JR Ritchie dazzles in debut as Braves beat Nationals, win 5th straight series
Atlanta was in the money with Ritchie
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23: JR Ritchie #56 of the Atlanta Braves pitches to José Tena #8 (not pictured) of the Washington Nationals during the first inning of his major league debut at Nationals Park on April 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. Ritchie struck out Tena for his first career strike out. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images JR Ritchie’s major league debut couldn’t have started much worse.
He gave up a home run on very his first pitch. From there, though, he certainly looked like he belonged. The 2022 first-round pick, called up to close out the Braves’ road trip in Washington Thursday afternoon, didn’t just excel in his debut.
He set the tone in Atlanta’s 7-2 win over the Nationals, which clinched the team’s fifth straight series win and completed a 6-1 road trip. Atlanta’s No. 2 prospect bounced back from the challenging first pitch to get through an efficient seven innings on 89 pitches, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
His seven strikeouts are tied for the third-most by a starter in his debut in franchise history, behind only David Hale (2013), Bob Dresser (1902) and Kenshin Kawakami (2009). He’s the first pitcher in franchise history to throw seven-plus innings, allow no more than two runs and strike out seven batters in his major league debut. JR Ritchie today became the first pitcher in franchise history to complete at least 7.