Atlanta\u2019s bullpen was unable to stick the landing, so they went back under .500 with tonight\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Atlanta Braves\u00a0ceded control of this one to the\u00a0Washington Nationals\u00a0late, as some bad bullpen work and some rough defense ended up ensuring that the Braves wouldn\u2019t be going over .500 on this night. The Nationals got into this series with a 5-4 win over Atlanta.<\/p>\n
The Nationals got on the board first in this one but it was also one of those times where Washington (or CJ Abrams in particular) was kicking themselves for not getting more than one run on the board in the first inning.<\/p>\n
Abrams led off the game with a single, made it into scoring position after a HBP in the next at-bat and should\u2019ve at least made it a close play at home plate on a single from James Wood.<\/p>\n
Instead, Abrams inexplicably did a stutter step after crossing third base and that was enough to ensure that he ended up getting thrown out easily at home.<\/p>\n
The Nationals did end up scoring on a productive out but Bryce Elder was likely breathing a sigh of relief that the Nationals only put one run on the board instead of anything more.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take long for that one missing run to begin to loom large.<\/p>\n
Once the third inning rolled around, Michael Harris II got Atlanta\u2019s half of the inning going by hitting what appeared to be Money Mike\u2019s fourth home run deposit of the season.<\/p>\n
Instead, the ball inexplicably bounced on top of the concrete lining the brick wall in right field and back into play. Harris was understandably celebrating once he saw the ball hit the top of the wall and had to speed it up on his way to third in order to make sure he was at least safe.<\/p>\n
The umpires ruled it a home run but eventually\u00a0turned it into a triple\u00a0after looking at it a replay.<\/p>\n