DJ Herz overcomes another rocky first as Nationals beat Braves

But two pitches later, Whit Merrifield hit a change-up into the dirt to end the inning. Perhaps he knew something Atlanta didn’t: that if the Braves didn’t get to Herz then, it would be harder later. Herz allowed just two base runners over the next four innings in the Nationals’ 5-1 victory. In his five August starts, he has pitched to a 2.22 ERA — by far his best in any month since he was called up in June. “When I attack the zone and I get ahead early, everything else will play out how it’s supposed to play out,” Herz said. “That’s something I can control, getting ahead. And when I’m ahead, it’s good.” Advertisement In the sixth inning, Jacob Barnes allowed a solo home run to Matt Olson that tied the game, and the Braves looked poised to pull off their third comeback win of the series. Two batters later, Drew Millas singled to put runners on the corners. Jacob Young followed with a double that scored Millas, then came around in the ensuing at-bat when Merrifield couldn’t reel in a hard-hit single by CJ Abrams — who added an RBI single in the ninth. The Nationals (59-72) went hitless with runners in scoring position, but those two seventh-inning hits were enough to help them clinch a season series against the Braves (70-60) for the first time since 2017. “There were some really good at-bats today,” Manager Dave Martinez said. We came here and played a good team, lost the first two, bounced back for a 12 o’clock game against a really good pitcher. Still, Herz mostly has not allowed his outings to get out of hand early. His pitch counts in the first inning of his August starts: 15, 38, 19, 28 and 27 on Sunday afternoon. His runs allowed in each of those innings: zero, one, two, one, zero. “I think it’s just letting it go and focusing on the next batter,” Herz said. They’ll stop eventually, but just keep grinding through them and they’ll eventually change.” Advertisement The only hit Herz allowed was a second-inning single by Orlando Arcia. Herz struck out eight hitters, all after the first — three times with a four-seam fastball, three times with a change-up and twice with a slider. The change-up really sets it all up,” said Millas, who caught him Sunday. But when he’s working both of those off each other and then he can throw in a slider in the zone at the bottom, he’s a really tough matchup for any hitter.” His 27-pitch first inning drove up his pitch count. So when Herz, who often laments that he doesn’t get quick outs, struck out the side in the fifth, he walked off the mound at 92 pitches and was done for the day. Once Washington regained the lead in the seventh, Martinez turned to another emerging arm: 26-year-old reliever Eduardo Salazar. Advertisement Salazar, whom the Nationals claimed off waivers in July, has been a bright spot in the Nationals’ bullpen with a 1.45 ERA in 13 appearances. Herz didn’t earn the win, but it has been hard not to notice his growth since his first start two months ago. “We’ve got to talk to him about getting through that first inning,” Martinez said. I really feel like he’s a guy that could go six, seven innings at about 90 pitches. We’re going work on that, but he’s been good. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/08/25/dj-herz-nationals-braves/