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Foltynewicz struggles at the mound, plate in Atlanta Braves' loss to Nats

The Braves (53-43) and Phillies have the same number of losses for the season, but Philadelphia has two more victories in the NL East standings.
Credit: Rob Carr

Here's the upside to the Atlanta Braves' sluggish play over the last few weeks:

The Phillies and Nationals have been similarly shaky during this period, so much that short of an epic collapse in August and September, no one will remember this current funk.

Counting their last 10 games, none of the three teams have enjoyed a winning record.

So, in that vein, does it really matter that Max Scherzer outdueled fellow All-Star Mike Foltynewicz on Sunday, while leading Washington to a 6-2 win over Atlanta?

Does it really matter the Braves plated just two runs, despite cranking out 14 hits (eight off Scherzer)?

The club certainly had their share of golden opportunities to pull out the rain-affected victory (two rain delays) and sweep the weekend in Washington. But alas, factoring in Saturday's rainout, the Braves and Nationals ended up merely splitting the two-game set.

And as a bonus, Phillies (55-43) split a doubleheader with the offensively challenged Padres, meaning Philly's tenuous lead in the National League East would remain at just one game.

In other words ... no harm, no foul.

Foltynewicz wasn't very sharp on Sunday, surrendering three walks, four earned runs and nine hits against the Nationals. Adding to the misery, the Illinois native killed two potential Atlanta rallies with strikeouts at the plate.

A bad day all around, perhaps made worse by the the 1, 2 and 7 hitters in the Braves' lineup (Ronald Acuna Jr., Charlie Culberson, Ender Inciarte) collecting three hits apiece; and the 8-hitter, Dansby Swanson, drove in both Atlanta runs.

The Nationals capitalized on their chances, scoring three runs in the first inning ... and then posting one run apiece for the final frames.

In the 1st, Foltynewicz got into a quick jam when allowing a single to Adam Eaton and walk to Bryce Harper within the first three batters. From there, Anthony Rendon's two-run double and Juan Soto's sacrifice groundout were enough to push three lightning-fast runs across the plate.

In the 6th, Foltynewicz retired the first two batters (Matt Wieters, Michael Taylor), but then gave up back-to-back singles to Eaton and Trea Turner. Sam Freeman then took over ... only to get rocked by a Harper RBI single–his only batter for the day.

There was more itsby-bitsy trouble in the 7th and 8th, with Matt Adams notching an RBI single off Braves reliever Luke Jackson. A few minutes later, Dan Winkler served up a 411-foot homer for Harper, which looked eerily similar to the moonballs he received from his dad in Monday's Home Run Derby.

Whatever the case, the Braves (53-43, just four wins in their last 13 outings) still would possess a wild-card berth, if the National League playoffs started today; and with Sunday's game finishing in daylight, Atlanta should be well-rested for its two-game excursion to Miami (Monday/Tuesday).

It's worth noting: Sixteen of Atlanta's next 23 games will come against NL East foes. This includes another trip to Washington D.C. in two weeks, with the Braves and Nationals (49-49) squeezing four games into a 52-hour window.

Weather permitting, of course.

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