Deadspin | Nationals have hands full with Matt Olson, Braves: ‘They’re really good’ 
Apr 15, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) reacts as he runs after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Truist Park. All players are wearing number 42 today in honor of Jackie Robinson. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Matt Olson will look to continue his success at Nationals Park when the Atlanta Braves visit the Washington Nationals for the second game of their four-game series Tuesday night.
The Atlanta first baseman smacked a two-run homer to center and added a sacrifice fly in the Braves 9-4 win on Monday night, their sixth in a row. Washington’s James Wood also robbed Olson of a homer at the fence in right field.
“We hit a lot of balls hard tonight,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Monday. “That wind was blowing in. The fact that that ball Olson hit got out to center was a miracle the way the wind was blowing in. He might have had three homers tonight without any wind.”
Olson’s numbers might be ready for a boost anyway given his history at Nationals Park. Over the course of the 32-year-old’s career, Olson has played 30 games at the stadium. He has 13 homers, 35 RBIs and a batting average of .367.
The 13 home runs are more than he has hit in every stadium except the two parks he has called home — he previously played for the Athletics — and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where he has parked 15 balls over the outfield wall.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna, Jr. left the game in the sixth inning after being hit by a Jake Irvin pitch for the second time in the game, this one on the left hand. Acuna is day-to-day and Weiss said X-rays were negative.
“We feel pretty good about it,” Weiss said. “That’s where we’re at. We don’t have any plans for an MRI.”
Irvin said neither pitch was intentional.
“We’re trying to go in,” he said. “It’s unfortunate.
Atlanta right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (1-0, 2.18) will oppose left-hander Foster Griffin (2-0, 3.05) on Tuesday.
Griffin turned in three strong starts to open the season but struggled the last time out against Pittsburgh on Thursday. He held the Pirates scoreless for the first four innings but ultimately gave up four runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking one. The Nationals pulled off an 8-7 win in 10 innings, but Griffin didn’t figure into the decision.
He has never faced the Braves.
Lopez is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four career starts against the Nationals.
He gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits in five innings of a no-decision against the Miami Marlins in his April 14 start, won 6-5 by the Braves. It was the first time in four starts that he had given up more than one earned run.
The Nationals took the lead twice on Monday but could not hold it. Daylen Lile homered, but Washington was held to three hits and fell to 2-8 at home on a night that they committed two errors in addition to hitting Acuna.
“We know we have to play really good baseball against this team; they’re really good,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said after the game on Monday. “We made too many mistakes tonight to beat this club. We’ll address it, we’ll fix it and be ready to go tomorrow.”
Lile has hits in 18 of 22 games played this year.
Irvin was perfect through three innings but was later lifted after five innings and 68 pitches. He gave up four runs (three earned).
Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice. He has 10 multi-hit games this season.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Nationals #hands #full #Matt #Olson #Braves #Theyre #good
Apr 15, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) reacts as he runs after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Truist Park. All players are wearing number 42 today in honor of Jackie Robinson. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Matt Olson will look to continue his success at Nationals Park when the Atlanta Braves visit the Washington Nationals for the second game of their four-game series Tuesday night.
The Atlanta first baseman smacked a two-run homer to center and added a sacrifice fly in the Braves 9-4 win on Monday night, their sixth in a row. Washington’s James Wood also robbed Olson of a homer at the fence in right field.
“We hit a lot of balls hard tonight,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Monday. “That wind was blowing in. The fact that that ball Olson hit got out to center was a miracle the way the wind was blowing in. He might have had three homers tonight without any wind.”
Olson’s numbers might be ready for a boost anyway given his history at Nationals Park. Over the course of the 32-year-old’s career, Olson has played 30 games at the stadium. He has 13 homers, 35 RBIs and a batting average of .367.
The 13 home runs are more than he has hit in every stadium except the two parks he has called home — he previously played for the Athletics — and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where he has parked 15 balls over the outfield wall.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna, Jr. left the game in the sixth inning after being hit by a Jake Irvin pitch for the second time in the game, this one on the left hand. Acuna is day-to-day and Weiss said X-rays were negative.
“We feel pretty good about it,” Weiss said. “That’s where we’re at. We don’t have any plans for an MRI.”
Irvin said neither pitch was intentional.
“We’re trying to go in,” he said. “It’s unfortunate.
Atlanta right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (1-0, 2.18) will oppose left-hander Foster Griffin (2-0, 3.05) on Tuesday.
Griffin turned in three strong starts to open the season but struggled the last time out against Pittsburgh on Thursday. He held the Pirates scoreless for the first four innings but ultimately gave up four runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking one. The Nationals pulled off an 8-7 win in 10 innings, but Griffin didn’t figure into the decision.
He has never faced the Braves.
Lopez is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four career starts against the Nationals.
He gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits in five innings of a no-decision against the Miami Marlins in his April 14 start, won 6-5 by the Braves. It was the first time in four starts that he had given up more than one earned run.
The Nationals took the lead twice on Monday but could not hold it. Daylen Lile homered, but Washington was held to three hits and fell to 2-8 at home on a night that they committed two errors in addition to hitting Acuna.
“We know we have to play really good baseball against this team; they’re really good,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said after the game on Monday. “We made too many mistakes tonight to beat this club. We’ll address it, we’ll fix it and be ready to go tomorrow.”
Lile has hits in 18 of 22 games played this year.
Irvin was perfect through three innings but was later lifted after five innings and 68 pitches. He gave up four runs (three earned).
Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice. He has 10 multi-hit games this season.
–Field Level Media
![Knicks and Nuggets Blow Big Leads: What Went Wrong in Game 2? | Deadspin.com Roughly 5,000 feet of elevation separate Denver and New York City.Still, gravity works the same regardless of where one stands. Just ask the NBA teams in both towns.“You get too high, and you get, I don’t want to say cocky, but feeling yourself,” Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said.That sensation went south on either side of the country Monday night.After squandering sizable leads that would have cemented commanding 2-0 advantages in their respective first-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Knicks now find themselves bracing for a fight.Should their opponents ultimately have their number, Denver and New York will look back with disdain on 19 and 14. Those were the Game 2 cushions the teams coughed up as the No. 3 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.“It’s a game we should’ve won,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”Be that as it may, the Knicks did just that against the Atlanta Hawks. They controlled the outcome for much of the night and took a 12-point edge into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14.Then New York shot 5-for-22 from the floor in the final 12 minutes compared to 10-for-15 for Atlanta. Fighting through vulgar chants from the Madison Square Garden faithful, Hawks star CJ McCullom scored six straight points down the stretch during one key sequence on the way to a game-high 32.“In that fourth quarter, you could tell [the Hawks] were playing with a level of desperation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There were four 50-50 balls, and they got three of the four. We always use that stat to gauge the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter, their aggression stepped up.”New York’s melted at the same time. How many late possessions saw the Knicks pass or hold the ball around the perimeter before settling for subpar looks from 3-point range? The Knicks went 3-for-11 from deep as part of their flop.Denver led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 19 points early in the second quarter before crumbling. The Nuggets still were ahead by three points to start the fourth quarter but a combined 2-for-12 shooting effort from pillars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the final 12 minutes took a toll.“I feel like we had the game in hand, and then we just didn’t make our shots,” Murray said.As with the Knicks and Hawks, the reversal of fortunes stemmed both from the hosts’ miscues and an outstanding effort from a visiting player, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 30 points.“Great leadership, positive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that.”The Knicks and Nuggets no doubt sensed the need to amp up their own urgency as things started slipping away Monday.That neither could act upon it didn’t signal the end for either New York or Denver, of course. But now there’s unnecessary added weight for the climb back to the top. #Knicks #Nuggets #Blow #Big #Leads #Wrong #Game #Deadspin.com](https://i1.wp.com/lineup-publishing.s3.amazonaws.com/1776807037837?ssl=1 "Knicks and Nuggets Blow Big Leads: What Went Wrong in Game 2? | Deadspin.com Roughly 5,000 feet of elevation separate Denver and New York City.Still, gravity works the same regardless of where one stands. Just ask the NBA teams in both towns.“You get too high, and you get, I don’t want to say cocky, but feeling yourself,” Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said.That sensation went south on either side of the country Monday night.After squandering sizable leads that would have cemented commanding 2-0 advantages in their respective first-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Knicks now find themselves bracing for a fight.Should their opponents ultimately have their number, Denver and New York will look back with disdain on 19 and 14. Those were the Game 2 cushions the teams coughed up as the No. 3 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.“It’s a game we should’ve won,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”Be that as it may, the Knicks did just that against the Atlanta Hawks. They controlled the outcome for much of the night and took a 12-point edge into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14.Then New York shot 5-for-22 from the floor in the final 12 minutes compared to 10-for-15 for Atlanta. Fighting through vulgar chants from the Madison Square Garden faithful, Hawks star CJ McCullom scored six straight points down the stretch during one key sequence on the way to a game-high 32.“In that fourth quarter, you could tell [the Hawks] were playing with a level of desperation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There were four 50-50 balls, and they got three of the four. We always use that stat to gauge the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter, their aggression stepped up.”New York’s melted at the same time. How many late possessions saw the Knicks pass or hold the ball around the perimeter before settling for subpar looks from 3-point range? The Knicks went 3-for-11 from deep as part of their flop.Denver led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 19 points early in the second quarter before crumbling. The Nuggets still were ahead by three points to start the fourth quarter but a combined 2-for-12 shooting effort from pillars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the final 12 minutes took a toll.“I feel like we had the game in hand, and then we just didn’t make our shots,” Murray said.As with the Knicks and Hawks, the reversal of fortunes stemmed both from the hosts’ miscues and an outstanding effort from a visiting player, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 30 points.“Great leadership, positive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that.”The Knicks and Nuggets no doubt sensed the need to amp up their own urgency as things started slipping away Monday.That neither could act upon it didn’t signal the end for either New York or Denver, of course. But now there’s unnecessary added weight for the climb back to the top. #Knicks #Nuggets #Blow #Big #Leads #Wrong #Game #Deadspin.com")
Post Comment