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| Kimbrel has been a Nats killer. Photo Credit:Charles LeClaire/ USA TODAY |
The Atlanta Braves continued their dominance over their NL East division rival in the Washington Nationals last night with a 3-1 victory that clinched the series win for them. This series between the two teams has gotten so lopsided in recent years it is getting to a scary point for Washington. Why is Atlanta so good when the Nationals are there opponent? Find out below.
By: Michael Hanley
The Braves have now gone 9-4 vs. Washington this season and have won 22 of their last 32 meetings with their rivals from D.C the past two seasons, a mark that is stunning when you think of the talent the Nationals have added over the past couple of years. The first area to see what is making the difference for the Braves in these games is their pitching staff.
The Braves starting rotation has been able to deliver quality, consistent outings vs. Washington despite having some injuries to battle in that regard over these last two years. They have been able to do it in a variety of ways.
The Braves have a rotation that is filled with starters who can pile up the strikeouts with the best rotations in all of baseball. You look at their one through four in the rotation and each pitcher has at least 100 strikeouts to their name, with Julio Teheran leading the ball club with 146 punch outs on the season, an impressive feat to have accomplished on just one staff alone. Its not just the fastball that gets them those high rates of strikeouts, it is their ability to command and throw their off speed pitches for strikes and make the hitter go and chase balls off the plate because the break on an off speed pitch can be so sharp and deceiving to the hitter’s eye.
For the Nationals hitters trying to handle the off speed pitches from Atlanta pitching has been an Achilles heel for them that they have yet to overcome. Too many times in these series, the Nationals are swinging for the fences on each pitch, making their approach an all or nothing proposition, which it a very dicey way of facing these power arms of the Braves. The result of that approach has been allot of Washington batters going back to the dugout with nothing but a strikeout to show for their at bat. That is surprising in a way since Washington has drawn the 5th most walks or any team in the National League this season.
You would think they would take that patient approach against Atlanta but they seem to change their approach entirely which plays right into the hands of the starting staff for the Braves who gladly will take the over aggressive approach of the Nationals lineup and take the strikeouts that result from that style of hitting.
It is also due in part to their ability to have depth in the overall area of starting pitching in their minor league system and also their ability to develop that young pitching talent into a formidable and effective starting pitcher who can come up to the big club and fill in effectively for a number of starts.
Take for instance last night’s starter for the Braves in Alex Wood. He is a second round draft pick for the Braves out of the University of Georgia who has had his ups and downs this season but when faced with going up against the Nationals, he delivered big time. Wood had the Washington lineup completely fooled all night long as he mixed up his pitches very effectively as he went 7 ⅓ innings, struck out a career high 12 National batters and gave up only five hits. It was another example in what is becoming a long list of pitchers who have been able to have success for Atlanta vs. Washington without much history pitching against Washington.
The bullpen has been another trump card for the Braves over the Nationals these past two seasons as they have been able to hold leads late and close the door on any Nationals comeback off of them. Now its not to say that the Washington bullpen does not have some good arms in it, they do, but it fails to measure up to the stalwarts the Braves have in their bullpen.
Atlanta is very blessed to have relief pitchers such as Anthony Varvaro, Jordan Walden to be a bridge to their lights out, All-Star closer in Craig Kimbrel. That trio has proven to be nearly unhittable at times this season, which can shrink the game for an opponent from a nine inning game to a seven or eight inning game depending on how long the starter goes. That makes it even more urgent for the Nationals to get their runs earlier in a game vs. Atlanta ,which can make the hitters for them press a bit more to slug home runs or take a risk by trying to take the extra base which is something they must do or face a lot of empty innings offensively as they have against the Braves.
The final reason why Atlanta is so clutch in these series against the Nationals is their lineup. The lineup for the Braves, for all the strikeouts and doldrums it can go through at different points in the season, always seem to hit its stride when they sees the Nationals come to down or go on the road to D.C for series.
They hit their usual fair share of home runs vs. the Nationals pitching staff but also what is a big factor in their ability to generate offense in these games their ability to hit with runners in scoring position. Whether its one of the Upton brothers, Chris Johnson or Jason Heyward getting that hit or bench player pinch hitting and getting the late hit that turns the game in favor of Atlanta, they always find that one batter who can hang an L on Washington w/ one swing of the bat with some runners on.
The statistics speak for themselves when it comes to all of this. As of today, the Braves in 13 games vs. the Nationals have hit 14 home runs and 52 RBIs, which both surpass the marks that other opponents combined have done against Washington in the exact same 13 game span. That is quite the production to hang on one pitching staff through that many games, let alone a staff that features Jordan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Doug Fister on it.
This battle for the NL East crown will be a tight and competitive one down the last couple of months of this season but if the Nationals cannot get it in gear and start winning series against the Braves, they will not be able to shake them off their tail and could face be overtaken if everything does not break their way down the stretch. The dominance the Braves have shown over Washington is something to behold if you're a Braves fan but something that must come to an end if you're a Nationals player.
