- The Washington Times - Sunday, August 15, 2021

After a three-run third inning and a tied game, the fans at Nationals Park came alive, amping up the volume in a stadium that had been relatively quiet to that point. But the Atlanta Braves’ noisy bats responded with a racket of their own.

Atlanta used back-to-back home runs to left field from Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley in the fifth to beat Washington 6-5 on Sunday afternoon. 

“I wasn’t commanding the ball the way I wanted to,” Nationals starter Paolo Espino said. “If you make mistakes at this level, you’re definitely going to pay. I definitely left some pitches up in the zone and they got hit very hard.”

Nationals cut into the Braves’ lead in the fifth on a Carter Kieboom two-RBI single, but couldn’t do any more damage despite consistently advancing runners to second and third.

“It was awesome,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of Kieboom’s at-bats. “He’s getting ready on time, he’s staying on the ball. His swing seems a little bit flatter, he’s getting to pitches a lot better.

“It’s coming, he’s getting it and I love what I’m seeing from him at the plate,” Martinez said.

Washington stranded nine and was 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position, including ending the game with the tying run on second and the winning run on first when Kieboom roped a shot down the third base line in the bottom of the ninth that Riley just managed to snag.

It’s the Nationals’ 11th loss in their last 12 game. They’ve only won twice since the calendar turned to August. Washington’s last win came in Atlanta 3-2 on Aug. 7 with a three-run top of the ninth inning.  

“These guys are just playing hard, they’re not giving up,” Martinez said. “The results are going to come. Keep playing hard and the results are going to be there.”

Sunday’s loss marked the second-straight series sweep of a Washington team that, just two years after winning the World Series, is clearly in rebuilding mode. The Nationals were swept by Mets on the road in three consecutive games last week.

A bright spot from the Nationals’ season-high seventh-straight loss was outfielder Lane Thomas’ debut. Thomas is the fourth prospect to play in a Nationals uniform since the July 31 trade deadline. 

Thomas, who was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for left-handed pitcher Jon Lester, went 2-for-4 with a walk. He was caught stealing in the first inning. It was his first multi-hit game since Aug. 18, 2019, when he was a Cardinal. 

The Nationals dealt two of their most reliable bullpen arms in Daniel Hudson and Brad Hand at the end of July. Since then, Martinez has been turning to reliever Gabe Klobosits.

On Sunday, Klobosits got the ball for the eighth time in the last two weeks. The 26-year-old, another prospect who has been pressed into duty, loaded the bases with two singles and a walk before allowing a run via a wild pitch. The right-hander from Katy, Texas, gave up two hits, a walk, a run and threw two wild pitches in one inning of relief of Espino, who surrendered five runs over four innings. 

“You’re asking a lot from them to get 17-18 outs out of the bullpen,” Martinez said. “Klobo, some of the balls slipped on him a little bit, but he engaged and got right back on it and got a big out when he needed to.”

Thompson, another bullpen arm acquired at the end of July, pitched in the seventh inning in his sixth appearance with the Nationals. Washington got Thompson from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Hudson. 

Thompson logged one inning and sent the Braves down quietly, only allowing one base-runner on a throwing error by Luis Garcia. 

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