Nationals start the second half by sliding where they stopped

A few hours before the Washington Nationals begin their mediocre first half, manager Dave Martinez reunited his home team on Friday at Nationals Park. The national championships were there for their mandatory training after the break. Everyone, including the coaching staff, received red shirseys with their numbers and "NATIONALS" on the nameplate at the back. Martinez delivered a succinct message: to clear the deficit that they created and make the playoffs they needed to play fundamentally healthy, team baseball. He started with match # 97 against the Atlanta Braves.

Friday set up wonderfully for the Nationals. Stephen Strasburg took the ball on his 30th birthday for his first start in almost six weeks after dealing with the inflammation of the right shoulder. Ryan Zimmerman was also on the disabled list. It was as complete as the national championships have been all season. It does not matter. Reinforcements were insufficient and Martinez's words did not resonate in a loss of 8 to 5.

In the fifth inning, the Nationals (48-49) still looked like a sloppy and overpowering club – only this episode had cracks in the cohesion of the team. For months, frustration has led to more underperformance, for the world to witness under .500 and lost 6½ games in first place in the National League East.

The opening of a crack could be observed the Nationals canoe with two outs at the top of the fifth inning. Strasburg had quickly taken off the ground, leaving behind a disappointing comeback earlier than the Nationals expected, and was greeted by Max Scherzer. Strasbourg, uninterrupted, put his hat and glove on the bench and sat down, but not before saying something to Scherzer. The two men then engaged in a quick and lively discussion before going down the steps of the club, away from the cameras. The exchange did not go unnoticed. The optics were not good.

Strasburg's frustration came from the clubbing of the powerful Braves team. The right-hander, making his first start since June 8, awarded six points on the forehands in 4 sets of 2 ₃ . He has launched 98 fields. A higher rate than usual was struck with authority. Strasbourg is supposed to support a rotation that fought powerfully without him. On Friday, he did not really put things right

The Braves (53-42) did not give in, but the defense behind Strasburg did not help, especially in the first round, when Martinez called for solid fundamentals. remained unanswered After Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a single to take the lead of the match and then take second base, Ozzie Albies blocked a line on the left field that forced Juan Soto, a defensive rookie, to take a decision. Does he play safely and play the ball of a rebound? Or does he charge the ball, trying to make a game but risking the balloon that pbades him? He took the risk – and paid the price when the ball bounced. Acuna scored and Albies finished second with a brace

Albies then stole the third base before Freddie Freeman hit a baseball on third baseman Anthony Rendon, who watched Albies at third but threw a savage blow on the diamond. The draw forced first scorer Matt Adams to collapse for the ball, giving Albies time to come home for the second run of the Braves

Albies, an all-star, is hamstring injury. leave the game in the third inning. At that time, the Nationals had run a race for a double flight, which featured Bryce Harper in the second and Adam Eaton becoming the fourth player in the National's history to fly home. Two innings later, Adams broke a solo home from Anibal Sanchez in the home rink. Adams started on Zimmerman because he's crushing enough right-handed pitchers to force Washington to line up, at least for the moment, on his oldest player. The circuit was the 16th of the season of Adams – and the 15th on a right-handed.

The display of Adams Power tied the game. The tie lasted half a round. The consecutive doubles of Kurt Suzuki and Johan Camargo gave the Braves a 3-2 lead, and they doubled with three points in the fifth inning. The dam started with three free kicks and ended with the sacrifice of Nick Markakis. Strasbourg lasted three more batters. His thing was there – the last fastball at 95 mph – but the Braves were shooting shots with regularity.

Trea Turner completed a solo circuit and Soto added a two-point shot in the eighth inning, but both Braves Despite the Nationals who have their "other" ace on the mound and a renewed interest in the fundamentals to start the second half, the first game looked a lot like first half – only Strasbourg imploded on the mound and in the dugout.