Braves can’t overcome rough start by López

“It wasn’t the shoulder, it wasn’t the temperature, it was just a bad day.”

The Braves (16-8) lost for just the second time this season when hitting at least two home runs. They had won six of the previous seven such contests. Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson and Austin Riley were a combined 2-for-16 in the loss.

And the Braves were forced to play catchup all night.

“It was kind of a minor miracle that we were still in that game for as long as we were,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “I think if your starter goes one, and you score four runs, you’re probably not winning that game, with those two things combined.

“One of the few clunkers we’ve had with him. Whenever we’ve had a clunker this year we’ve seen the bounce back quickly and then play well the next day. So I’ll expect we’ll do that again (Wednesday).”

López (1-1) was all out of sorts from the get-go. A walk, single and steal of second to start the bottom of the first inning brought Jacob Young to the plate and the Nationals’ center fielder lined a single to center making it 1-0. López walked CJ Abrams and Daylen Lile to bring in the Nats’ second run.

Nasim Nuñez’s broken-bat single lifted over shortstop made it 3-0 before López could record three outs and escape the frame.

López threw 46 pitches in the bottom of the first, allowed three runs on three walks and a pair of hits as the Nationals (11-13) sent nine hitters to the plate.

The Braves countered in the top of the second thanks to back-to-back doubles from Mauricio Dubón and Michael Harris II that cut the deficit to 3-1.

That momentum was short-lived as James Wood began the bottom of the inning by launching a 92-mph fastball 412 feet into the Braves’ bullpen in left. Wood’s eighth homer of the season left the bat at more than 114 mph.

Luis Garcia Jr.’s hard single to left sent López to the showers after just 58 pitches.

“I think just when you fall behind in the count, that’s what happens,” López said. “I mean, anytime that you just can’t work pitches and you get behind like that, you’re gonna pay the price.”

Drake Baldwin’s sixth home run of the season, a 438-foot shot to center, made it a 4-2 game in the top of the third. Eli White inched the Braves within 4-3 in the fifth by taking a 91-mph fastball the other way and dropping it into the Nationals’ bullpen down the right field line for his first homer of the season.

But that would be as close as the Braves would get.

Dylan Dodd, called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday, allowed a run in the fifth. Ian Hamilton, making his Braves debut in the seventh, gave up three runs on two hits and two walks in the seventh.

Joel Payamps served up a three-run homer to Curtis Mead in the eighth.

The Braves’ bullpen, one of the best in baseball statistically, gave up seven runs and walked 12 hitters.

“It was touch-and-go (with López) there as we got to the end of that (first) inning. The pitch count was rising and then he gets out of the inning and try to squeeze every out out of him. But it just wasn’t going to happen tonight,” Weiss said. “And then, you know, when you get one inning out of your starter, you’re in survival mode at that point.

“We hung in there though,” Weiss added. “We hung in there and we’re still in that game for most of the way until it got away from us late. But it’s just tough when you know you’re asking eight innings out of your bullpen, it’s never gonna go the way you want it to.”

Nationals starter Foster Griffin completed six innings, but only after his manager Blake Butera paid Griffin a visit with two outs in the sixth. Griffin argued his way into staying into the game and got Dubón to ground out to second.

Griffin (3-0) allowed three earned runs and five hits.

José Suarez was the Braves’ unsung hero by throwing three scoreless innings, an outing that started when López departed and with two on and none out in the second. Suarez worked around four walks, struck out four and didn’t allow a hit.