Center fielder Cameron Maybin chopped a single over the third base bag with one out in the ninth inning to drive in the winning run and give the Atlanta Braves a 2-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Thursday night at Turner Field. The Braves started the rally when pinch-hitter Pedro Ciriaco beat out an infield grounder to shortstop, only the fourth hit against Washington starter Max Scherzer. Ciriaco went to second on a sacrifice and scored on Maybin’s single. Scherzer (9-6) had his three-game winning streak snapped. He allowed five hits and struck out nine in 8 1/3 innings.
The winning pitcher was Jason Grilli (3-3), who pitched a scoreless ninth and struck out one.Atlanta starter Manny Banuelos, making his first appearance in the major leagues, was in control until the sixth inning. With two outs, he had retired 13 straight batters. But when Banuelos hit back-to-back batters with a pitch, catcher A.J Pierzynski motioned to the dugout that something was wrong. Manager Fredi Gonzalez and the trainer went to the mound and removed the young left-hander, who was suffering from cramps and dehydration. In 5 2/3 scoreless innings, he struck out seven. Right-hander Nick Masset came on and retired third baseman Yunel Escobar on a soft liner to third base to end the threat.
The Nationals tied the score 1-1 in the seventh against reliever David Aardsma. Right fielder Bryce Harper led off with a double on a hooking fly that Maybin ran down but could not keep in his glove. Catcher Wilson Ramos drove him home by poking a single to right field.Banuelos showed no nerves in his major league debut. He allowed a single to center fielder Denard Span to lead off the game but retired the next three batters to end the threat.In the second, Banuelos gave up a leadoff single to Ramos, but he was immediately erased in a double play.
Scherzer’s chance for another no-hitter was erased in the third when No. 8 hitter Eury Perez singled up the middle. Banuelos sacrificed him to second with two outs, but Scherzer retired second baseman Jace Peterson on a lazy fly to center to end the inning. Atlanta scored a run in the fifth, becoming the first team in four starts to take a lead against Scherzer. Third baseman Juan Uribe led off with a double down the third base line and scored with one out on a looping single to left by shortstop Andrelton Simmons.
The Braves begin a three-game home series against Philadelphia on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:20 PM and Thunder Radio will have the broadcast beginning with the pregame show starting at 6:00 PM. The starting pitchers are Atlanta’s Julio Teheran (5-4, 4.94 ERA) vs. Philadelphia’s Adam Morgan (1-0, 1.59).
