ATLANTA (AP) — Travis d’Arnaud had a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning in his first game in a week, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Saturday night for their sixth win in seven games.
Orlando Arcia and Ramón Laureano hit solo home runs, and Whit Merrifield had two hits, two walks and scored a run for the Braves.
“Cautionsly optimistic, I guess,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said about things coming together for his team. “We just have to keep fighting. It is probably what I envisioned for the rest of the way — these close games.”
The Braves’ last five wins have come by two runs or fewer.
Four Atlanta relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings and Pierce Johnson pitched a perfect ninth for his second save. He was in for Rasiel Iglesias, who was unavailable after working three games in four days.
“Dylan (Lee) hadn’t pitched in a while, the one out by (Aaron) Bummer was huge against a really dangerous hitter,” Snitker said. “Grant (Holmes) pitched around some traffic and Pierce only threw four pitches. Those guys were really good again.”
Nationals rookie José Tena was 3 for 4 with a two-run homer, the first of his career. CJ Abrams and Andrés Chaparro added two hits each for Washington, which stranded eight base runners one night after producing just two runs on 10 hits.
“We have to start driving in some runs,” said Nationals manager Dave Martinez, who managed the 1,000th game of his career. “We’re scoring two runs a game. We have to do a better job hitting the ball hard in the middle of the field.”
Braves starter Charlie Morton went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and eight hits with two walks. He struck out six.
He was pitching in front of several former teammates as the Braves celebrated Alumni weekend.
“You only have so many moments with guys that mean something to you,” Morton said. “I looked up to (John) Smoltz, (Tom) Glavine. I was a fan as a kid of some of those guys. So yeah, it’s meaningful to me. 100 percent. I know that there is a part of me that they can see through their own eyes, because there is a connection, a generational connection.”
Bummer (4-2) finished the sixth inning, striking out Joey Gallo with a runner on to get the win.
Tena opened the scoring in the second inning by lifting a shot in front of the Chop House restaurant in right field that gave the Nationals a 2-0 lead.
Arcia homered in the fifth to get the Braves on the scoreboard.
Nationals starter Jake Irvin gave up two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. Robert Garcia (2-5) replaced him and failed to retire any of the three batters he faced, giving up an RBI double to Matt Olson and a run-scoring single to d’Arnaud — playing for the firs time since getting hit by a pitch last Saturday — as the Braves took a 3-2 lead.
Laureano added hit his eighth homer in the ninth inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Nationals: RF Alex Call was placed on the 10-day IL after suffering a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot Saturday. C Drew Millas was recalled from Triple-A Rochester.
UP NEXT
Braves RHP Reynaldo López (7-4, 2.05) goes against Nationals LHP DJ Herz (2-6, 4.15) in the series finale.
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