Washington Nationals edged out by Atlanta Braves 1-2 as Sean Burnett leaks one run in ninth-MLB
Relief pitcher Sean Burnett costs the Washington Nationals a 1-2 defeat against the Atlanta Braves by allowing one run in the ninth at Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia on September 14, 2012 in the first match of the three game series.
Such a low scoring game underscores the threat both starters faced throughout the match regarding hits.
A couple of productive hits at any stage were to become as costly as ruining their whole effort.
A starter who finishes a series of scoreless innings and then sees the opposition scoring one run which takes the win away from him has a reason to be disappointed.
Nationals’ starter Ross Detwiler threw six impressive innings on Friday and struck-out five but he did not win. Similarly the single run reliever Burnett gave up turned out to be the reason for the loss that he suffered on Friday.
Offensively Braves were better than Nationals by-and-large. Atlanta witnessed 10 hits from their batters as opposed to five that the Nationals struck.
The sole run that the Nationals scored in the game came off the home-run by their outfielder Bryce Harper.
As far as the Braves’ pitchers were concerned, their starter Kris Medlen was nearly perfect in the game. He struck-out a staggering 13 as he threw seven innings.
Washington’s manager Davey Johnson is not worried by the defeat. Apart from few errors, he believes his team played tremendously well. At the same time, Johnson is stupefied by the impeccable show fared by Medlen in the match.
"Det pitched a h**l of a ball game. You've got to tip your hat to Medlen," said Davey Johnson. "We just had a little error at the end. Otherwise, it looked good. I don't worry about those mistakes. Our defence has been outstanding. It's just tough to lose
that way."
Since the Braves and the Nationals are the most successful teams in the National League East Division, nail bitters can be expected in the series.
Braves at the moment have a psychological edge. Only thing they will be looking to work on is how they can keep the momentum going from now onward. It will be interesting to see as to whether they can continue beating the Nationals in the remainder of this
exciting series.
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