Braves Bats Go Cold as Atlanta Drops Game Three to Washington

The Atlanta Braves couldn't generate very much offense in this one, spoiling a good debut by Spencer Schwellenbach

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach (56) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the third inning at Truist Park / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves dropped game three of their four-game series to the Washington Nationals 7-2 on Wednesday night in Truist Park.

Here’s what you need to know about from the contest.

Spencer Schwellenbach represented himself well

The Braves called up the prospect righty out of Double-A for his major league debut, and it went well. He allowed some runners off of base hits but wasn’t fazed, stranding Luis García Jr. on third after he got there to open the 2nd inning, as well as Lane Thomas on 2nd in the 3rd inning and Keibert Ruiz on 3rd in the 4th inning. 

Washington finally broke through in the fifth inning, with Lane Thomas homering after a leadoff double and a Jacob Young hit-by-pitch that clearly rattled Schwellenbach a bit - the righty went to bunt and took a 92.4 mph cutter off the helmet. The homer itself was off of a center-cut 2-2 fastball, one that Thomas didn’t miss. 

Schwellenbach was ultimately charged with three runs, all earned, on five total hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He picked up eleven whiffs and put up a 30% CSW, allowing a total of seven hard-hit balls but holding the Nationals to just one-for-eight with runners in scoring position. 

Spencer Schwellenbach, Dirty 87mph Slider. 😨

1st MLB K pic.twitter.com/zE4ZsWliJV

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 29, 2024

Atlanta’s offense struggled to get the timely hit

Braves hitters picked up eight hits tonight and, for the first time, scored some runs before the 7th inning. 

Atlanta also went only one-for-eight with runners in scoring position, with Marcell Ozuna’s third-inning single the only time a Braves hitter was able to generate some offense off of Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore. The lefty racked up ten strikeouts in just 5.1 innings, with Braves hitters unable to draw a single walk and finished with thirteen strikeouts. 

For Atlanta, Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud had the RBIs while Matt Olson was the only lineup regular to put up more than one hit, continuing his recent hot streak with two doubles in this one. Olson’s gone eight for twenty in the last week, hitting one homer, four doubles, and scoring five runs. 

What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?

The Braves are looking for a series split in the finale tomorrow night with Reynaldo López (2-2, 1.75 ERA) on the mound against righty Trevor Williams (4-0, 2.29 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 PM ET on Bally Sports South.