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Three Cuts: Miller's latest gem not enough as Braves fall to Nats in 11
Shelby Miller's dominance and the little run support it's received, Nick Markakis' red-hot June and more in taking three cuts as the Braves fell to the Nationals 2-1 in 12 innings in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night.
There are 87 starters who have received more run support this season than Miller's 3.4 per game. But even that figure must seem burgeoning to the right-hander given his hard luck of late.
Miller held the Nationals to one run in seven strong innings, allowing three hits -- and one through six frames -- with five strikeouts and a walk. Granted, it hurt not having All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a wrist contusion.
But the bottom line is it marked the 13th time in his 15 starts an opponent has scored two runs or less and in those games, Miller is 5-3 with six no decisions. He's also gone winless in 10 outings with a 2.31 ERA in those games.
But over the last six starts in which he's yielded two runs or fewer, the Braves have scored just 2.3 per.
Granted, rotation mates Williams Perez and Julio Teheran are both getting backed by 5.3 runs and Miller is below the major league average of 4.1 per. But Miller can take solace in the fact that despite 11 quality starts -- tied for fourth in the majors -- boasting a 1.94 ERA (fourth) and ranking sixth in WAR (3.0), it could be worse.
The Dodgers' Zack Greinke also has just five wins despite an MLB-best 1.70 ERA and a better WAR (3.8) than Miller. While his run support a game is at 3.9, Greinke hasn't won since May 5 and in seven of his last nine starts, Los Angeles has scored three or less.
Nick Markakis went 3 for 5, with the last of those hits jump-starting the Braves' rally in the ninth inning. His night was the continuation of a potent June for the right fielder.
Markakis is hitting .333 (29 of 87) this month, but that figure jumps to .348 since June 13 against the Mets. Hitless in back-to-back games before that, Markakis is 15 of 44 since (.340), including six hits in the first two nights of this series in Washington.
Not surprisingly, June has always been one of his hottest periods, hitting .304 in his career in the month. Only his July numbers (.310) are better.
Chances are that hot streak will continue Thursday against Nationals starter Doug Fister, who Markakis has a long history with. He's hitting .346/.433/.538 against him all time with nine hits in 26 at-bats. He was 1 for 4 when they met May 9 in D.C.
Of course, Markakis is still waiting on that first home run as a Brave, a drought that stretches back to Sept. 25 of last season when he was with the Orioles and after Wednesday sits at 72 games (his old career long dry spell was 55).
That may not come vs. Fister, who he's taken deep once, back in 2011.
This time it was Ian Desmond providing the chocolate-syrup fodder, a sacrifice fly giving the Nationals a 2-1 victory in 12 innings. But the end result was one that's marked this rivalry of late: a Washington win.
Coming into this season, the Braves had ruled this series, winning 24 of their 38 meetings, including eight of nine to open 2014.
Those days seem far removed at this point, as the Nationals made it seven in a row over Atlanta, with the Braves winning only their first meeting of the season (April 27).
What makes it confounding from Atlanta's end is they're hitting, getting 10 hits Wednesday and they're hitting a collective .295 vs. Washington and they've scored 4.6 runs per (which is above their season average), but the Nationals' have averaged 7.1 in their meetings and are hitting .317.
As good as the Braves have been in these games, the Nationals have simply wrestled away the momentum. They may not always live up to the hype, but vs. their rivals, they're finding a way to do just that. Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney
