In the third inning of his major league debut, Jackson Tetreault was laboring, but the end was nowhere in sight.
Surging Braves rudely welcome Nationals rookie Jackson Tetreault to the show
Life came at Tetreault fast after he was called up Tuesday afternoon. When he walked into the clubhouse at Nationals Park, he took a picture of his locker before sitting down. After the game, he said he wanted to take it all in.
Manager Dave Martinez walked by and shook his hand. Then Mike DeBartolo, an assistant general manager overseeing baseball operations, gave him paperwork to sign. Hickey sat at catcher Keibert Ruiz’s locker a few moments later and spoke with him before exiting to prepare for his start.
“Obviously not the result I was looking for,” he said. “But still, I’m not going to shy away. I’m eager to get back out there and throw again. Just happy to get the first one under my belt.”
Tetreault, 26, was the latest prospect to be presented an opportunity to start in the major leagues, following Joan Adon and Evan Lee, for a pitching staff that has struggled mightily. Stephen Strasburg’s latest stint on the injured list — this time with a stress reaction in his ribs, a roster move that led to Tetreault’s opportunity via a call-up from Class AAA Rochester — only complicated matters.
Adon was demoted to Rochester last week after posting a 6.95 ERA in 12 starts. Lee has made just one start but will get another Friday during a doubleheader against Philadelphia and could keep himself in the mix.
Tetreault, a seventh-round draft pick in 2017, quickly moved through the farm system in 2021, jumping from high Class A Wilmington to Rochester. He was recalled Tuesday after 12 starts at Class AAA this year; Francisco Perez and Reed Garrett, both of whom pitched in relief Tuesday, got the call, too. (To make room for them on the roster, the Nationals designated infielder Dee Strange-Gordon for assignment and sent right-handed reliever Jordan Weems to Rochester.)
If Tetreault was nervous, he didn’t show it while walking out for warmups, breaking from his routine to sign a ball for a fan before he started stretching. He threw another into the crowd gathered along the right field line before heading to the bullpen.
To open the game, he struck out Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. with a 97-mph fastball. But Dansby Swanson’s solo home run the next at-bat officially welcomed Tetreault to the majors.
“I think he was a little bit amped up,” Martinez said. “He came out throwing really hard, but he was a little bit erratic, and [the Braves] put together some pretty good at-bats.”
He gave up three hits to open the second inning, which led to Hickey’s first visit. He limited the damage by allowing one run, on Orlando Arcia’s sacrifice fly.
Following the back-to-back home runs in the third — d’Arnaud’s was a three-run shot — the Braves (36-27) scored another run via a Michael Harris II double that scored Arcia. Tetreault had thrown 76 pitches by the time he escaped the inning, and Atlanta led 7-0.
The Nationals (23-41) — without Juan Soto in the lineup — scored three runs in the bottom half to trim their deficit. Tetreault’s silver lining: He retired the side in order in the fourth to end his night. He allowed nine hits, walked one and struck out two.
“You want to face the best when you’re here, and that comes with the territory when you can face a lineup like that,” Tetreault said. “You want to face those guys and learn and get better, and I think that’s what happened tonight.”
The Braves scored two runs in the sixth off Andres Machado the same way they did against Tetreault in the third — with back-to-back home runs, this time by Arcia and Harris. The defending World Series champions have slugged 10 in the first two games of this series.
How long is Soto expected to be out? Not long. He missed a game for the first time this year after he banged his knee on a dugout bench Monday night. Soto got an X-ray after the game; it came back clean, Martinez said. Martinez said Soto was tight before Tuesday’s game but felt better as the night went along, so he’ll see how Soto feels Wednesday before deciding whether he’ll play.
How did the Nationals fare against Max Fried? In 5⅔ innings, Fried gave up four runs, the most he has allowed in a month. The Nationals’ first three batters in the third — Riley Adams, Ehire Adrianza and Victor Robles — reached base and eventually scored. Luis García singled in the sixth to drive in César Hernández, ending Fried’s night.
When will Josiah Gray make his next start? Friday at the earliest. He didn’t make his scheduled start Monday, when a 93-minute rain delay pushed back first pitch. Erick Fedde and Patrick Corbin are set to make their starts on normal rest Wednesday against the Braves and Thursday against the Phillies. Lee will start one of Washington’s games Friday, but Martinez hadn’t decided whether Gray would pitch the other or rest for longer before appearing again.
Source: WP
