Braves' unsung heroes ready for Nationals

The Atlanta Braves continue to find ways to win -- and unlikely contributors have helped to propel the club to a major-league-leading 36 victories.

Ahead of the second contest of a three-game set against the visiting Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon, Atlanta is more than content to continue seeing production from unexpected sources.

The Braves climbed to 20 games above .500 on Friday as seldom-used catcher Chadwick Tromp drove in a pair of runs, including a walk-off RBI single in the 11th inning, to help them rally for a 5-4 series-opening win over the Nationals.

Tromp is 4-for-7 since making his season debut on Tuesday -- an opportunity presented only following injuries to Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy. Tromp, 31, appeared in only his 70th career game in seven big league seasons on Friday, returning to a club he's had stints with in each of the past five years after a brief time with the Baltimore Orioles in 2025.

"I felt like I was in a good spot coming back here," said Tromp, who signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta in November. "It's been awesome. I've been here for a long time. These guys know me. I know all of them, especially the pitchers. I'm just trying to come in and do the best I can and help us keep winning these games."

Journeyman Dominic Smith also is enjoying a marvelous start to his Atlanta career. Playing on his sixth team in five years, Smith is hitting .336 and has driven in 23 runs, including a game-tying single in the seventh inning on Friday. Fellow offseason addition Mauricio Dubon had three hits and tied the game with an RBI single in the 10th in the series opener. Dubon is hitting .269 in 48 starts.

Right-hander Grant Holmes (3-1, 3.80 ERA) will make his 10th start of the year on Saturday for the Braves, who have won four games in a row and have dropped just one series this year. Holmes tossed six scoreless innings on Sunday, allowing five hits while striking out four and walking one in an 8-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.

"It was good to see Grant fill up the strike zone, having just one walk," Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. "It was a really nice job by him."

Holmes has faced the Nationals twice (one start) in his career, allowing one run across 7 1/3 innings. He does not have any decisions.

A third of the way into the regular season, Washington has been anything but boring. Under first-year manager Blake Butera, the Nationals lead the majors in runs (284) but have the worst ERA in the National League (4.96) and have committed the most errors (48) in MLB.

Washington, at 25-27, is off to its best start to a season since 2018 but is coming off a heartbreaker on Friday when Butera's team led 4-2 in the 10th but couldn't close the game.

"It's tough. I love the way these guys battled and competed all night long against a really good team, to have them on the ropes like that," Butera said. "This one just hurts."

Jake Irvin (1-4, 5.79 ERA) will search for his first win since March 29 for the Nationals on Saturday. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 7.41 ERA in four starts in May. Last time out, he threw four innings, yielding three runs (two earned) in four innings in a no-decision against the New York Mets on Monday. Washington lost 16-7 in 12 innings after a 10-run frame by New York.

Irvin is 2-3 with a 3.98 ERA in eight career starts against the Braves.

--Field Level Media