If you ever wondered whether you’d rather win ugly than win lose pretty, you’d figure out where you stood after tonight.

Well, it wasn’t a pitcher’s duel. Didier Fuentes got called up because Reynaldo Lopez got knocked out after an inning of work and the whole bullpen was gassed; the original plan was for Martin Perez to start Thursday’s game, but Didier only lasted three innings in this one and Perez needed to pitch three innings tonight.

Meanwhile, the Braves offense pushed across eight runs in the first four innings and dared the bullpen to hold ’em there. They did, and here we are.

Didier Fuentes likely has a bright future ahead of him, hopefully in an Atlanta uniform, but tonight started out a lot more like his cannon-fodder appearences a year ago. He gave up five hits and four runs in the first frame, the big blows coming on a three-run homer by Daylen Lile and an RBI double by Jorbit Vivas.

To his credit, Fuentes then worked two more scoreless frames, managing to strand runners at second and third after a potentially costly error by Ozzie, but there was no way he was going to give the team the length they may have initially hoped. The Nats have a terrible pitching staff, but a pretty dynamic offense right now.

In the end, he flashed a very live fastball, with seven strikeouts in three innings, but he gave up some very loud contact, and he’s not a big leaguer just yet. He’s only 21, he’s thrown just over 60 innings above A-ball, and I simply cannot understand why the Braves keep doing this to him.

Anyway, end of rant. Once again, our bats humiliated an opposing pitcher; over the past 13 games, the team is 10-3 and has scored an average of seven runs a game. Michael Harris cranked two more tonight; in his nine games since becoming a dad, he’s hitting .400/.455/.833 with four taters. I’d say fatherhood suits him. (I know the feeling!)

Meanwhile, Drake Baldwin went 2-3 with a walk and a homer, his second in as many nights; ho-hum, he’s third in baseball in RBIs and his pitching staff is leading the majors in ERA. Matt Olson is fourth in the majors in RBI, as he got another homer and another three RBI tonight, too.

So the offense got all it needed despite ohfers from Acuña and Riley, and the bullpen got what it needed from Dylan Lee, Tyler Kinley, and Robert Suarez, despite Raisel Iglesias going on the IL. The score wound up closer than you might like, but it all went in the right column.

The final game of the series will be a businessman’s special, a 1:05 pm getaway game tomorrow afternoon before the Braves head home for a redux against the Phillies. Apparently, we’ll get to see J.R. Ritchie’s debut. He’s very highly regarded, and he’s also had a lot more experience in Triple-A than Fuentes has, so I’m hopeful that his learning curve will be gentler. Then again, life comes at you pretty fast. Good thing he’s got some serious bats and gloves behind him.

Let’s close ’em out!