Irvin completes season-long domination of Braves with latest gem

WASHINGTON -- Jake Irvin faced the playoff-contending Braves four times in his first full Major League season. The result? A 2-0 record and a 1.16 ERA, punctuated by holding Atlanta hitless for 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday at Nationals Park.

Irvin’s 1.16 ERA against Atlanta is the lowest mark by a pitcher in Nationals history (2005-present) with at least three starts vs. the Braves in a single season.

“I think we game planned really well for them,” Irvin said following the 5-1 victory. “... Those guys get to see me a lot, but [the] roles [are] reversed as well. Understanding what those guys do and how we can best pitch around them and pitch to them, I think helped out a lot.”

Irvin went six innings, allowing two hits, one run and one walk while striking out five on 84 pitches. He did not give up a hit until Michael Harris II doubled with two outs in the sixth.

“He goes out there every five days and he gives us a chance to win games,” said manager Dave Martinez, after the Nats went 8-5 on the season against the Braves. “He’s been good, especially against the Braves. Today, he really just attacked the strike zone, had a really good fastball, a good two-seamer. … When he attacks the strike zone, he gets quick outs and they don’t see it very well.”

In tandem with catcher Keibert Ruiz, Irvin delivered a pitch mix of 48 four-seam fastballs, 25 sinkers, 10 curveballs and one cutter. His fastball reached 96.6 mph and averaged 94.

The game plan worked smoothly to overcome his previous outing, when Irvin allowed six runs over five innings against the Pirates.

“The fastball was working really [well] tonight for him,” said Ruiz. “We recognized that, and we just kept going. We didn’t change the plan, we saw they weren’t hitting the fastball really good -- especially the sinker -- and we just attacked with those two pitches.”

Irvin established his dominance from the leadoff at-bat by striking out Harris; he then kept the Braves off the bases until he issued a walk to Jorge Soler in the fourth. Still, he faced the minimum by getting Marcell Ozuna to ground into an inning-ending double play.

“Irvin was throwing a really good game,” said Braves starter Max Fried. “He had a really good pace, really quick innings in and out, didn't allow things to snowball and kept it close enough for his guys to scratch together some runs and come out on top.”

Irvin stayed locked in as he faced the Braves’ order a second time. Ramón Laureano reached first base on a two-out throwing error by CJ Abrams, but Irvin got Sean Murphy to line out to left field to avoid any damage.

“You try to block it out,” Irvin said of the no-hit bid. “I knew it, unfortunately.”

Irvin had recorded two quick outs in the sixth when Harris came to the plate for the third time. In a 1-1 count, Irvin delivered a 94 mph fastball in the zone. Harris lined a 109.9 mph double into center field for the Braves’ first hit of the night.

In the next at-bat, Irvin gave up another 1-1 double to center field, this time to Soler, on a 93.9 mph fastball. Harris scored Atlanta’s only run of the game on the 108.6 mph line drive. With Soler on second base, Irvin bested Ozuna in a seven-pitch at-bat with a strikeout on a 92 mph fastball.

“I think the biggest thing was to not try to feel any emotions, if that makes sense,” Irvin said. “It was all about attacking and staying in the zone for the focus of the week and the focus of the start, and that shouldn’t change just because they got a couple of hits and that was the first time we had guys in scoring position all night.”

Irvin pumped his fist when Ozuna swung and missed -- he recognized he was done for the night and his 30th start of the season had concluded with a memorable performance.

“We had a hard time with him all year, actually,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “We couldn't solve him all year pretty much.”