*Photo from the Traverse City Record Eagle*
Riding motivation of missing out on the NL All Star team, Austin Riley is playing with fire. Riley homered, Orlando Arcia blasted a homer, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Washington Nationals with an 8-4 victory on Friday night in Washington.
With the win, the Braves have won two straight and 7 out of their last 10 games, sitting two games back of the NL East Division leaders, the New York Mets. This time around, they were led by 3 home runs, most notably from Riley, who was left off the NL All Star team this season in a shocking move. As of Saturday morning, he has been added to the All Star team.
Braves starter Ian Anderson said of Riley after the game that "I can’t believe he’s not an All-Star. Everyone is saying he turned it on a little too late, but he’s right in the MVP talks again and it’s just a steady, steady effort. Every day he has a chance to get two or three hits and knock one out of the ballpark."
The first inning started in a big way for the Braves, with Matt Olson hitting an RBI single to put the Braves ahead 1-0. With Olson on base, Riley homered to center field, a two run shot to triple the Braves lead to a 3-0 mark. In the second inning, another RBI single from Olson made it a 4-0 game. Yet another RBI single from Olson in the 4th made it 5-0 Braves.
In the 5th inning, the Braves kept chugging, with a solo homer from Arcia making it 6-0 Braves. The Nationals got on the board in the 6th when Cesar Hernandez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. In the 7th inning, an RBI single from William Contreras made it a 7-1 Braves lead.
When the 9th inning started, Adam Duvall hit a solo home run to center field to make it a 8-1 game. In the bottom of the 9th, Victor Robles hit an RBI single, Juan Soto drew a bases loaded walk, and Robles scored on a wild pitch, making it an 8-4 game. That was where the comeback attempt ended for the Nationals.
After the game, Riley said of the Braves powerful lineup that "From the get-go, this lineup, one through nine, can change the ballgame with one swing of the bat. That’s part of our game. We’re never out of it until the very last out."
It was Anderson who started for the Braves, being charged with one run on 5 hits in 5 1/3 innings pitched, picking up the win to move to 8-5 on the season. Collin McHugh finished off the 6th for Anderson, before Dylan Lee threw two innings of shutout ball. Will Smith allowed 3 runs while getting just two outs in the 9th, requiring AJ Minter to finish the game.
Patrick Corbin started and got hit hard for the Nationals, allowing 6 runs on 9 hits in 5 innings pitched. Erasmo Ramirez pitched two innings and gave up one run, before Carl Edwards Jr and Kyle Finnegan each pitched an inning, with Finnegan giving up another run.
Up next, the Braves and Nationals continue their series on Saturday afternoon. Max Fried gets the start for Atlanta, while Paolo Espino gets the start for the Nationals.
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