Braves Outslug Nats, 6-5
The two teams combined for five home runs, with the Braves hitting three to the Nats two in a 6-5 victory last night in Lake Buena Vista, FL.
Bryce Harper returned from a eight-day layoff and got the start in CF, though he may have forgotten he wasn’t in RF for his first putout, ranging Kelly Leak-style in front of Eury Perez to end the 2nd inning. His second putout came in the 5th and was also a bit of an adventure, as the 19-year-old phenom slipped enough to allow 39-year-old Chipper Jones to advance to third base.
Offensively, Harper went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.
Perez also pulled an oh-fer at the plate (0-for-4), but lived up the first sentence of his player report (“Defensively, Perez is ready: Takes good routes, makes accurate throws, etc.”) with a nifty 9-5 double play to help quash a Braves rally in the 7th.
Steve Lombardozzi was the third prospect to start, going 1-for-5, though he was victimized by a leaping stab by Andrelton Simmons in his last at-bat. Defensively, the 23-year-old utilityman/bench candidate made a putout and three assists.
Tyler Moore came off the bench to play 1B and struck out in the 8th inning. He was unable to make the scoop on a brilliant stop by Andres Blanco but was otherwise adequate in his three innings of defense.
The Nats return to Viera this afternoon to face the New York Yankees with Chien-Ming Wang taking the hill first, followed by John Lannan.
FWIW, I thought Harper made the right decision on the throw to second. The deep fly to CF came with no outs and two on, and by throwing to second he kept the second run from moving into scoring position and kept the GIDP in order. I don’t think slipping had anything to do with it.
No, you’re right about the throw, but he definitely looked raw out there, which is what I’d expect from someone that’s spent limited time in CF. (I was expecting more guff about the Bad News Bears reference 😉