Shirts and caps with the word “Natitude” were big-sellers in and around the District of Columbia after the Washington Nationals won the National League East title. It became a slogan for the upstart power that many people pick to win the NL pennant this year.
This weekend, Natitude meets Gattitude. And J-Up.
The streaking Braves brought the majors’ best record (8-1) to D.C. to face the Nationals, who’ve become a main rival. The Braves will face them for the first time with rookie catcher Evan Gattis and former Diamondbacks All-Star Justin Upton, two of baseball’s hottest hitters.
Gattis has hit .391 with three homers in 23 at-bats, including two homers and five RBIs in the last two games of this week’s sweep at Miami. Upton hit .393 with a league-leading six homers before Thursday, when the Braves had an off day in Washington while the Nationals had a home-series finale against the White Sox.
“I’m as confident as ever in our team,” second baseman Dan Uggla said after the Braves pounded the Marlins 8-0 in Wednesday’s series finale. “With this team we have, we’re capable of anything. We’re expecting to keep this thing going. I’m sure they (Nationals) believe the same thing about their team.”
The Nationals were 6-2 before Thursday, including 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA at home.
The Braves have hit nine homers and posted a 1.33 ERA during their six-game winning streak, outscoring the Cubs and Marlins 28-9 and holding Miami to two runs over three games. Gattis and Juan Francisco hit a pair of long homers in a three-batter span to drive in five runs in a six-run fifth inning Wednesday.
“It’s good momentum,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said after the sweep. “Go out and take a day off (Thursday), and go back to winning series. We’ll get on the big bird and go to D.C., and it’ll be exciting. They’re throwing three pretty good pitchers against us, so it’ll be a nice test for us offensively. We’ll see where we’re at.”
The Braves will face a pair of left-handers, Ross Detwiler on Friday and Gio Gonzalez on Sunday, and get Stephen Strasburg in the middle game Saturday. Rookie Julio Teheran starts the series opener for the Braves are giving up five runs and two homers in five innings of a rough season debut against the Cubs.
Teheran is followed by the Braves’ veterans — Tim Hudson against Strasburg on Saturday and Paul Maholm against Gonzalez on Sunday in a matchup of established lefties.
The Braves will put their majors-best 1.89 ERA to a test against the Nationals, who played one less game before Thursday and were tied with the Braves and Rockies for the league home-run lead with 15. Bryce Harper was 10-for-20 with three homers in five home games.
“It’s exciting,” said closer Craig Kimbrel, part of a Braves bullpen with a majors-leading 1.65 ERA. “We’re off to a good start. Our goal is to go in there and win two out of three. That’s your goal every series. We’re swinging the bats well, and we’re pitching well.
“It’s a big series, but we still just have to go out and play our game, not magnify it. Just go game-by-game, show up, play hard. At the end of the day if we do everything right, we’ll walk out with W’s.”
The Braves are three games into a stretch of 16 of 18 on the road. They’ve kept winning despite losing Freddie Freeman to an oblique strain and scant production from outfielders Jason Heyward and B.J. Upton, who are a combined 5-for-57 (.088) with two homers and three RBIs, including 0-for-20 against lefties.
Much of the load on offense has been carried by Justin Upton and Gattis, who had the NL’s two highest on-base-plus-slugging percentages before Thursday, Upton at 1.365 and Gattis at 1.266.
B.J. Upton got a rest Wednesday so that Jordan Schafer could get some at-bats, and Schafer responded with four hits and two runs, including the first run of the game, which he helped manufacture with a bunt single and stolen base.
“That’s one of the strengths of our team,” Kimbrel said. “It’s not just our lineup or our pitching staff or bullpen. Our bench is just as strong. That’s the big difference, when you can let guys have days off, and you’re not losing that much.”
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