ATLANTA — Rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered twice and slumping Andruw Jones went deep for the first time in 21⁄2 weeks, backing up seven strong innings from Buddy Carlyle that sent the Atlanta Braves past the Washington Nationals 6-2 on Tuesday night.
Saltalamacchia hit solo shots in the third and fifth innings, the first multihomer game of the rookie’s young career. But the most encouraging swing for the Braves came later in the fifth.
Jones was mired in a 1-for-31 slump that had knocked his average below .200. In fact, he had gone 53 at-bats without managing even an extra-base hit since his last homer: June 9 off Jason Marquis of the Chicago Cubs.
With two outs and two runners aboard, Jones got hold of a 3-1 pitch from Mike Bacsik (1-5). The hitter’s back foot literally came off the ground as he ripped into the pitch, a reminder of the form that produced 92 homers over the last two seasons.
Jones leisurely tossed his bat aside as he watched the three-run shot sail into the left-field seats for his 12th homer this season.
After being booed regularly at Turner Field as his average sank lower and lower, he received a rousing ovation from the home crowd this time. Jones even remembered his familiar ritual, tugging at the bill of his helmet with his left hand as he touched home plate and celebrated with his waiting teammates.
Carlyle (2-2) was coming off a dismal outing against the Boston Red Sox, and this one didn’t start much better. The Nationals strung together three straight hits in the first, but the last of those got Atlanta out of the inning.
Felipe Lopez attempted to score on Dmitri Young’s sharp single to left, only to get thrown out at the home by Matt Diaz. After blocking the plate and tagging out Lopez, catcher Brian McCann spotted Ryan Zimmerman trying to sneak from second to third. He, too, was thrown out to end the inning with a most unusual double play.
Score it 7-2-6.
Carlyle settled down after that, giving up just two more hits in his seven-inning stint. The last of those came in the third, a run-scoring double by former Atlanta outfielder Ryan Langerhans.
It was quite a turnaround from Carlyle’s last outing, when he lasted just 3 2-3 innings against the power-hitting Red Sox, surrendering seven runs and nine hits in an 11-0 loss. Of course, he was facing a less intimidating offense this time — the Nationals are the NL’s lowest-scoring team.
Bob Wickman came on in the ninth to get the final two outs for his 14th save in 17 chances, closing out the Nationals after Peter Moylan gave up three hits.
The Braves have won two in a row since a five-game losing streak that included four shutouts.
Notes: Even with his homer, Jones is still hitting just .198. ... The Braves sent out a whole new right side of the infield, with Saltalamacchia at first and Yunel Escobar at second. Saltalamacchia, normally a catcher, looked out of place when he kicked a grounder and then tossed high to Carlyle covering the bag for an error. ... Diaz also had an embarrassing misplay, dropping a routine fly to left. ... Bacsik went six innings, giving up eight hits and five runs.
Braves angered by time change
The Braves were peeved to learn that another Sunday game had been switched to an evening start.
The July 22 game against the St. Louis Cardinals has been changed to 8:05 p.m. instead of the usual 1:05 start to accommodate an ESPN national telecast.
It will be Atlanta’s fourth appearance on the cable network in a seven-week period, but this is one time the Braves wound prefer to be the Not Ready For Prime Time Players. They will head out right after the game for a West Coast road trip, which starts the following night at San Francisco.
‘‘Somebody’s just not using their heads,’’ manager Bobby Cox said before Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Nationals. ‘‘Why don’t they just look at the schedule once in a while and say, 'You know, there’s just as good a game somewhere else?’’’
Jeff Francoeur, the Braves’ union representative, called the players’ association to lodge a complaint but there’s nothing it can do. While the labor agreement does require an off day when a team is traveling from the Pacific to Eastern time zones, there’s nothing that covers a trip in the opposite direction.
‘‘We’re not happy about this,’’ Francoeur said.
Cox said he has to take extra precautions after his team makes such a long trip.
‘‘You’re hands swell up because of the time and no sleep,’’ the manager said. ‘‘You think about your bullpen guys that go that night.’’
Davies update
Right-hander Kyle Davies, who left his last start with a strained left oblique, threw his regular side session before the game.
If he recovers from that with no lingering pain, Davies expects to make his next start Friday.
But manager Bobby Cox said he may play it safe, skip over Davies’ turn and give him a few extra days to recover since the Braves are off Thursday.
Fick returns
Washington first baseman and former Brave Robert Fick returned to the Nationals after the death of his mother.
Fick took batting practice but won’t be activated from his bereavement leave until Wednesday. He will have missed seven games.
The leadoff Langerhans
The Nationals have been using Ryan Langerhans in the leadoff role, even though the former Braves outfielder came into the game hitting just .176.
After flopping in Atlanta and Oakland, Langerhans had a .357 on-base percentage for the Nationals.
‘‘He’s done well for us since he’s been here,’’ manager Manny Acta said. ‘‘You can’t take away what he did for Atlanta and Oakland, but he’s been doing it for us.’’
Quotable
‘‘It’s a surprise. We didn’t anticipate that. We didn’t anticipate that at all.’’ — Braves general manager John Schuerholz, on CF Andruw Jones hitting below .200.
Saltalamacchia hit solo shots in the third and fifth innings, the first multihomer game of the rookie’s young career. But the most encouraging swing for the Braves came later in the fifth.
Jones was mired in a 1-for-31 slump that had knocked his average below .200. In fact, he had gone 53 at-bats without managing even an extra-base hit since his last homer: June 9 off Jason Marquis of the Chicago Cubs.
With two outs and two runners aboard, Jones got hold of a 3-1 pitch from Mike Bacsik (1-5). The hitter’s back foot literally came off the ground as he ripped into the pitch, a reminder of the form that produced 92 homers over the last two seasons.
Jones leisurely tossed his bat aside as he watched the three-run shot sail into the left-field seats for his 12th homer this season.
After being booed regularly at Turner Field as his average sank lower and lower, he received a rousing ovation from the home crowd this time. Jones even remembered his familiar ritual, tugging at the bill of his helmet with his left hand as he touched home plate and celebrated with his waiting teammates.
Carlyle (2-2) was coming off a dismal outing against the Boston Red Sox, and this one didn’t start much better. The Nationals strung together three straight hits in the first, but the last of those got Atlanta out of the inning.
Felipe Lopez attempted to score on Dmitri Young’s sharp single to left, only to get thrown out at the home by Matt Diaz. After blocking the plate and tagging out Lopez, catcher Brian McCann spotted Ryan Zimmerman trying to sneak from second to third. He, too, was thrown out to end the inning with a most unusual double play.
Score it 7-2-6.
Carlyle settled down after that, giving up just two more hits in his seven-inning stint. The last of those came in the third, a run-scoring double by former Atlanta outfielder Ryan Langerhans.
It was quite a turnaround from Carlyle’s last outing, when he lasted just 3 2-3 innings against the power-hitting Red Sox, surrendering seven runs and nine hits in an 11-0 loss. Of course, he was facing a less intimidating offense this time — the Nationals are the NL’s lowest-scoring team.
Bob Wickman came on in the ninth to get the final two outs for his 14th save in 17 chances, closing out the Nationals after Peter Moylan gave up three hits.
The Braves have won two in a row since a five-game losing streak that included four shutouts.
Notes: Even with his homer, Jones is still hitting just .198. ... The Braves sent out a whole new right side of the infield, with Saltalamacchia at first and Yunel Escobar at second. Saltalamacchia, normally a catcher, looked out of place when he kicked a grounder and then tossed high to Carlyle covering the bag for an error. ... Diaz also had an embarrassing misplay, dropping a routine fly to left. ... Bacsik went six innings, giving up eight hits and five runs.
Braves angered by time change
The Braves were peeved to learn that another Sunday game had been switched to an evening start.
The July 22 game against the St. Louis Cardinals has been changed to 8:05 p.m. instead of the usual 1:05 start to accommodate an ESPN national telecast.
It will be Atlanta’s fourth appearance on the cable network in a seven-week period, but this is one time the Braves wound prefer to be the Not Ready For Prime Time Players. They will head out right after the game for a West Coast road trip, which starts the following night at San Francisco.
‘‘Somebody’s just not using their heads,’’ manager Bobby Cox said before Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Nationals. ‘‘Why don’t they just look at the schedule once in a while and say, 'You know, there’s just as good a game somewhere else?’’’
Jeff Francoeur, the Braves’ union representative, called the players’ association to lodge a complaint but there’s nothing it can do. While the labor agreement does require an off day when a team is traveling from the Pacific to Eastern time zones, there’s nothing that covers a trip in the opposite direction.
‘‘We’re not happy about this,’’ Francoeur said.
Cox said he has to take extra precautions after his team makes such a long trip.
‘‘You’re hands swell up because of the time and no sleep,’’ the manager said. ‘‘You think about your bullpen guys that go that night.’’
Davies update
Right-hander Kyle Davies, who left his last start with a strained left oblique, threw his regular side session before the game.
If he recovers from that with no lingering pain, Davies expects to make his next start Friday.
But manager Bobby Cox said he may play it safe, skip over Davies’ turn and give him a few extra days to recover since the Braves are off Thursday.
Fick returns
Washington first baseman and former Brave Robert Fick returned to the Nationals after the death of his mother.
Fick took batting practice but won’t be activated from his bereavement leave until Wednesday. He will have missed seven games.
The leadoff Langerhans
The Nationals have been using Ryan Langerhans in the leadoff role, even though the former Braves outfielder came into the game hitting just .176.
After flopping in Atlanta and Oakland, Langerhans had a .357 on-base percentage for the Nationals.
‘‘He’s done well for us since he’s been here,’’ manager Manny Acta said. ‘‘You can’t take away what he did for Atlanta and Oakland, but he’s been doing it for us.’’
Quotable
‘‘It’s a surprise. We didn’t anticipate that. We didn’t anticipate that at all.’’ — Braves general manager John Schuerholz, on CF Andruw Jones hitting below .200.
