Hernandez pitches, hits Nats to win over Braves

[September 15, 2010]  ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) -- Livan Hernandez homered and limited Atlanta to five hits in eight innings Tuesday night to help the Washington Nationals to a 6-0 win over the Braves, ending a six-game losing streak.

The Braves were one game behind first-place Philadelphia in the NL East entering the game and 1 1-2 games ahead of San Francisco in the wild card race.

Hernandez (10-11) walked two, struck out six and hit a batter. Only one runner reached second.

The 35-year-old right-hander varied his pitches from a 61 mph curve in the second inning to Derrek Lee to nothing faster than an 85 mph fastball. He threw 118 pitches, 75 strikes.

Sean Burnett pitched a hitless ninth for the Nationals.

Adam Dunn hit his 35th home run, a mammoth 455-foot shot over the center field fence after Ryan Zimmerman singled in the second and Hernandez added a run-scoring double in the inning off Jair Jurrjens (7-6).

Hernandez, hitting .115 entering the game, hit his solo home run in the fourth off Jurrjens. It was the 10th homer of his career.

Jurrgens allowed nine hits, four runs, walked one and struck out three in five innings.

The Nationals added a run in the seventh when right fielder Jason Heyward dropped a fly by Dunn for a two-base error. Roger Bernadina drove in the run with a sacrifice fly.

Washington got its final run on a solo home run by Ian Desmond, his 10th, in the ninth off Scott Proctor.

Heyward reached base four straight times against Hernandez, drawing a pair of walks, a hit by pitch and a single.

NOTES:Dunn's blast was the sixth longest in Turner Field history. The longest -- 471 feet -- was by Sammy Sosa on Sept. 1, 2001. ... Jurrjens was 6-1 at Turner Field this season in nine starts prior to Tuesday night. ... Hernandez had lost two in a row and four of his last five decisions.

[Associated Press]

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