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Game two with the Guardians. It almost has to be better than game one.
The Jays are saying that Jameson Taillon will start Friday’s game against the Royals
Looking at that picture, I used to think I’d like to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it interests me less now. And I’m not crossing that border for three more years. But I think there are other things I need to see before that particular Hall of Fame.
The year Covid hit, I had planned to go to Kansas City, to watch the Jays play there and to see the Negro League Baseball Hall of Fame. That’s higher up on the list. And I’d like to visit Nashville one day. And there are some places in Texas I’d like to visit.
Go Jays Go
WASHINGTON — Bat met ball in the top of the seventh inning, the latter flying out of the ballpark at 104 mph and soon, Ronald Acuña Jr. was flapping his arms and getting saluted in return by Atlanta Braves coaches and teammates, having witnessed another superlative from their now 28-year-old superstar.
“It’s freakish talent,” says Braves manager Walt Weiss. “And so he's capable of doing unbelievable things.”
In this case, on a rainy Wednesday, Sept 2 at Nationals Park, Acuña became the quickest player to reach 200 stolen bases and 200 homers, hitting the mark in just 904 career games, 25 sooner than Alfonso Soriano.
For a guy who debuted at 20 to reach a “fastest to” plateau at 28 seems momentarily incongruous. Yet that simply speaks to the adversity Acuña has faced after the sheen of his instant stardom wore off.
A pair of torn ACLs, one on each leg, essentially robbed him of two seasons, including the Braves’ run to the 2021 World Series championship. This season, a hamstring strain sent him twice to the injured list, and Weiss saw fit to bench him to “slow the game down” when he struggled returning from his second IL stint.
Those struggles seemed far away Wednesday.
Acuña singled, swiped second - his 20th steal in 29 tries this year - and scored in the sixth inning. An inning later, he clobbered a first-pitch 95 mph sinker up in the zone from Nationals reliever Max Kranick 379 feet into the Nationals bullpen for a 6-0 lead.
Two hundred to pair with his 225 steals.
In this era of liberal stolen-base rules, Acuña tops several superlative lists. But this one might be most significant - it implies longevity while also speaking to his precocious talent.
“I know how much I worked to be here, with my teammates, and I also, for me, wanted to be in that list with Alfonso Soriano and the superstars,” Acuña said after the Braves completed the rain-delayed 9-0 victory, increasing their NL East lead to four games over the Phillies ahead of their four-game weekend series in Philadelphia.
“Injuries are part of the game, though. So I need to keep continuing working hard, play hard, no matter what happened, help my team win a lot of games, so (we) make the playoffs this year.”
The 200th career home run for Ronald Acuña Jr. 👏 pic.twitter.com/yyEGxT2be7
— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2026
Acuña won’t be in the hunt for his second NL MVP award this season. Limited to 86 games, he’s posted a .243 average and .761 OPS, with 14 homers.
That’s OK. The Braves have taken control of the NL East without his very best. Now, they can really use his game-breaking ability as the stakes get higher.
“I love, I love, playing against Philly,“ says Acuña. “This weekend, it's like a playoff game, so let's see what happens in Philadelphia.”
Perhaps something spectacular, once again, from the Braves’ superstar whose career is gaining ever-richer context.
“Yeah, anytime you're first, or even top 50 on any list in this game, it's amazing,” says Weiss. “You think about the history of this game, and the people who played it, but, yeah, we know Ronald's talent, man.“
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ronald Acuña Jr. makes MLB history as fastest to join 200-200 club
The San Francisco Giants continue this three-game road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Landen Roupp, who enters today’s game with a 4.25 ERA, 3.74 FIP, with 133 strikeouts to 66 walks in 139.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 6-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks last Thursday, in which he allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
He’ll be facing off against Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler, who enters today’s game with a 4.26 ERA, 4.09 FIP, with 117 strikeouts to 68 walks in 131 innings pitched. His last start was in the Pirates’ 3-0 loss to the San Diego Padres last Wednesday, in which he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five and two thirds innings.
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Who: San Francisco Giants (57-82) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (68-71)
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
When: 3:40 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
National broadcast: n/a
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
The final game of a lengthy road trip is always a tricky proposition. Having already secured a winning record on their nine-game western swing, it was easy to envision the Phillies going through the motions in anticipation of boarding their flight back to Philadelphia.
Sure enough, the offense was silent against a bullpen game by the Diamondbacks. But it almost didn’t matter because rookie starting pitcher Andrew Painter delivered a gem, pitching seven shutout innings. Unfortunately, one mistake by reliever Jonathan Bowlan was enough to send the Phillies to a 1-0 loss.
Since his return from the minors, the first inning has given Painter some trouble. But after allowing a single to start the game, Painter got the next three hitters in the frame out…and pretty much just about every other hitter he faced after that.
From the second to the sixth, the Diamondbacks had one runner reach base, and that came via Bryson Stott error in the fourth. The Diamondbacks finally recorded their second hit of the game with one out in the seventh, but Painter rebounded to get the next two batters to finish his day.
Painter’s performance was perhaps more impressive because his offense did absolutely nothing at the plate. Facing an array of relief pitchers, they managed just three hits on the day – two of them by Bryan De La Cruz, who was the only player to get as far as second base. Bryce Harper had the other hit and walked twice to extend his on-base streak to 35, but the rest of the team had a collective 0-fer at the plate.
The Diamondbacks must have been ecstatic to see Painter leave the game. Jonathan Bowlan came in for the eighth and was greeted warmly by James McCann.
And that was that.
It was a disappointing if not unexpected end to an otherwise successful road trip. They’ll fly home and have an off day on Thursday before starting a four-game series against the Braves that may very well decide which team wins the National League East. Painter won’t pitch in that series, but hopefully his veteran rotation mates can duplicate his effort.
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto is on the bump tonight, so I'm riding with him as part of our Cardinals vs. Dodgers predictions.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are massive 70-cent favorites at Polymarket, and we'll be focused on the run line to squeeze out some extra value as a result.
Let’s dive into my MLB picks for Wednesday, Sept. 2.
For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.
When Yoshinobu Yamamoto is on the mound, it's tough to find an edge elsewhere. Yamamoto allowed just seven earned runs across 32 1/3 innings pitched in August (1.95 ERA), and is in a good spot against the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that owns a .176 average against him.
Yamamoto is having another fantastic season, with opponents rocking just a .213 xBA and .340 xSLG against him this year. He'll silence the bats, and with many questions surrounding who will be on the mound for the Cardinals, I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the Los Angeles Dodgers' offense.
COVERS INTEL: With the lowest walk rate of his career (5.9%), the Cardinals are going to have to earn it tonight. Expect Yamamoto to go deep against the team ranked 22nd in wRC+.The Cardinals have yet to announce their starter, but while I think the Dodgers will do enough to cover, their offense has struggled recently. The Under has covered in four of their last five games, and that trend should continue with Yamamoto on the mound tonight.
St. Louis is also one of the best Under teams in baseball, hitting at a 54.2% clip this season.
At this price, Jordan Walker is the best bet on the board tonight. Walker owns the highest xSLG (.486) of his career and has an .821 OPS against righties.
Mistakes may be few and far between from Yamamoto tonight, but if there's one guy in the Cardinals' lineup that will capitalize, it's Walker.
It's a perfect night for baseball in Los Angeles, with temperatures of 79 degrees Fahrenheit accompanying sunny skies.
The Dodgers are 6-0 in Yamamoto's last six starts vs. NL Central teams. Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Dodgers.
| Location | Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA |
| Date | Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026 |
| First pitch | 10:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | Cardinals.TV, SNLA |
| Cardinals starting pitcher | TBD |
| Dodgers starting pitcher | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8, 2.56 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.
In the last game of a 16 day run where they played every day, the Nats did not have any juice. They came out flat before the rain delay and that continued when play resumed. However, given the context, it was a performance I can live with in a 162 game season.
This was still a successful home stand. After leaking oil for most of August, the Nats had a solid 6-4 run at home. Things reached rock bottom after they got humbled in a 13-1 defeat against the Rockies. However, after Blake Butera called out the team’s effort, they responded. They won 3 out of 4 against the Marlins and last night’s win over the Braves was one of my favorites of the season.
Today was a different story though. Even though James Wood was back, it just felt like a punt game from the beginning. Between the pitching plan and the lack of offense, they never felt in the game. It was Wood who got the first hit of the game in the 6th inning. This was just a sleepy performance.
Brad Lord actually did his part, firing 3.1 strong innings before a lengthy rain delay. After play resumed, Riley Cornelio got out of a bases loaded jam. That could have been the spark to ignite the Nats, but they just did not have it today. On the broadcast, they said that the Nats played 39 games in 41 days. With an off day and such a dramatic win last night, coming out flat was honestly understandable.
This game was pretty uneventful outside of a couple 3-run homers for the Braves and Max Kranick getting lit up like a Christmas tree. I want to circle back to last night though. That was one of the best wins the organization has had in some time.
I put it like that because the group accomplished a lot in that win. With their 67th win of the year, the Nats exceeded their win total from 2025. Heading into the season, there was real doubt about whether that would happen following the losses of MacKenzie Gore, Jose A. Ferrer and Josh Bell.
However, they got it done with plenty of time to spare. That is due in large part to the impressive hitting infrastructure the new front office has put in place. Even in September, the Nats are still second in baseball in runs scored and have some real distance between themselves and third. The pitching development has been hit or miss, but it feels like almost every hitter in the organization has improved.
We saw that on display last night with Yohandy Morales. The 24 year old looked right at home in his MLB debut. He had three hits on the night, with his first being a home run which was an amazing moment. There are not a ton of massive names in this lineup, but everyone they bring up seems to be at least showing some promise offensively.
There have been some players who have taken massive leaps, while others are taking slow but steady strides. Some players like Curtis Mead immediately took to the new coaching and broke out right away. For others such as Luis Garcia Jr. and Andres Chaparro, it took a couple months for things to click, but when it did, the impact was loud.
Brady House is another fun example. He showed he was better than last year at the plate right away, but still needed to make big improvements. House actually had to go to the minor leagues to do that. Since being recalled, he has looked a lot better on both sides of the ball. He has a second half OPS of .755. As a whole, his OPS has gone from .574 last year to .710 this year in a nearly identical sample.
While Dylan Crews has not taken the leap most were hoping for, he also had a big moment this home stand. One thing that dogged the Nationals all year long was late inning offense. Crews finally gave the boys their first walk off all season. It was a big moment for him and the team.
Crews has slumped since that moment, which is honestly on brand for how his career has gone. However, I do think the walk off still gave him extra confidence that could be helpful down the line.
It was ugly today, but this was honestly one of my favorite home stands of the year. The team looked pretty dead coming into it, but came out with more life. This season could have gone totally off the rails, but this home stand helped the Nats stabilize.
They finally have an off day now before going on a west coast trip. The boys better bring more energy this weekend because the Dodgers are no easy challenge. It is time for the Nats to finish strong and build momentum into next season. This home stand helped that goal tremendously.
Francisco Lindor – SS
Juan Soto – DH
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – RF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Brett Baty – LF
Luis Torrens – C
SP: Justin Hagenman – RHP
Yandy Diaz – DH
Jonathan Aranda – 1B
Junior Caminero – 3B
Liam Hicks – C
Chandler Simpson – LF
Victor Mesa – RF
Cedric Mullins – CF
Richie Palacios – 2B
Taylor Walls – SS
SP: Griffin Jax – RHP
First pitch: 6:40 PM ET
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the middle of a three-game set inside PNC Park against the San Francisco Giants.
On the mound for the Giants is Landen Roupp (8-13, 4.25 ERA), who is making his 27th start of the season. Roupp last pitched against the Arizona Diamondbacks at home on August 27, going five innings and giving up four hits and one earned run in a 6-1 victory. With the win, he snapped a six-game losing streak. Roupp pitched against the Pirates earlier in the season, giving up three hits and one earned run in a 13-3 loss back in May.
Jared Jones is getting the ball for the Pirates, where he hopes to bounce back after a tough losing streak of his own. In his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 28, he went 4.2 innings, giving up seven hits and three earned runs in a 4-1 loss. The Pirates last won a game in which Jones pitched on July 18 against the Cleveland Guardians. Since then, they have dropped seven in a row when he takes the mound.
Perhaps September will bring some hope for Jones, but they will have to earn it against the Giants.
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Landen Roupp (8-13, 4.25 ERA) vs. Jared Jones (2-6, 4.83 ERA)
BD community, this is your game thread against the San Francisco Giants. Chime off in the comments section below.
Wednesday notes…
Cubs lineup:
Brewers lineup:
In eight starts and one relief appearance since that debacle against the Cardinals July 3, David Peterson has been outstanding: 2.35 ERA, 1.261 WHIP, although he struggled a bit in his last start, Friday against the Reds.
Peterson’s first start as a Cub was against the Brewers, June 27 in Milwaukee, and he turned in a creditable 5.2 inning outing with two runs allowed and no walks.
That’d work pretty well tonight.
So, Jacob Misiorowski. You all know what he’s accomplished and how hard he throws.
The Cubs have had some success against him, largely when they can work counts and foul off a lot of pitches. That’s about the only thing I can suggest for success this evening.
He has been slightly less fantastic since his ERA dropped to 1.34 on June 12. Since then: 2.25 ERA in 11 starts, with nine home runs allowed in 64 innings. That’s really good but not as otherworldly as before, with that 1.34 ERA in his first 14 starts and only four HR in 87 innings.
Good luck tonight, Cubs hitters.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also on MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Brewers market territories).
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
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Prior to Wednesday night's rubber game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Mets interim skipper Andy Green talked about the team's starting pitching rotation moving forward and the health status of key players.
With the MLB rosters having just expanded by two additional players, 23-year-old righty Jonah Tong is a strong candidate for a September call-up from Triple-A Syracuse.
In his last outing in the minors on Aug. 29th, Tong allowed just one hit through seven full innings, striking out eight batters and walking two.
Green told the media that Tong's potential addition to the team's pitching staff is "under discussion right now" and called the prospect of an extended starting rotation "definitely a possibility".
"We have been paying attention to Jonah's outings, we've seen where he's at, and we think positively about what he's done," he continued.
"When Jonah is in the strike zone, on the attack, letting his best stuff play, he usually has a lot of success," Green concluded.
However, it seems that Tong's potential first appearance with the big league club since June of this year might have to wait until after New York's three-game road set against the San Francisco Giants, as Green named Nolan McLean, Zac Thornton, and Christian Scott as the team's starters for that series.
The Mets said they "hope and anticipate" that closer Devin Williams will return from his shoulder strain this season.
Accordingly, Green provided a brief update on the right-hander in his news conference.
"He's playing catch. I don't have a timetable yet, but he is throwing," he stated.
In Williams' place, Kodai Senga has been converted into an effective makeshift reliever. In August, Senga recorded five saves and 12 strikeouts across 10.1 innings, sporting a 1.74 ERA in the process.
The last time Juan Soto started a game in the Mets' outfield was Jul. 24 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the same game in which the star slugger exited early with a calf injury.
Since returning from that injury on Aug. 29, Soto has served as the team's designated hitter rather than taking his usual spot in left field.
However, Green had some positive news about Soto's potential return to the outfield.
"He'll definitely get back out there," Green shared. "We'll let how he feels daily dictate how often he's out there, since we'd obviously like him in the lineup every single day, so we'll do our best."
"There will be DH days, but how many depends on a number of factors," Green revealed.
The A’s managed to steal a win in Texas and avoid another sweep, beating the Rangers 9-2 to wrap up the series and snap the losing streak. Win #54 locked up.
More to come…
36 Years Ago Today
Blue Jays starter Dave Stieb had carried no-hitters into the ninth inning three times before. So, when Stieb took the mound in Cleveland on September 2, 1990, he must have wondered what would happen this time. Here’s what happened those previous three times:
But the fourth time, everything finally fell into place.
In the ninth, Stieb:
Here is the final out:
Cleveland didn’t exactly have a powerhouse lineup in 1990. Their cleanup hitter, Ken Phelps (perhaps best known for a Seinfeld reference rather than his baseball stats), was batting just .155/.288/.198 at the time. In fact, five of their starters had an OPS below .700.
Stieb didn’t feel he was at his best that day. From the Toronto Star game story:
I didn’t have great control. I couldn’t find my release point in the early innings. I hung pitches but got away with them. They helped me out a few times by swinging at bad pitches. They hit balls right at people.
The win was Stieb’s 17th of the season against 5 losses. He finished the game with a 2.91 ERA. He would finish the season 18-6 with a 2.93 ERA, his most wins in a season, setting a new team-high.
I was a huge fan of Stieb—he was fiercely competitive. He would have been a good match for Jose Bautista, but unlike Jose, Stieb wasn’t afraid to stare down teammates who made mistakes. Unfortunately, the team wasn’t at its best when he was in his prime. I’m not sure if he was a bad teammate in other respects, but that kind of behavior probably didn’t make him popular in the clubhouse.
But I wasn’t on the team—I just saw him as the best player on my team and, at the time, the best pitcher in baseball. I admired his drive to win. For much of his career, there weren’t many other Jays worth cheering for.
It is still the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | WPA | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mookie Wilson DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .264 | .304 | .354 | .658 | -0.099 | |
| Tony Fernández SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .258 | .343 | .377 | .720 | -0.026 | CS |
| Kelly Gruber 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .261 | .315 | .474 | .788 | -0.013 | |
| Fred McGriff 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .309 | .416 | .565 | .981 | 0.118 | 2·HR |
| Pat Borders C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .293 | .325 | .514 | .838 | -0.057 | |
| Glenallen Hill LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .235 | .287 | .449 | .736 | 0.006 | |
| Ken Williams CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .153 | .203 | .197 | .400 | 0.036 | 2B |
| Manuel Lee 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .242 | .281 | .346 | .627 | 0.038 | 2B |
| Junior Félix RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .271 | .340 | .458 | .798 | -0.058 | |
| Team Totals | 34 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 35 | .235 | .257 | .471 | .728 | -0.055 |
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | WPA | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Cole CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .328 | .404 | .388 | .792 | -0.079 | CS |
| Jerry Browne 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .266 | .339 | .372 | .711 | -0.077 | |
| Dion James LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .276 | .347 | .371 | .718 | -0.040 | |
| Ken Phelps DH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .155 | .288 | .198 | .486 | 0.024 | |
| Brook Jacoby 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .283 | .358 | .418 | .776 | -0.105 | |
| Carlos Baerga SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .240 | .285 | .362 | .647 | -0.078 | CS |
| Cory Snyder RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .234 | .266 | .402 | .668 | -0.100 | |
| Tom Brookens 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .235 | .288 | .311 | .598 | -0.041 | |
| Chris James PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .299 | .343 | .444 | .788 | -0.022 | |
| Joel Skinner C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .250 | .289 | .324 | .614 | -0.026 | |
| Candy Maldonado PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .269 | .330 | .437 | .767 | -0.012 | |
| Team Totals | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 29 | .000 | .138 | .000 | .138 | -0.556 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str | GB | FB | LD | GSc | WPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Stieb, W (17-5) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 2.91 | 29 | 123 | 75 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 92 | 0.554 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str | Ctct | StS | StL | GB | FB | LD | GSc | WPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bud Black, L (10-9) | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3.63 | 27 | 121 | 79 | 56 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 63 | 0.060 |
| Jesse Orosco | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.72 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | -0.013 | |
| Steve Olin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.04 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0.007 | |
| Team Totals | 9 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 3.00 | 35 | 147 | 93 | 66 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 4 | 63 | 0.054 |
The Atlanta Braves faced off against the Washington Nationals badly needing a win after dropping two in a row in games they should have won on paper with the Phillies trailing close behind.
Today, Grant Holmes made the start looking to cross the 130.0 innings pitched threshold. His opponent was Brad Lord, who has only made four starts. However, Lord has been an opener in all four.
The game did not start well for the Braves. Lord was able to retire the side picking up strikeouts of both Baldwin and Olson. Grant Holmes struck back in the bottom of the first. He was able to get newly returned James Wood to ground out, followed by two more to Ortiz and Crews.
Lord continued his dominance of the Braves by striking out the side in the second. At this point he struck out five of six batters he faced. To not be outdone, Holmes retired the side as well picking up a strikeout. The top of the third finally saw a baserunner when Yastrzemski singled. Riley almost moved him over, but Crews made a sliding catch for the out. Kim grounded out, followed by a Baldwin deep fly that he just missed. Holmes retired his ninth straight hitter in the third.
The top of the fourth is where things got crazy. Acuña singled followed by an Olson strikeout, but then Keibert Ruiz had to be replaced at catcher due to injury. Albies then walked and Harris reached on an error to load the bases for Sean Murphy. With the bases loaded and the second hottest hitter on the Braves the last two weeks up to bat, there was a weather delay.
After about an hour, Riley Cornelio came in to pitch for the Nationals. Murphy smoked the ball, but it was right at Abrams. Yastrzemski just missed a grand slam with a deep fly ball to RF, but the top of the inning ended with the bases loaded.
Dylan Dodd is who came in to replace Holmes in the fourth. He struck out Wood and got Ortiz to ground out. He walked Crews but got Abrams to fly out on a hard hit ball. The fifth started well for the Braves with a Riley singled, but then Kim popped up, Baldwin lined out, and then Riley was caught stealing.
Newly promoted Elieser Hernández came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth. He retired the side to include a strikeout. To start the sixth Acuña singled and stole second, but Olson struck out on a full count. It was his third strikeout of the day. Albies then followed up with a strikeout of his own. In an interesting move, Michael Harris was intentionally walked. Sean Murphy then made up for his bases loaded out and smacked a three-run HR over the left field wall to give the Braves a three run lead. Yastrzemski then struck out, but massive damage had been done.
Hernández stayed in to pitch, and it was clearly the right decision. He gave up a single to Wood, but that was the only baserunner he surrendered. Max Kranick came in to pitch for the Nationals and the Braves took full advantage. Riley popped up, but then Kim doubled. Drake Baldwin walked and then superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. made history as the fastest player in MLB history to have 200 career HRs and 200 career steals to make the score 6-0.
Olson struck out for the fourth time today, and Albies grounded out, but the game was blown open. Hernández continued to prove the front office right by pitching his third inning in the seventh. He surrendered a walk, but that was the only baserunner. Hernández finished his return with 3.0 innings of zero earned runs, one hit, one strikeout, and one walk.
The Braves continued to pile it on in the eighth. Harris lined out, but Murphy walked. Yastrzemski then double to put two on. Austin Riley then came in clutch with a two run single to ice the game.
The Braves almost got more too. Riley moved over on a wild pitch and Kim walked. This led to a pitching change where Matt Waldron came in. Waldren then retired the next two hitters. Didier Fuentes then came in to pitch the eighth. He gave up a singled, but then followed that up with back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout.
José Tena came in to pitch for the Nationals in the ninth. Olson finally did not strike out, but he did line out. Ozzie Albies walked, and then Brewer Hicklen came in to hit for Harris and walked. Sean Murphy then came in clutch yet again with a single that scored Albies. The scoring ended when Yastrzemski hit into a double play.
Victor Mederos then came in to pitch the ninth and retired the side.
The story today was how Grant Holmes looked fantastic and even though he was cut short due to rain, newly promoted Elieser Hernández took over and got the job done. The pitching as a unit only gave up two hits against one of the top scoring offenses this season.
The offense finally broke out of their shell as well, led by by Sean Murphy who had a HR and four RBI and Ronald Acuña had three hits to include a history making HR to make him the fastest player to record 200 career HRs and 200 steals.
The Braves are off tomorrow before their much looked forward to series against the Phillies on Friday.
It’s been a long time coming but Ronald Acuña Jr. finally got off the hump here on September 2 against the Washington Nationals. For the first time since August 15, Acuña put one over the fence and this time, it allowed him to hit a pretty unique milestone. For starters, Acuña now has 200 home runs over the course of his career — a very nice round number to reach.
He also had a stolen base earlier on — his 20th of the season and the 225th of his career. The dinger put Acuña into rarefied air when it comes to the career 200-200 Club. Sarah Slangs of MLB.com shared the stat that Acuña pulled off the feat in just 904 games, which is now the fewest amount of games that anybody has done it in.
It’s certainly been a long time coming but there’s definitely a sense of relief that Acuña was finally able to get the milestone dinger and judging by the reaction from the dugout, everybody down there was pretty thrilled to see Acuña hit that particular mark. As far as the season goes, it’s certainly encouraging to see the Braves start putting some big numbers on the board for a road game — especially with a huge series in Philadelphia looming large this weekend.
The Braves are currently up 6-0 on the Washington Nationals and will be hoping to hold onto that lead so that they can go into Philly with a winning record. For the immediate moment, though, it’s time to congratulate Acuña for reaching the 200-200 club in record time as far as games go. Here’s to 200 more of each! Well, maybe not stolen bases and it’ll certainly be a tall feat to hit 400 dingers as well, but who knows what the future holds for Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Braves?