Instant Analysis: Nats 2, Braves 0

Jake Irvin tossed five hitless innings before leaving with an apparent injury, and Brad Lord and Richard Lovelady finished off the 1-hit shutout

Photo by Serena Brown / ALL-PRO REELS

ATLANTA – Neither rain nor the Braves could stop Jake Irvin today. Only an apparent injury prevented the Nationals right-hander from a shot at the best start of his career.

Irvin departed alongside a trainer prior to the bottom of the sixth with a no-hitter intact, perhaps still feeling something wrong after he reached for a comebacker the prior inning and then hunched over. No worries, because Brad Lord and Richard Lovelady picked him up with four scoreless innings of their own to complete the one-hit shutout, with Lovelady recording the save one night after serving as the team’s opener.

With the threat of rain looming all afternoon, the game began on time but had to be halted for 41 minutes after the top of the second after a sudden downpour accompanied by several nearby lightning strikes. Irvin kept himself loose and returned to the mound after the delay, then cruised from that point on, ultimately retiring 15 of the 16 batters he faced, with Matt Olson’s first-inning walk the lone blemish.

But something didn’t feel right when Irvin threw a warm-up pitch prior to the bottom of the sixth, so he had to depart alongside head athletic trainer Dale Gilbert despite the fact he was throwing a no-hitter. Lord kept the no-no going with a perfect sixth but gave up a leadoff single to Michael Harris II to begin the seventh. An error by Jorbit Vivas on what should’ve been an easy double play put Lord in a jam, but he responded by striking out Austin Riley to end the seventh with the Nationals still leading 2-0.

They took that lead thanks to two solo homers off Braves starter Grant Holmes. Dylan Crews blasted an 0-2 slider to left in the fourth for his first homer since returning to the majors earlier this week. And Vivas took Holmes deep to right in the fifth, giving him only his second multi-hit game of the season, the previous one coming all the way back on March 30.

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: Boy, did Crews need that homer. It had only been four games, but his at-bats since his return from Triple-A Rochester looked a lot like his at-bats from last season and this spring. So when he finally connected on an 0-2 slider from Holmes and sent the ball soaring into the left-field bullpen, it amounted to a huge sigh of relief from everyone who was waiting for something positive from the young outfielder. He’s still got plenty more to prove in the days and weeks to come, but that swing was a good start.

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: Irvin was outstanding on an unconventional afternoon to pitch. He completed the first inning on 23 pitches, issuing the two-out walk of Olson, then had to sit through a 41-minute rain delay before re-taking the mound for the bottom of the second. He showed no ill effects of that, though, retiring all 12 batters he faced through the end of the fifth. And he maintained his velocity throughout, his fastball still registering 94-95 mph in that final inning. He induced 14 whiffs, 11 of those coming on his curveball. So, what happened to force him out of the game before the bottom of the sixth? He did appear to hunch over after reaching for a groundball that got past him but was fielded by Nasim Nuñez on the final play of the fifth, perhaps feeling something uncomfortable. And after throwing a warm-up pitch prior to the sixth, he motioned to the dugout and was visited by Gilbert, eventually departing alongside him despite the fact he was throwing a no-hitter.

NOTABLE: Daylen Lile finally recorded his first triple of the season in his 228th plate appearance. He had 11 of them (tying a club record) in only 351 plate appearances as a rookie.

UP NEXT: It’s a rare 4:10 p.m. Sunday start as the two teams wrap up the weekend series. Foster Griffin gets the ball for the Nats against fellow left-hander Martín Pérez. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM