Series Recap: The Streak Continues with Another Sweep

Aug 7, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward (22) slides into home during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Braves entered this week’s series with a unique opportunity. When Atlanta arrived in Washington to face the Nationals, the team held a staggering 12.5-game lead in the NL East standings, and if the Braves could win another series, the margin would grow to an almost insurmountable total. Let’s take a look at what took place.

Monday, August 5th – Win (3-2)

Monday’s series opener was dead-locked at 2-2 as the 8th inning kicked off. Then, Justin Upton blasted his 20th home run of the season, giving the Braves a 3-2 lead that they would (clearly) never relinquish. For Upton, the long ball capped a 3-for-4 day, and along with 3 hits from Freddie Freeman, the duo carried the offense on a night where the rest of the lineup didn’t have much going. On the mound, Mike Minor was typically good, allowing only 2 runs through 6 innings. However, he was forced to battle through 8 hits (and an uncharacteristic 3 walks) over those 6 frames, again lending credence to the fact that he can be effective without his best “stuff” on a given night. After Minor exited, the bullpen slammed the door in a big way, with David Carpenter keeping things tied at 2-2 until the Upton home run, and then handing the keys to Jordan Walden for his 1st save of the season (Kimbrel was unavailable). It wasn’t the prettiest victory, but any time you can knock off Washington (and Stephen Strasburg), it’s an incredibly positive night.

Tuesday, August 6th – Win (2-1)

This night will probably be remembered for the benches clearing in the wake of a Bryce Harper hit-by-pitch, but I will remember it as the night the Braves put the Nationals away. Julio Teheran was sparkling (yet again) with 6 one-run innings, and he was incredibly efficient with only 90 pitches. The lone blemish on his resume was a home run by Harper in the 3rd, but he was clearly not rattled by it, and he was able to maintain unique composure even after the plunking in the 5th inning. Offensively, the Braves managed only 2 runs on 8 hits, but it was nice to see BJ Upton (2 for 4) have some better at-bats. Laughably, the only extra-base hit of the night came from Teheran, but the biggest blow of the night was the 2-run single by Evan Gattis that plated Andrelton Simmons and the aforementioned Upton. The combination of the lead stretching to 14.5 games and the Braves standing up to Bryce Harper’s absurdity following the HBP seemed to be the perfect recipe for burying the Nats once and for all.

Wednesday, August 7th – Win (6-3)

As if the Braves needed to do anything else in this series, they polished off the Nats with their largest margin of victory of the three games. Again, the game was dead-locked into the late innings, but Atlanta came up with 3 huge runs in the 8th inning, and that was that. Jason Heyward drove in Andrelton Simmons with a single to start the scoring in the 8th, but Justin Upton’s 2-run double that followed was the final stake in the Washington coffin. The Braves outfield combined for a staggering 9-for-14 day at the plate, with BJ Upton’s best game of the year (4-for-5 with a double) supporting Heyward (2-for-5, 2 runs), and Justin Upton (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) in their production. The offense was more than enough to sustain a solid outing from Kris Medlen, who finished the night with 7 strong innings of 3-run ball that included only 1 walk. He wasn’t back to his late-2012 form (or anything of the sort), but Medlen is reminding us that he was just as good (if not better) than any of the available arms from the recently-passed trade deadline. In typical fashion, he handed things over to Carpenter and Kimbrel for 2 shutout innings, and the door was slammed.

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With an semi-absurd 15.5-game lead in the NL East, it’s going to be an interesting final 2 months of the season. While I will stop short of “calling the race” for the Braves (remember 2011?), the team is in the type of control in the division that we haven’t seen in a number of years, and they’ve earned every bit of it with 13 straight victories. It’s an incredibly fun time to be following this team on a daily basis.