Michael Harris II hit two of Atlanta’s four home runs, and the Braves collected 15 hits in a 12-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, even though starter Reynaldo López left the game after one inning due to a shoulder injury.
López left the game because of tightness in his right shoulder after throwing 25 pitches, with 16 of them being strikes. His usual fastball speed of 96 mph was reduced to the 89-94 mph range.
He and three relievers limited the Nationals, who have lost seven of their last 10 games, to only three hits. López will have an MRI on Wednesday.
“We are getting him looked at and we’ll determine something tomorrow,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
“He’s checking out OK. I talked to him. I just saw the velocities were not good, and then when I talked to him after and kind of made him fess up and he wanted to keep going. But when he stepped on it he didn’t feel great.”
López said he was caught off guard.
“To be honest I really didn’t know what was happening,” he said through an interpreter. “I felt like that first pitch went out and I thought it was 95 mph, but when I checked it, it was 89 mph. So that took me by surprise. That was just something I wasn’t expecting.
I was definitely relieved when everything came back normal and good. I think it is right we are just being overly cautious.”
Harris’ two homers marked the fourth time in his career he has hit multiple home runs in a game. Sean Murphy added a two-run home run, and Orlando Arcia hit a solo shot, one night after the Braves managed only two singles by Matt Olson in a 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Atlanta hit three doubles during a four-run third inning and then scored three more runs in the next inning, knocking out Nationals left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore and moving into a tie with the Mets for the final NL wild card spot.
Ramón Laureano and Murphy each had two hits and three RBIs. Olson contributed two singles and a double, marking his third multi-hit game in the last four games.
“I think we just got into a rhythm pretty quick in the third inning,” Laureano said. “We didn’t look back. It was a pretty smooth game after that.”
In the bottom of the first inning, López hit Nationals designated hitter Andrés Chaparro with a pitch while there were two outs. Braves medical staff checked López, but he stayed in to finish the inning with a called third strike to José Tena.
“It was a little frustrating, especially given the circumstances,” López said. “The position the team is in, every game counts. We are fighting for every victory out there. So whenever a start of a game, I want to go out there and finish it. Not being able to do that was frustrating.”
López had pitched at least six innings in his last three starts and has been a key part of the Braves rotation for 24 starts since signing a three-year free-agent deal with the Braves after leaving the White Sox.
Right-hander Jesse Chavez (2-2) replaced López and held the Nationals to one hit while striking out three.
Gore (8-12) pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs, but only two were earned. He allowed six hits, three walks, struck out three, hit one batter, and threw one wild pitch.
“I just didn’t execute like I have been,” Gore said. “And when you see teams for a fourth time, execution is extremely important.”
Chaparro stole second base in the first inning, becoming the 23rd Nationals player to steal a base this season, matching the 1917 Pittsburgh Pirates. It was Chaparro’s first stolen base in the major leagues.
