeout.
As per regular scheduling, it is passed Memorial Day, this is the first time the Braves have met the Nationals, and it is not even a three-game set. The two will wrap up this quick series tonight at SunTrust Park, as Kevin Gausman toes the rubber for Atlanta against a former Brave himself Anibal Sanchez.
Gausman looks to stay in a groove
Gaus has finally found some consistency here in May. He’s tossed six innings and allowed less than three runs in each of his last three starts. The right-hander out of Lousiana State University hopes to continue that trend against a Nationals club he’s faired pretty well against in his career. In six starts, he’s 4-1 with a 4.41 ERA, but he has allowed six home runs in those outings. Washington has not gotten off to the start they would have liked, but they do have a plethora of bats that can rake as they showed us last night.
Anibal Sanchez hoping to stop his slide
Sanchez had an unbelievable year out of nowhere for the Braves, posting a 7-6 record with a 2.83 ERA in 24 starts. Fortunately, he has not been the same guy for the Nats. Sanchez has made nine starts and has yet to win a game (0-6, 5.10 ERA). I’m sure he’d love to end the skid against his former team and now division rival, but he will not be getting any breaks from a Braves lineup that has been mashing balls of late.
The starting lineup tonight looks like this:
Here's how the #Braves will line up tonight vs. the Nationals!#ChopOn pic.twitter.com/mSbYw29UI8
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 29, 2019