Two Out Thunder Sparks Braves 13th Win In A Row
By Brad Stiene
Aug 7, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Justin Upton (8) is congratulated by teammate Freddie Freeman (5) after hitting a home run during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Stop me if you’ve heard me say this before–the Braves won. This time it was a late-inning two-out single by Jason Heyward that broke a 3-3 tie en route to a 6-3 win, and sweep over the Washington Nationals in Washington D.C. That win gives them a 13-game win streak and they are now two games away from tying a club-record 15 game winning streak set back in 2000.
The job by Jason Heyward at the top of the lineup is something that we should marvel at. Heyward did it again tonight, when he led off the game with a double and was chased home on a Freddie Freeman single to give the Braves an early 1-0 lead. With Heyward at the top of the lineup, he possess speed and power which is something not a lot of lead off hitters have creating a huge problem for opposing pitchers right off the bat.
The big blow of the game was brought to you courtesy of Justin Upton, who continues to show why Frank Wren picked him up in the off season. Upton was 3-4 tonight with three RBIs and two of them coming with one swing of the bat when he launched a two-run double down the left field line to give the Braves a 6-3. But before he did that, Upton hit his 21st home run of the year–a laser shot into the Braves bullpen. That’s now five home runs in seven games for Upton.
Not to be outdone by his brother, B.J. Upton had himself a very positive night at the plate. All year long Upton has struggled adjusting to National League pitching, but tonight was a step in the right direction when he collected four hits in five at-bats. For his career, Upton now has eight four-hit games, and is now 9/21 since his return from the disabled list.
Chris Johnson also continues to be a pleasant pick up as well four the Braves. Johnson had two more hits tonight, giving him a total of 39 multi-hit games for the season. If it hasn’t been said before, the guy can just flat out hit. Johnson is now batting .339 for the year.
If the performance of Medlen wasn’t good enough, then what about the bullpen? In the last 18 games against the Nationals (that’s dating back to last year) the bullpen has pitched 44 innings, struck out 45 batters, walked seven and have given up zero runs. None. Not even an ounce of a run.
So there you have it, folks. The Braves have now won 13, count ’em 13, games in a row and have stretched their NL East lead to an absolute dominating 15 1/2 games in front of the second place Nationals. For those counting at home, the magic number is now down to 33 with 47 games remaining. Barring an absolute implosion of epic proportions, you can find me refreshing the Braves’ gift shop page over and over to claim my NL East Champs shirt. The Braves have an off day tomorrow and look to continue their winning ways as they welcome in
LeBron James and
the Miami Marlins for a three-game series starting on Friday.