WASHINGTON -- For the first time since September 2023, when he set the Braves’ single-season record for home runs, Matt Olson homered in four straight games. A fifth, though, was not meant to be.
Olson went yard to cap a five-run fourth inning for Atlanta in its 6-3 win in Game 1 of a split doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Nationals Park.
But after a two-hour rain delay pushed back the first pitch of Game 2, the Braves’ bats cooled off -- including Olson’s, at least for a while.
The bats woke up in the 10th inning, with Olson delivering a bases-clearing triple to assist in the five-run frame, all but ensuring the 5-0 win to sweep the doubleheader.
Coming off his second four-RBI game of the season, Olson continued to rake in Game 1 -- though not quite to that extreme. Olson’s homer came immediately after a two-run jack from Jurickson Profar, the eighth time this season Atlanta has gone back-to-back and its first pair of back-to-back home runs since Aug. 7.
“He's putting together a heck of a year again,” manager Brian Snitker said following Game 1. “I mean, it wasn't without struggles in the beginning, and he's locked in now and gotten hot. And you know what? You're going to see a normal season from him when it's all said and done.”
But Olson’s streak is far from the most interesting tidbit from the afternoon game. That honor went to a pair of Braves arms: southpaw José Suarez, who made his first Major League start of the year -- and his first big league appearance since April 10 -- and closer Raisel Iglesias, who converted his 250th career save.
Suarez was lights-out, working around a pair of second-inning runs to deliver seven solid innings. Those runs were the only blemishes on Suarez’s day; he allowed just five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.
“At the beginning of the game, I was just excited and I was happy to be out here,” Suarez said via interpreter Franco García. “And I've been working on my pitches in Triple-A as well. …
“[But] it's more about just my mentality. I've been working on that. It's more about just being aggressive during the at-bats and [trying] not to do so much to fish or to just not let the count get away from me and stay on top of the hitters.”
A lot of Suarez’s success centered on his changeup, which -- as he alluded to -- he had been tinkering with in the Minors.
"Like every lefty's been doing the whole year -- fastballs, top of the zone, good changeup,” Nats interim manager Miguel Cairo said after Game 1. “But it was his fastball-changeup and fastball-slider to our lefties [that got us].”
Five of Suarez’s strikeouts came via that changeup, which also accounted for almost a third of his 21 whiffs -- over twice as many as Nats starter Jake Irvin (10 whiffs).
“He kind of got better [as he went],” Snitker said. “He got the feel of his change as it went. It wasn't great early, but then he got the feel of that thing and threw the ball extremely well.”
Meanwhile, Iglesias became the 40th pitcher to reach the 250-save mark and just the fifth active pitcher to hit the mark (Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman and Edwin Díaz).
Perhaps even more impressive, Iglesias secured the save in the pouring rain.
“That was rough -- rough conditions right there for both the guys that pitched in the ninth inning,” Snitker said. “Iggy came off and I kind of patted him on the back, and he was soaked.
“That's hard -- that's really hard to do. Everything you touch is wet, and you know, when [you have] to get a save out of it -- I mean, he just kind of gets locked in. And I'm happy for him, but it's a great milestone. And you know, hopefully he gets a bunch more.”