Instant Analysis: Braves 8, Nats 6
The Nationals got homers from Daylen Lile, Joey Wiemer and James Wood, but Atlanta got four homers off Zack Littell in another ragged start
That the Nationals were even within striking distance of the Braves in the late innings of tonight’s game was testament to their offensive might. That the lineup still needed to produce more in the end was an indictment of their pitching staff, and especially one starter’s penchant for serving up home runs at a staggering rate.
Just as they did Tuesday night with Reynaldo Lopez, the Nats jumped all over Braves starter Didier Fuentes, sending eight men to the plate during a four-run bottom of the first that included a three-run homer from Daylen Lile and an RBI double from Jorbit Vivas. Solo homers from Joey Wiemer (his first as a pinch-hitter) and James Wood (his MLB-leading ninth) in the sixth came off Martin Perez (Thursday’s scheduled starter pressed into long relief duty tonight).
But the Nationals faced an uphill climb throughout because Zack Littell simply could not keep the ball in the park. The right-hander gave up four home runs, one a piece in each of his first four innings, two of them hit by Michael Harris II, one of them reaching the third deck down the right-field line. Littell made it through six innings before handing the ball to Mitchell Parker, but the damage was done.
And with a couple of late opportunities to complete the comeback, the Nats came up short, stranding two runners in the eighth and one more in the ninth.
HITTING HIGHLIGHT/LOWLIGHT: The Nationals are hitting for power. That’s not a problem. They got three more home runs tonight from Lile, Wiemer and Wood, the last of which was yet another patented opposite-field blast toward (and actually over) the visitors’ bullpen. But they’re still not hitting in clutch situations with enough regularity, spoiling opportunities for more substantial rallies. To wit: They loaded the bases with one out tonight in the bottom of the third, then watched as Jose Tena and Keibert Ruiz each struck out against a fading Fuentes, with several of the swings on pitches well outside the strike zone. They’ve really struggled with runners in scoring position throughout this homestand. Yes, the homers are nice. But sometimes you just need a single with runners on second and third.
PITCHING LOWLIGHT: It’s hard to find anything positive to say about Littell’s outing tonight. Sure, he managed to complete six innings because he kept his pitch count manageable, and because he’s the kind of veteran Blake Butera isn’t worried about overextending. But that’s barely any solace for what he did while on the mound. The home run already had been a problem for Littel through his first four appearances this season, not to mention last season with the Rays and Reds. It became an even bigger problem tonight when he served up four of them, one for each of his first four innings. Littell simply doesn’t have good enough stuff to make mistakes over the plate. And against a good lineup like this one, he really didn’t stand a chance. That’s now 11 homers surrendered in only 25 innings this year. It’s a problem without an easy solution.
NOTABLE: Five different Nationals pitchers have led the NL in home runs allowed over the last six years: Patrick Corbin (37 in 2021), Josiah Gray 38 in 2022), Trevor Williams (34 in 2023), Jake Irvin (38 in 2025) and Zack Littell (11 in 2026). Irvin fell one homer shy of matching the Rockies’ Austin Gomber and the Phillies’ Aaron Nola’s league-leading 30 in 2024.
UP NEXT: The series concludes Thursday at 1:05 p.m., with Cade Cavalli on the mound for the Nats. We don’t know yet who will start for the Braves after they burned up Perez in long relief tonight and decided to push Chris Sale back to Friday night. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM
Ruiz swung at three pitches out of the strike zone
Littell and Ruiz lost this one, starting to hit my limit with Zack and am well past my limit with Ruiz