By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Washington Nationals have been hotter than hell the past couple of weeks, scoring big win after big win; including a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley. For most ballclubs, a hot streak like the one the Nats are on right now would be a highlight of the season – a cause for joy; but for Washington, it must be very frustrating.

Since winning 13 their past 16 games, the Nationals have gained essentially no ground whatsoever in the National League East. That’s because the Atlanta Braves have matched their hot streak blow for blow.

Atlanta has been winning a lot lately, including huge series wins against the hard-hitting Minnesota Twins and a landmark statement series victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the best team in the National League and the squad that wholly outmatched them in the playoffs last October.

The fascinating thing about the Braves’ current run of wins is the players they’ve been winning with.

Atlanta has actually been bitten by the injury bug in a really big way of late. Lineup stalwarts Nick Markakis and Dansby Swanson went down in July, followed shortly by Ender Inciarte, Austin Riley (who had been Ender’s replacement the first time he hit the IL), and Brian McCann in the weeks following.

These successive injuries called into question the Braves’ depth.

General Manager Alex Anthopoulos also seemed to think that Atlanta had a depth problem. Since July 31^st is now the only trade deadline during the season (meaning no waiver wire acquisitions during August) he went to the scrapyard to look for spare parts. What he found there did more than plug holes in the lineup: they made it sing.

Adeiny Hechavarria was dropped by the New York Mets, so Anthopoulos picked him up to fill in for Dansby (since Johan Camargo was having a horrendous 2019 showing).

The Queens castoff hit nearly .400 in his first week and provided an incredible bat flip for Braves country after a 2-run bomb his first weekend with the team.

But it seemed like all of the Braves pickups provided game-influencing dramatics after joining the team. Outfielder Billy Hamilton provided huge hits after being plucked off the discard pile from Kansas City, and Rafael Ortega, who has bounced around from team to team and from minors to majors for the past decade, made an immediate impact as well.

Once McCann went down, the Braves acted quickly to pick up Francisco Cervelli, the longtime Pittsburgh Pirate, who was on the brink of retirement earlier in the season.

The veteran has been a Brave less than a few weeks and has already made a huge difference to the win/loss record.

Swanson has returned, relegating Hechavarria to the bench. Likely similar fates await the rest of the newest Braves but their impact when they were needed the most cannot be understated.

Most teams, when faced with both mass injuries and a second-place team that won’t lose, would crumble; the Braves have managed to thrive.

Best of all, many of these weapons have their use beyond filling in for injured players in the short-term. Think about Billy Hamilton pinch-running late in a tight playoff game; shades of David Roberts (whose Dodgers might be on the receiving end of some Hamilton fireworks)?

Regardless of what happens going forward, these “scrap heap” players have secured their legacy in the annals of Atlanta Braves lore.

When the Bravos finish the year on top of the NL East, a major part of their story will be the potential August slump that never happened thanks to these ballplayers.