ATLANTA — Spencer Schwellenbach had mixed results in his Major League Baseball debut with the Atlanta Braves.
Schwellenbach, one of the top pitching prospects in the sytem, made the leap from Double-A to the majors on Wednesday night and lasted five innings against the Washington Nationals. The 23-year-old right-hander from Saginaw, Michigan, threw 88 pitches, 60 for strikes, while allowing five hits and a walk, striking out five batters before exiting with the Braves trailing 3-1.
The Nationals wound up winning 7-2, their second victory in the first three meetings of a four-game series between National League East Division teams that is set to wrap up Thursday night at Truist Park.
“I thought his stuff was real good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He handled himself really well, I thought. It was very impressive, I thought.”
All the damage against Schwellenbach came on a three-run homer by Lane Thomas in the fifth inning. With one out and runners on first and second, Thomas lifted a fly ball 385 feet into the visitors’ bullpen in left field.
After a leadoff double by Washington in the fifth, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder hit Jacob Young in the head with a fastball when the Nationals’ No. 9 hitter squared to bunt. Young fell face down, and Schwellenbach immediately put both hands on his head and walked toward home plate.
“That was scary for sure,” Schwellenbach said. “Obviously very happy that he stayed in the game and that nothing was wrong with him. (Braves pitching coach Rick Granitz) came out and talked to me, just kind of got me settled down, and it helped for sure. I was able to get back out there and keep going.”
Young was down for a minute but stayed in the game. Nationals manager Dave Martinez said he felt bad not only for Young but Schwellenbach.
“Obviously not his fault. Obviously not intentional,” Young said. Thankfully it wasn’t bad.”
Two batters later, Thomas went deep.
Schwellenbach pitched out of trouble in the second inning. Luis García Jr. led off with a single and ended up on third after an error by right fielder Adam Duvall. He retired Kelbert Ruiz and Eddie Roasrio, and after a walk, struck out Rosario to end the threat. He also stranded a runner at third base in the fourth inning when shortstop Orlando Arcia caught a line drive hit by Ildemaro Vargas.
“That’s kind of the stuff you’re looking at with young guys when they come up,” Snitker said before making a comparison to injured ace right-hander Spencer Strider, who is out for the season. “Strider was the same way. Just had an innate ability to kind of keep everything in perspective and not let the game speed up on him. I thought he did a really nice job.”
The Braves used a second-round pick in 2021 to select Schwellenbach out of the University of Nebraska, where he pitched and was a position player, but he has been used strictly as a pitcher in the minors. He had Tommy John surgery in 2021 and missed the 2022 season.
Before his MLB debut, Schwellenbach had pitched only twice in Double-A, and never in Triple-A, becoming the first Atlanta starter to skip the top step in the minors since Randall Delgado in 2021. Over eight games with High-A Rome and Double-A Mississippi, Schwellenbach was 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 45 innings.
The first four spots in the Atlanta rotation are set with left-handers Max Fried and Chris Sale and right-handers Charlie Morton and Reynaldo López, but the fifth position remains up for grabs, with Bryce Elder the only other pitcher with more than five starts for Atlanta this season. Elder was an MLB All-Star for the first time last year, but he struggled after the break and is 1-2 with a 6.46 ERA this season.
“We’re going to continue to do anything we can to mix and match things,” Snitker said Tuesday. “Guys are going to get opportunities. They’re getting them a lot quicker now than they used to, that’s for sure.”
Aaron Bummer relieved Schwellenbach in the sixth and gave up a two-out, two-run single that made it 5-2. Kelbert Ruiz capped the Nationals’ scoring in the ninth against Pierce Johnson with a two-run single that sliding center fielder Michael Harris II could not quite come up with.
MacKenzie Gore (4-4) picked up the win for the Nationals, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits. He had 10 strikeouts and no walks.
“I thought my off-speed was good and we had a good game plan and executed it and got some strikeouts,” Gore said.
Thomas was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs and two stolen bases, and Young was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Ruiz was 2-for-5 with two RBIs, and Joey Gallo had two hits. The Nationals tied a season high with five stolen bases.
Dylan Floro, Robert Garcia, Hunter Henry and Jordan Weems did not allow a run out of the bullpen over 3 2/3 innings. Nationals pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts.
Washington stranded four runners in the first four innings.
“We kept saying, we have traffic, someone is getting ready to drive in a run,” Martinez said. “It was a big one for us. After that, it seemed everyone opened up and had good at-bats.”
Atlanta took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when designated hitter Marcell Ozuna singled to drive in Ozzie Albies. The Braves scored their other run when Travis d’Arnaud grounded out in the sixth.
Albies had a ground-rule double to lead off the bottom of the first but was stranded when Gore struck out the side. Albies wound up 2-for-4, along with Matt Olson.