Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
After winning their first five games against the Washington Nationals to begin the 2013 MLB season, the Atlanta Braves couldn’t solve Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, who has been a buzz saw while tallying two complete games and an eight-inning effort over his past four starts.
Tonight in said eight-inning effort, he allowed just two hits, striking out eight and issuing no walks as Washington defeated the Braves 2-0 in Atlanta.
Braves starter Paul Maholm pitched a whale of a ballgame as well, as he tossed eight innings of two-run, three-hit ball, striking out four and walking two. His only mistake came when he served up a two-run home run to Ian Desmond in the top of the fourth inning.
Usually, you can pinpoint something that caused each team to win or lose, but in this case I think the reason that the Nationals won (Zimmermann) is the same reason that the Braves lost (Zimmermann). Sometimes you simply run into a hot pitcher and that’s exactly what happened to Atlanta tonight.
It’s not the first time the Braves have faced that reality either.
In its first loss of the season on April 4, Atlanta lost 2-0 at the hands of Philadelphia Phillies starter Cliff Lee, while it also lost to Kansas City Royals hurler Wade Davis by a 1-0 score on April 17. In addition, Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Wandy Rodriguez defeated the Braves 6-0 on April 19.
Tonight was the same old song and dance, with the opposing team’s starter looking dominant.
Now it’s time to turn the page to tomorrow and earn a 3-1 series win.
Josh McKinney is a Atlanta Braves writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @SuperJMac32, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
