WASHINGTON — Atlanta Braves right-hander JR Ritchie was welcomed to the show Thursday afternoon, quickly and not so warmly, when Washington Nationals left fielder James Wood led off the bottom of the first inning by sending the 22-year-old’s first pitch over the left-field wall.
At least Ritchie didn’t have to worry about being perfect.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder from Seattle rebounded to win his MLB debut, with the Braves beating the Nationals 7-2 to take three of four games in a series between National League East Division rivals. It was the eighth win in nine games for Atlanta, which improved to 18-8 — the best record in the majors — while dropping Washington to 11-15.
As for Ritchie, he’s a very pleasant 1-0. Despite the early hiccup.
“One pitch into it, I was like, ‘Oh no,’ but after that I bounced back really well,” Ritchie said. “Honestly, probably for the next year, I will hate it. Then after that it will be like a funny, ‘Hey, first pitch of my big league career I gave up a nuke.'”