*Photo from the Charlotte Observer*
The race to win the NL East this season looks like it's going to be one of the most entertaining races in baseball. Matt Olson homered and drove in 3 runs, Marcell Ozuna homered, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Washington Nationals with a 8-0 shutout victory on Monday night in Washington.
After splitting a series with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Braves got off on the right foot to start this series, picking up their 3rd straight win to move to 96-58, including 7 wins in their last 10 games. They sit just one game back of the New York Mets in the NL East ahead of a crucial series against each other.
Olson said of the lineup production that "I’ve been saying it all along, we’ve got one of the deepest lineups. One through nine, anybody can do it. Obviously, personally, you want to be at your best. But we've got a lot of good talent in that lineup, and it can be anybody’s night."
The first 3 innings went scoreless, until Olson went off with a bang in the 4th. Olson hit a two run home run to right field, putting the Braves ahead 2-0. One inning later, Ozuna added to the lead, making it 3-0 with a solo home run to left field. In the top of the 6th, Austin Riley scored on a sac fly from Olson to make it a 4-0 game.
Later in the 6th inning, Michael Harris scored on a fielding error from Joey Meneses, making the Braves lead 5-0. Eddie Rosario was next across the plate, scoring on a double from Ozuna to extend the lead to 6-0. With Ozuna on base, Orlando Arcia blasted a two run home run to make the score 8-0 and put the game out of reach.
Making his 8th career start and 9th career appearance for the Braves was Bryce Elder. In his start, Elder put on a dazzling performance. Elder allowed 6 hits and one walk, striking out 6 hitters while going all 9 innings, delivering a complete game shutout.
Braves manager Brian Snitker talked about Elder's start, saying that "It was really good, how he went out and just kind of stayed even keel and didn’t get worked up or anything. He didn’t start forcing things in the ninth. It’s amazing how many guys don’t touch that rubber in the ninth, so it was great for him to experience that and know what that feels like."
Starting for the Nationals was Cory Abbott, who took the loss. Abbott was charged with 5 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings pitched, with Andres Machado surrendering 3 more in one inning. Jordan Weems, Mason Thompson, and Steve Cishek each worked scoreless outings.
With the latest loss, the Nationals have now lost 6 of their last 10 games. They saw their record plummet to 53-100 on the season with 9 games to go, worst in the major leagues. It's their first 100 loss season since 2009, and the Nationals are 15-52 against NL East opponents this season.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez talked about reaching 100 losses, saying "We all know it stinks, right? But we have to remember what we’re trying to do here and it’s going to be a process. So moving forward, hopefully, this will be the last year we lose 100 games and we get better."
Up next, the Braves and Nationals continue their series on Tuesday night. The Braves will start lefty Kyle Muller, while Paolo Espino gets the start for the Nationals.
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