Instant Analysis: Braves 4, Nats 2

As Luis García Jr. watched from the dugout with trade rumors swirling, Cade Cavalli and the Nationals lost their fifth straight, getting swept in Atlanta

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

ATLANTA – As one of their best hitters – and most-intriguing trade chips – watched from the dugout, the Nationals closed out the most-disappointing week of the season, losing their fifth straight and getting swept by the Braves just as president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has to make final decisions about the roster for the remainder of a promising season that has suddenly turned south.

The Nats are now three games under .500 for the first time since May 10, and it’s hard to see Toboni going into full-scale “buy mode” heading into Monday’s trade deadline.

Given the upcoming deadline, it was certainly notable that the Nationals announced Luis García Jr. had been scratched from today’s lineup about 30 minutes before first pitch. It was further notable when Andrés Chaparro had to depart the game at the end of the fifth, one inning after he was drilled in the head with a pitch, and his replacement at first base was Brady House (who had never played the position in a professional game before).

As García watched from the dugout most of the game while rumors of a potential deal with the Yankees swirled, the Nats pushed across a pair of runs in the fourth, one via Chaparro’s painful hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, the other by James Wood’s subsequent sacrifice fly. They continued to struggle to deliver clutch hits, though, going 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position against Braves call-up starter JR Ritchie.

Cade Cavalli, meanwhile, was surprisingly done in by a pair of home runs (one by Mike Yastrzemski, the other by Matt Olson) as well as shaky defense behind him. The Nationals committed two errors that led to unearned runs, with CJ Abrams throwing high and House unable to make the catch on Jim Jarvis’ grounder to short in the fifth and reliever Orlando Ribalta throwing the ball away on Mauricio Dubon’s stolen-base attempt in the seventh.

HITTING LOWLIGHT: Pretty much the entire series was a hitting lowlight for the highest-scoring offense in the majors. The Nationals never came close to looking like the best version of themselves over the last four days, with James Wood in particular unable to deliver his usual explosive at-bats. The bottom half of the lineup looked thin. And with runners in scoring position, the team went a collective 3-for-29 at Truist Park.

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: One of Cavalli’s best qualities this season has been his ability to keep the ball in the yard. He entered this start having surrendered only 10 homers in 116 2/3 innings. So it was out of character for the right-hander to serve up two blasts this afternoon. Yastrzemski got him on a first-pitch fastball in the third. Olson then connected on a 2-2 cutter in the fourth, making this only the third time this year Cavalli has given up multiple home runs in the same game. He mostly brushed it off and still managed to produce a quality start, allowing three total runs (only two earned) in six innings.

UP NEXT: Monday is trade deadline day, and that leaves a whole lot up in the air for the Nats heading into their 6:40 p.m. series opener in Philadelphia. They have not yet named a starter, but it’s possible they’ll call up left-hander Jackson Kent (who was scratched from Sunday’s start for Triple-A Rochester) to make his MLB debut. Aaron Nola gets the ball for the Phillies. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM