Washington Nationals news & notes: Opening Day in D.C.; Nats drop opener, 7-2 to Atlanta Braves…

Match start:

Patrick Corbin threw the first pitch slider to Ronald Acuna Jr., then Atlanta Braves‘outfielder, 0-2, but the 2023 campaign officially kicked off yesterday in the season opener with a line-drive single-to-right field opposition field at Nationals Park.

Four pitches later, Acuna Jr. stole second base with a 2-2 sinker from Corbin, and after a one-out walk and two runners on base, Acuna Jr. hit a fly ball to right field for Ozzie Albies. I took 3rd place. When Corbin got Braves catcher Sean Murphy, he swung the diving 0-2 slider low before both runners got stuck, giving him an out third and left-hander’s first of the 2023 season. K of

Baseball is back!

Attendance:

Total attendance for the 2023 season opener drew 35,756 spectators announced at Nationals Park, which is not a sellout.

Last year’s home opener against the Braves on April 11 drew 42,263 fans.

And the Braves take the lead:

With 2-on-1-out in the second, the Braves took a 1–0 lead on the strength of Orlando Arcia’s RBI hit on three consecutive 1-out singles from Corbin, while Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams made a potential double play. Launched Goro. .on Corbin’s 56th pitch) 2-0 Atlanta.

The visitors took the lead 3-0 with Ozzy Albies’ dribbler to the left.

Davey Martinez, 1st of 3 errors in CJ Abrams’ season opener, outfielders having sun/sky issues on a sunny, cold day in DC:

“I spoke with CJ after the double play should have happened. See, to be honest, they had a hard time seeing the ball too. He didn’t see the ball from the plate.

“But I said to him, ‘Hey, we play day games here. Those are the plays we need to make.’

Point… ERROR, RUN!!!:

Dominic Smith’s first hit with the Nationals towers… pop to short, Braves infielder Orlando Arcia lost it in the sun, dropped for a hit, and Smith doubled to left Moved (from third base) by Keibert Lewis. Smith scored on a sack fly to short center by Alex Cole when the throw-in bounced off the right side of the mound for 3-1 Atlanta after two innings.

Three of Corbin’s 25 pitches left him with a total of 84 pitches, and a leadoff double-two-right by Matt Olson in the top four ended the opener for the starters.

Patrick Corbin’s line: 3.0IP, 7H, 4R, 2ER, 3BB, 3Ks, 85P, 48S, 5/2GO/FO.

Corbin threw 43 sinkers in a total of 85 pitches (51%), mixed 30 sliders (35%), eight four-seamers (9%) and four changeups (5%). , generated 2 swings and 6 call strikes. With his sinker, 6 swings and 3 call strikes across the slider.

Corbin and ATL Martinez:

How did the Knots skipper rate Patrick Corbin’s first out of the 2023 season after a struggling third straight season on the mound last year?

“He has to hit the strike zone,” Martinez told reporters. “We talked about it, he did a good job on it in the spring. [today]He pitched so many pitches in three innings that he went 3-2, 3-2 and took a disappointing break on an early hit, but he still has to hit the strike zone. “

What was the difference between what Corbin did this spring and what he did in the 2023 season opener?

“He just fell behind. He just fell behind,” Martinez said.

“When he’s leading, he’s a completely different guy. So you have to get him ahead and finish him. We talk a lot about 3-4 pitches or less, but that’s him.” ”

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Rest of the game:

Matt Olson scored on a double play ground ball after Erasmo Ramirez took over the Nationals’ mound.

Braves starter Max Freed left the game in the bottom of the fourth with a twisted leg (hamstring) while covering first base on a groundout.

Joey Meneses connected on a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fifth and drove in the only other run scored by the home team in a 7–2 loss.

Meneses went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the first game of the season. This is after he had a strong run in the WBC. Juan Soto was traded to the Padres last August.

Photo by Rob Tlingali/MLB Photos via Getty Images

The Braves added three runs in the ninth, with Kyle Finnegan climbing onto the home team’s mound. Scored on a throwing error on a fly to right field.

Abrams cut a Lane Thomas throw-in before throwing a third to right to score the Braves 7-2 on the final run of the game.

“We walked some guys, but it was uncharacteristic. All spring we didn’t hit the zone,” Martinez said, summing up the losses after the season opener. .

“And I didn’t hit a runner in scoring position,” continued the manager after the club were 11-1 with nine men to go and a two-run game ended in the ninth inning.

“We had some chances, where we couldn’t get the job done,” Martinez added.

“Well, today is day one. I’m off tomorrow. I’ll be back on Saturday and try again.”

PREGAME – Strasdate, UpStras, Upburg, Strasburg Updates:

Steven Strasberg, who was suspended from a setback in rehab for chest outlet surgery this spring, has decided not to attend the opening day festivities in DC.

GM Mike Rizzo told reporters about Washington’s 2009 No. 1 overall pick and 2019 nomination world series The MVP didn’t want to be a distraction to fans and teammates as the Nationals and Atlanta Braves kicked off their 2023 campaign in the nation’s capital.

Strasburg was actually placed in the IL for the 60 days before the season opener as part of a roster ploy ahead of the first of 162 games of the season.

“He’s not going to be here today,” Rizzo explained. Words by Mark Zuckerman of MASN.

“He felt like he didn’t want to be distracted from the festivities of the opening ceremony. He’s drinking it every day and just trying to get fit.”

According to Rizzo, Strasberg is currently undergoing a rehabilitation process, and the process at this stage is primarily focused on “simple rest until he regains strength and mobility.”

“He needs to rehab his injury,” Rizzo said. “Anyway, get back to normal life just to play with the kids. He’s going to rehab his injury and he’s going to stay in this state every day.”

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