With patience at plate and trust on mound, Nats overwhelm Braves
Behind 12 walks and 10 hits from the lineup and six quality innings from Foster Griffin, the Nationals cruised to an 11-4 win over Atlanta
It’s easy to overlook now, with an 11-4 victory in the books and a ton of productive plate appearances filling out the Nationals’ box score, but for much of the night the outcome of this game was very much up in the air.
Despite all those quality plate appearances, the Nats had not come close to taking full advantage of their countless opportunities to put away the Braves. Through six innings, their lead was only 5-3 because they had gone 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position, having drawn eight walks to that point but having seen only one of those come around to score.
“It was a little frustrating early, because I felt like we had them on the ropes and didn’t really capitalize in a couple situations where we could’ve maybe broke it open a little more,” manager Blake Butera said. “But that was the message: Stick with it. Stick with it. We keep getting the same spots coming up with guys on base, I liked our chances to break it open.”
