WASHINGTON — Hurston Waldrep made his highly anticipated Major League Baseball debut for the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, and there was good and there was bad for the 22-year-old right-hander — in that order.
Keibert Ruiz homered as part of a seven-run fourth inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Braves 8-5, spoiling Waldrep’s day on the mound and Atlanta’s weekend in the nation’s capital.
CJ Abrams drove in three runs for Washington, which won the final three contests of the four-game series between division foes and improved to 6-2 this season against Atlanta, the six-time reigning champion in the National League East. Atlanta has also won the regular-season series against the Nationals the past six years, but to extend that streak, the Braves will have to sweep all five remaining meetings in 2024, with three at Truist Park on Aug. 23-25 and two in Washington on Sept. 10-11.
“This group is fun, they play with a lot of energy, and it showed in this last series,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “Seventeen games in a row without a day off, they’re going out and battling and grinding. These last few games were amazing.”
The Nationals are off Monday before beginning a three-game interleague series against the host Detroit Tigers.
Atlanta has dropped four of its past five games overall and at 35-28 is nine games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies (45-20) in the NL East. This is the first time the Braves are as few as seven games over .500 since being 12-5 on April 17.
Washington (30-35) is third in the division, still six games behind the Braves.
Waldrep, Atlanta’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft who was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier Sunday, was undeterred by a 35-minute weather delay at the start of the game, breezing through three innings without allowing a hit.
A Georgia native who spent two college seasons at Southern Mississippi and played last year for the Florida Gators, who finished second at the College World Series, Waldrep is the fourth member of last year’s draft class to reach the majors and the second pitcher to do so, with Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes the first.
Waldrep was on the verge of escaping a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth inning before Luis García Jr. poked an RBI single to left. Ruiz then smacked a first-pitch fastball for a three-run homer into the Nationals’ bullpen, where reliever Jacob Barnes caught it between warmup pitches.
“I feel a lot better at home plate than when I came back (from) the flu (in late April),” said Ruiz, who added a sacrifice fly in the fifth and is hitting .291 over his past 16 games, raising his average from .157 to .202. “I feel like I’m hitting the ball better.”
Waldrep (0-1) sandwiched two walks around a single to load the bases before ending his outing. Abrams hit reliever Aaron Bummer’s first pitch into the right-field corner, scoring three runs and making it 7-2.
Waldrep surrendered seven runs in 3 2/3 innings with four walks and a strikeout. Of his 62 pitches, 38 were strikes.
“It started out really good, and baseball happened,” Waldrep said. “I got some unlucky breaks and also gave up some hits I didn’t need to give up and missed some pitches, walked some guys. It is what it is. It’s part of the game.”
AP photo by Alex Brandon / Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker talks with starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep in the dugout after the 22-year-old right-hander was relieved in the fourth inning of Sunday’s game against the host Washington Nationals. Waldrep threw three scoreless innings but ran into big trouble in the fourth, when he was charged with seven earned runs.The seven runs scored were the most in an inning for the Nationals since they had eight in the sixth inning against the host Kansas City Royals on May 26, 2023.
Barnes (3-2) pitched a scoreless inning to earn the victory. Kyle Finnegan recorded the final three outs for his 18th save in 20 attempts after Jarred Kelenic’s three-run homer off Jordan Weems in the ninth pulled the Braves within three.
Atlanta’s Michael Harris II opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second inning before Washington starter DJ Herz struggled with his command. Orlando Arcia walked on four pitches, and Herz’s first pitch to Kelenic was up and in but grazed Kelenic’s bat. Kelenic took exception when Herz buzzed his head later in the at-bat.
Herz’s next throw was his second wild pitch of the inning, allowing Travis d’Arnaud to score.
Herz gave up two runs in 4 1/3 innings in his second MLB start. The 23-year-old left-hander previously gave up four runs in four innings Tuesday in a 6-3 loss to the New York Mets.
Ahead of Sunday’s game, Atlanta optioned right-handed pitcher Daysbel Hernández to Gwinnett and transferred outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (torn ACL) to the 60-day injured list to make room for Waldrep. Acuña, the 2023 NL MVP, had surgery last week and is working toward returning at the start of next season.
The Braves are off Monday but remain on the road for a three-game interleague series against the Baltimore Orioles that starts Tuesday. Atlanta’s scheduled starting pitcher for the opener is left-hander Max Fried (6-2, 2.93 ERA), who has won his past three starts and has gone at least seven innings in five of his past six outings.