Washington Nationals beat Atlanta Braves 9-2 as Ross Detwiler throws seven quality innings - MLB
Starter Ross Detwiler is solid in seven innings as he helps the Washington Nationals win 9-2 against the Atlanta Braves on July 22, 2012 at Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. in the last game of the four match series.
The Nationals were dominant from the start. While generally one witnesses Braves’ offence coming up with huge hits in the beginning on Sunday as Washington took the lead.
Right in the first inning, the latter posted four runs on the scoreboard and put Braves under pressure. As soon as the Nationals surged to a substantial lead, there was no counter-attack coming off from Atlanta.
Therefore, Nationals rightly exploited the situation as they kept building on their lead through the sixth.
What gave Washington an edge in the game was a tremendous performance by their starter. Keeping great sluggers with the Braves at bay and disallowing them from making big connections, Detwiler threw seven quality innings.
However in terms of drawing strike-outs, he struggled to trick batters into committing errors.
The relief pitcher Craig Stammen was even more impressive. He struck-out two in the two scoreless innings he threw.
Meanwhile, the Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson praised the Braves on the way they pulled off a stunning victory the other day. How Atlanta blew a substantial lead by the Nationals was definitely one of the few most fascinating games that have taken place
in the season thus far.
"They've been playing the best in the division. To win the first two and to get a split out of here, I think if I was them I'd feel deflated," Davey Johnson said. "Sometimes a split is like picking up ground."
Offensively, the Nationals’ third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman was terrific on the plate as he struck three hits in five at-bats.
With amazing shows on plate in the last couple of weeks, Zimmerman has taken his batting average to an impressive .273.
As far as the Atlanta’s offence was concerned, Chipper Jones connected two hits in four at-bats.
Unfortunately for Braves, their starter Jair Jurrjens was clueless on the mound. In little more than two innings, he gave up six runs.
As the Braves go on to play their next series now, they will be hoping to see better support from the starting pitcher next time.
In the meantime, the Nationals will like to continue their present success in the season.
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