Matt Olson Is Doing What He Always Does at Nationals Park and Washington Has No Answer

The Atlanta Braves are rolling, and it starts with Matt Olson making Nationals Park his personal playground. The first baseman went off Monday night with a two-run homer to center and a sacrifice fly in Atlanta's 9-4 win, extending their winning streak to six straight. Even when Washington got a gift, Olson nearly had another one: James Wood robbed him of a homer at the fence in right field.

Here's what should scare Nationals fans entering Tuesday's second game of this four-game series: Olson's track record in D.C. is absurd. Over 30 career games at Nationals Park, the 32-year-old has 13 homers, 35 RBIs, and is hitting .367. Those 13 home runs rank third in his career behind only the two stadiums he called home as an Athletic and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (15 homers). The wind was blowing in hard Monday, and Braves manager Walt Weiss didn't mince words about what could have been.

"We hit a lot of balls hard tonight," Weiss said. "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."

Braves Getting Healthier, Nationals Getting Desperate

Atlanta got some good news on the injury front. Ronald Acuna Jr. took two pitches from Jake Irvin in Monday's game, the second one on the left hand in the sixth inning. X-rays came back negative, and Weiss confirmed Acuna is day-to-day with no MRI planned. Irvin said neither pitch was intentional.

Washington's offense couldn't capitalize on their chances. Daylen Lile hit a homer, but the Nationals managed just three hits and fell to 2-8 at home. They also committed two errors. Manager Blake Butera didn't sugarcoat the reality after the loss.

"We know we have to play really good baseball against this team; they're really good," Butera said. "We made too many mistakes tonight to beat this club."

Tuesday Pitching Matchup Sets the Tone

Reynaldo Lopez (1-0, 2.18 ERA) takes the mound for Atlanta against Foster Griffin (2-0, 3.05 ERA) for Washington. Griffin started the season strong with three quality outings but struggled last time out against Pittsburgh on Thursday, giving up four runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings despite striking out seven. He's never faced the Braves. Lopez is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four career starts against Washington and gave up four runs on five hits in five innings against Miami on April 14 in a no-decision.

Atlanta's Drake Baldwin continues to rake, collecting two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored Monday. He's up to 10 multi-hit games on the season. Lile, meanwhile, has hits in 18 of 22 games played this year.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.