Game of the Week: August 2: ATL @ WAS

[Commissioner Erick]

Atlanta Braves (67-40) @ Washington Nationals (53-53)


ATL: Jorge Morales (4-6, 3.71)
WAS: Joe Ross (4-7, 7.61)


Braves 5 Key Stats:


4: Wins on the year for Jorge Morales: Morales is the only Braves starter with fewer than 10 wins. He typically doesn’t work more than three times through the order, meaning the bullpen will probably get a lot of work today.

5-4: Atlanta’s record against Washington this year. The two clubs have been evenly matched in their contests with one another this year. Despite only being .500, Atlanta will have its hands full with Washington’s lineup today.

9: Home Runs allowed by Brian Villanueve. Atlanta’s closer has thrown strikes this year, but perhaps too many strikes given his home run totals allowed. It’s led to him blowing seven saves on the season. He’s pitched very well against the Nationals this year however: 4.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 8K.

3.04: Atlanta’s team ERA in July, second in the league. The Braves were an elite run prevention unit last month, fueling a 15-9 record. Todd Buonadonna had a huge part in that, with a stellar 2.45 ERA in relief for the month. He’ll be counted upon today.

.337: Juan Gestoso’s average. Gestoso has led the league in hits twice in his career, and has led the league in steals every year since his first full season. He’s never led the league in average though. He has a 14 point lead in average on San Francisco’s Joe Taylor in his quest for his first batting title.


Nationals 5 Key Stats

7.61: Joe Ross’ ERA. Ross, a three-time All-Star, would have the highest ERA in the National League if he qualified.

-0.3: Mike Trout’s WAR this season. Trout has been a below-average hitter, with a .223 average and 16 home runs. He also has a -12.1 Zone Rating and 125 strikeouts in 102 games. However, instead of being paid like a replacement player, Trout is earning $70 million dollars this year, a profound waste of money considering the negative production.

80: RBI’s for Bob Beasley. Washington’s young Third Baseman has been a bright spot in a rough season. His average is in line with last year’s numbers, he’s already walked more, and he’s already homered more. The league-leading 53 doubles he clubbed last year have turned into homers. Only 24, Washington has a star to complement Bryce Harper as the team moves into a new era.

.837: Cavan Biggio’s OPS. Biggio’s last full season as a starter was 2023 where he had a .707 OPS. He was a part time player in 2024 and 2025 putting up negative 0.4 WAR, then positive 0.4 WAR, before not playing in the majors 2026. He’s been thrust into an important role over the summer and responded well.

3.36: Washington’s bullpen ERA. The Nationals have historically had a horrible pen in their history despite excellent starting pitching. This year, it’s been reversed. The rotation is struggling, but the bullpen has the fourth best ERA in the league. Seven pitchers have an ERA under 3 with Omar Lara doing a strong job as closer with 25 Saves.


Questions for the GMs:


For Jim Leesch, Jorge Morales is homer prone, but has been good otherwise. How comfortable do you feel throwing him out there every fifth day?

Washington has a very lopsided lineup. How do you want Morales and your pen to attack it?

Jimmy McCabe’s been one of Atlanta’s most reliable sluggers. Why have you decided to keep him in Triple?

For Jake Pennel, why have you gone so long into the season without a Bench Coach?

Your rotation, including tonight’s starter Joe Ross, has struggled this year. Why has that been so?

Scouts look at Mike Trout and still see a superstar, but he’s been rough this year. What’s happened to him?


TRIVIA: What team does Ian Happ have the most RBIs for in his career?

[Atlanta GM]

Morales has great stuff, in spite of his occasional lapse. His form is good, he just needs to keep his concentration up so that he doesn’t groove any pitches. He’ll come around - we will need him for our playoff run.
Attacking Washington’s lineup is a matter of throwing good pitches. We firmly believe that good pitching doesn’t care what hand you favor when you strike out.
Jimmy is just waiting for the right moment to come up. Right now we have a lineup that’s starting to gel, with a firm defense that we don’t want to mess with. He’ll be up soon, though, don’t you worry.

[Commissioner Erick]

Nationals 3 - Braves 0


WP: J. Ross (5-7)
LP: J. Morales (4-7)
SV: Omar Lara (26)


Washington Nationals starter Joe Ross pitched a strong game against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park, leading the Nationals to victory, 3-0. Omar Lara converted his 26th save in 27 tries. With the victory, the Nationals upped their record to 54-53.

The outcome was still in doubt with two out in the top of the fifth inning, but Ross was able to pitch out of a jam. With runners on 1st and 2nd and Atlanta trailing 2-0, Ross retired Art Winkler, who grounded out.


Questions for the GMs:


For Jim Leesch, Joe Ross has been pretty terrible, but your club couldn't hit him. What happened out there?

Jim Morgan went 0-4 with a pair of strikeouts hitting cleanup, dropping his average to .216. Can you continue to bat him so high up in your order?

How did Morales look out there?

For Jake Pennel, why was Ross able to pitch so well after such a rough year?

How much different do you feel your offense operates with Alex Bregman in the lineup versus without?

Luis Taborga came up for his major league debut. Why did you call him up?


TRIVIA: Joe Ross' win over Atlanta was the 135th of his career, putting him alone in third place all-time. What retired pitcher did he pass?

[Atlanta GM]

What do you want me to say? Our bats have been inconsistent all season, and today they were just quiet. Overall, we're seeing some steady improvement but on any given day, some pitcher can channel Cy Young and make the hitters look foolish. It's one game. We'll take the time to see how we can apply more patience in these situations going forward. But we're not going to let this one game change our approach.

Jim has been a mainstay in the middle of our lineup, but we are always looking to make sure that our players are put in the right positions to contribute. Will that mean giving Jim a chance to move down in the lineup to see if he can work out his swing? Maybe. The bottom line is that we need Jim going down the stretch so we'll work out a way to help him get right.

Morales has been our hard-luck story all season. His pitching has been a hell of a lot better than his record would indicate. We've had too many days like today when our offense doesn't back up a strong effort from Morales. You guys would be asking a lot fewer questions about his mistake pitches if he were getting the kind of run support that our offense is capable of providing.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 1: Luke correctly guessed the Detroit Tigers

TRIVIA 2: Matt correctly guessed Madison Bumgarner