WASHINGTON --
“\\[Donaldson\\] has been huge for us for two months now,” Braves first baseman
\n\n.@ronaldacunajr24 is something special.
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) July 31, 2019
He joins @MikeTrout (2x) and @andruwjones25 as the only players age-21 or younger to have 25 HR, 25 SB in a season. pic.twitter.com/wnPn1rRTV7
There's been hardly any doubt about the offensive potential of the Braves, who went 4-2 on this road trip that began with a pair of wins in Philadelphia. They will return to Atlanta with a 6 1/2-game lead, and the enhanced confidence Anthopoulos created when he acquired three top relievers --
“This team is really, really good,” Freeman said. “I think everybody knows this team has a real good chance to win this thing. When you play well and you get rewarded by your front office, it just fires everybody up in this clubhouse.”\n\nAfter Washington staged its ninth-inning rally, Donaldson prevented a potentially disastrous end to the road trip by drilling Doolittle’s 1-2 fastball over the center field wall in the top of the 10th. The 407-foot blast was Donaldson’s 25 homer of the season and the fourth he’s hit in 12 games against the Nationals.\n\nDonaldson struggled through the first two months, but after posting a .942 OPS and tallying 18 homers over the past two months, he has become a key reason why the Nationals remain six games back of the Braves in the loss column. Washington has gone gone 4-6 against Atlanta and 29-12 against all other opponents dating back to June 1.\n\nThe Braves have also won six of their past nine games against the Phillies, who were tied with the Nationals for second place in the National League East following Washington's loss on Wednesday.\n\n“It was a good road trip for us after we didn’t play well for a week or two,” Freeman said. “ To come on the road against two division opponents and go 4-2, that is big.”
The Braves lost