Maybe the Braves’ offense really did need the All-Star break. Or just Ronald Acuna hitting leadoff.
In their first game back, the bats tagged Stephen Strasburg for six runs, and the Braves beat the Nationals 8-5 Friday at Nationals Park.
Braves manager Brian Snitker decided to hit Acuna first in the order, the latest attempt to solve the team's top-of-the-lineup woes. For at least one night, it worked.
Acuna, hitting leadoff for the first time in his career, reached base four times and stole two bases. He led off the game with a single, and Ozzie Albies doubled him home for the Braves’ first run of the second half.
Albies stole third and scored on Freddie Freeman's grounder. But he left early as a precaution due to right-hamstring tightness, the team announced. He was replaced by Charlie Culberson, who hit a solo homer in the sixth.
The Braves built breathing room in the fifth. Acuna doubled to start the inning, followed by a Culberson single. Freeman, hitting .419 over his past 31 at-bats entering the night, doubled both home.
Acuna hit a laser homer - one he took time to admire - to left in the eighth, extending the lead to 8-3. He finished 3-for-4 with a single, double, homer and walk.
Nick Markakis’ sacrifice fly scored Freeman, plating the Braves’ sixth run. Strasburg was finished after 4 2/3 innings.
Anibal Sanchez, whom Snitker referred to as perhaps his most reliable pitcher, looked uncomfortable at the start. The Nationals scored a run off him in the first, and former Brave Matt Adams homered near the right-field pole in the third to even the game at two.
But Sanchez settled in from there, avoiding the earlier troubles and flashing his ever-impressive ‘butterfly’ pitch. His lone mistake was put into the seats by Trae Turner.
Sanchez finished with six innings pitched, allowing three runs and striking out eight. Sanchez’s ERA sits at 2.76.
The Braves are six games ahead of the Nationals in the National League East. Washington, the preseason favorite, is a game under .500 (48-49).
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