Touki Toussaint was wild, but the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 7-6

The Braves won a thriller Monday night, 7-6,

After falling into a 6-3 hole before the ninth inning, the Braves had four runs to knock out the Washington Nationals. The Dansby Swanson dinger crowned him.

For as thrilling as the ninth inning was, the first eight and a half innings were equally frustrating, as another starting pitch out was interrupted. Tonight’s contender was Touki Toussaint, who has struggled to locate the strike zone for the majority of his last two outings. Tonight he made three innings, facing a batter in the fourth, walking six and allowing four runs to cross home plate.

It’s easy to blame a referee when the going gets tough, but home plate umpire Chad Whiston’s strike zone has been inconsistent all night (but especially early on), often varying from court to court, and caused undue baserunners who worked in the Nationals. promote. After being squeezed on no less than four throws in punches against Juan Soto and Kurt Suzuki, Touki’s confidence seemed shaken and he found himself in hot water early.

Following the questionable march to Suzuki, Nationals prospect Luis Garcia hit his first home homer in the league ahead of Chop House. What a nice moment for him, but not so much for the Braves, who found themselves behind 2-0. Following a strikeout from Carter Kieboom, Eric Thames parked a fastball in the Braves’ paddock to tack on another run.

The Braves got two points in the second. After Marcell Ozuna walked, Nick Markakis scored a brace on the straight to reduce the lead to 3-1. Austin Riley smashed a 0-for-12 fall with a screaming RBI single down the middle to bring Markakis home, making it 3-2.

Touki needed a save round in the third, but that’s when he completely lost the zone. After hitting Trea Turner (who immediately stole the second), Touki threw three straight steps, and the Nats looked like they were about to escape when Austin Riley pulled off that canvas gem and dodged other damage.

The Braves had three straight singles to start the third set to bring the score to 4-3, and even loaded the goals with one out, but were unable to keep the rally moving.

Touki was fortunate enough to continue in the fourth, but after immediately walking Kieboom he got the hook in favor of Grant Dayton. Dayton followed Touki’s theme of playing with fire, walking with his own batsman and allowing a single on the field, and missed a grand slam surrender to Juan Soto by about two feet. He would eventually give up a solo home run at Asdrubal Cabrera before the end of his 1 ⅔ innings.

Huascar Ynoa, who relieved Dayton in fifth place, was the game’s MVP for the Braves. He went three scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just two hits. His role on this team appears to be flexible, but his comfort level seems highest as a multi-sleeve reliever.

The Braves’ most devastating missed opportunity of the night came in the seventh inning. Travis d’Arnaud walked to lead the round, then Nick Markakis passed him in third place. After a walk to Adam Duvall to load the bases, Johan Camargo and newly released IL pinch hitter Matt Adams both struck out.

The seventh and eighth innings were a tease, as the Braves left five baserunners on board. It looked like the Braves were dead for good.

The Nationals took a 6-3 lead in the ninth on a Juan Soto long circuit.

In the ninth inning, the Braves activated the magic. After Markakis was hit by a pitch, Adam Duvall had a run on left ground, closing the lead to 6-5. Camargo finally joined the board with a straight down center, and Dansby Swanson brought Daniel Hudson down center in an exciting way. After what appeared to be an infallible loss for eight and a half innings, the Braves emerged victorious, 7-6.

These two teams will meet again tomorrow night, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.