ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker wants his players to pay closer attention when they’re running the bases.
A fifth straight postseason awaits the reigning World Series champions, and the Braves remain in contention for a fifth straight National League East Division title. Snitker knows the team can’t afford to make mistakes on the basepaths.
“As a baserunner, you have to zero in on the guy in front of you and nobody else because he might fall, he might not see things the way everybody else does,” Snitker said. “Your main focus is the guy in front of you when you’re running the bases, and we weren’t real aware in some situations today.”
Joey Meneses hit a go-ahead two-run homer off Jesse Chavez in the seventh inning, and the Washington Nationals stopped the Braves’ five-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory Wednesday afternoon as Atlanta cost itself with poor baserunning.
Ronald Acuña Jr. drove in an early run and scored another for Atlanta, which clinched a spot in the playoffs on Tuesday night — but whether that’s as a wild card or the division champ depends on whether the East’s second-place Braves (93-56) can supplant the first-place New York Mets (95-56) down the stretch over the next two weeks.