Jason Heyward struggled in the early going of Spring Training, but it appears the young outfielder is finally finding his swing at the right time. After hitting a game-tying opposite field shot on Wednesday, Heyward, who made the start in center field, hit a bomb over the batter's eye in center field against the Nationals. Those in attendance said the shot went approximately 450 feet, which would rank among his deepest home runs of his career thus far.
Despite Heyward's strong performance, the Braves fell to the Nationals by a score of 6-3.
Mike Minor worked five scoreless innings, but poor defense and a few walks got him into trouble in the sixth. The lefty exited the game in favor of Cory Gearrin with two on and no out, and a walk and bases-clearing triple left Minor on the hook for two more runs, leaving him with four for the afternoon. Despite the rough start, his ERA for Spring Training is still just 2.25.
In a bit of good news, Jonny Venters made his first in-game appearance since a sore elbow had bothered him earlier in the month. He worked a perfect inning and needed just 10 pitches to do so.
Martin Prado drove in a late run with an RBI-single, and Dan Uggla continued to mash by hitting a double. His average for the spring is now .306.
The loss drops Atlanta to 9-15 in Spring Training. They will next face the Houston Astros on Friday evening at 6:05 p.m. EDT.