The Sports Xchange
Jul 8, 2017
WASHINGTON -- Starter Julio Teheran was 2-for-2 with three RBIs and pitched seven shutout innings and Nick Markakis was 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs as the Atlanta Braves crushed the first-place Washington Nationals 13-0 on Saturday with a 15-hit outburst.
Washington starter Stephen Strasburg (9-3), who was hit by a comebacker in the third, had his shortest outing of the year as he allowed seven hits and six runs (three earned) in three innings while not recording a strikeout for the first time in 2017.
Teheran (7-6) is now 6-0 on the road this year and 1-6 at home after he gave up just four hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
He had plenty of offensive support. Kurt Suzuki (two hits) had an RBI single in the second before Teheran followed with one of his own to give the Braves a 2-0 lead off Strasburg.
Nationals nemesis Freddie Freeman had an RBI double in the third to make it 3-0.
Strasburg was hit near his hip with a liner off the bat of Markakis later in the third. Markakis reached on the fielder's choice as Strasburg retrieved the ball and made a bad throw to second on a possible force for an error.
Strasburg then made a few warmup pitches while manager Dusty Baker and head athletic trainer Paul Lessard watched and stayed in the game. Two batters later, Suzuki had an RBI single and later in the inning Teheran slashed a two-run single to make it 6-0.
Strasburg allowed four runs (one earned) in the third and was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the inning.
Atlanta All-Star Ender Inciarte delivered an RBI single in the sixth off Tanner Roark for a 7-0 advantage.
Markakis lined a homer into the Nationals bullpen in right off Roark to make it 8-0 in the seventh. Inciarte drove in a run with a groundout in the eighth.
Markakis had an RBI single in the ninth and Matt Adams crushed a 0-2 pitch from Sammy Solis for a three-run homer to make it 13-0.
Johan Camargo was 3-for-4 and Matt Kemp also had two hits for the Braves, who are 4-2 in Washington this year.
Roark made his first relief outing of the year after 17 starts. He took over in the fourth and gave up three runs in five innings. The second-place Braves improved to 42-44 while the Nationals fell to 51-36.
NOTES: Washington manager Dusty Baker was drafted by the Braves in 1967 and played eight seasons in Atlanta. ... Braves LHP Ian Krol, the losing pitcher Friday, pitched for the Nationals in 2013. ... The Nationals were the last National League team that had not been shut out this year. They have scored one run eight times. ... Atlanta C Kurt Suzuki played for Washington in 2012-13. ... Atlanta RHP Jaime Garcia turned 31 Saturday.