Sept. 10—The Atlanta Braves will take on the host Washington Nationals in a two-game series on Tuesday night, trying to rebound from a tough loss and stay in contention for a National League wild-card spot.
Right-hander Charlie Morton missed a highlight-reel shot in a 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night as the Braves (78-66) fell behind the New York Mets in the race for the final NL playoff spot. After the Washington game, Atlanta will return home for a four-game series with the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
Atlanta right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (8-5, 2.04 ERA) will face Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore (8-11, 4.32) in Tuesday’s series opener.
Returning to the injured list after recovering from forearm inflammation, López went 1–1 with a 1.96 ERA in four starts. One of those games was against Washington on August 25, when he allowed one run in six scoreless innings.
In Lopez’s last loss to the Colorado Rockies, he allowed two runs on five hits in six innings, two of them home runs. He struck out a season-high 11 batters and did not allow any batters to reach base.
“Nobody wants to give up a home run, nobody wants to give up four runs in a row, nobody wants to lose a game,” Lopez said through a translator.
Lopez is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA in three career starts against the Nationals and has a 2.25 ERA against Washington this year.
After mid-season struggles, Gore has bounced back. He is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in his last three starts. In his most recent outing, Gore allowed one run on one hit in six innings against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.
“I’ve been trying to perform there for a while, but it hasn’t gone very well,” Gore said. “I perform better when I’m aggressive. That’s what we’ve learned the last few games. And we’ll try to continue that way.”
Gore has a 3-1 record with a 3.09 ERA in six career starts against the Braves. In three starts against Atlanta this year, he is 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA.
Morton allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings on Monday, but Atlanta allowed only two hits and was suspended for the 10th time since June 5. Matt Olson had two hits for the Braves.
The Braves are 5-6 in their last 11 games, while the Mets are 10-1.
“We have confidence in everybody,” Olson said after Monday’s loss. “Obviously, there’s nothing we can do tonight. We’ve struggled a lot this year, but it happened. We can worry about tomorrow.”
The Braves will be without receiver Travis d’Arnaud, who left the team on Monday after his wife went into labor. He plans to join the team in time for the weekend series against the Dodgers.
Despite a 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, the Nationals saw some hope. Shortstop C.J. Abrams, who has been in long form since the All-Star break (.170 batting average in 41 games), hit a home run early in the game.
“It was huge,” Abrams said of the explosion. “When you’re on the court, you just have to believe in yourself and keep working hard.”
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