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 The Braves slammed four home runs Friday night and hung on to
beat the Washington Nationals 7-6 and end their eight-game losing
streak.
"It was nice to shake hands after the game," Braves manager Fredi
Gonzalez said. "It seems like it's been an eternity."
The Braves had scored only 18 runs and gone 0-8 on their recently
completed West Coast road trip. But they came out swinging against
Washington ace Stephen Strasburg (8-10), who was tagged for four
home runs for the first time in his career.
Atlanta improved to 7-3 against the National League East leader and
cut the Nationals' lead to 3 1/2 games in the division.
Atlanta got home runs from left fielder Justin Upton, center fielder
B.J. Upton, first baseman Freddie Freeman and second baseman Tommy
La Stella. It marked the second time this season and a major-league
record fifth time in their careers that the Uptons have homered in
the same game.
"Justin hit that ball to straightaway center against Strasburg. ...
That's not an easy feat," Gonzalez said.
The Braves continued their dominance over Strasburg, who has allowed
22 earned runs in 28 1/3 innings in seven starts at Turner Field.
Strasburg struck out nine batters, giving him a league-leading 186,
but his career record against the Braves fell to 3-6.
"You can't put a finger on anything," Washington manager Matt
Williams said. "They put some good swings on it."
Atlanta starter Ervin Santana (11-6) retired the first nine
Washington batters and was in command until the sixth inning, when
the Nationals scored four times. Santana pitched six innings and
allowed four runs and four hits with four strikeouts. He did not
return after a rain delay of one hour and 11 minutes in the sixth
inning.
"Finally we get the win," Santana said. "It's tough, but you keep
concentrating and do your job."
Braves reliever Anthony Varvaro allowed two runs in the seventh and
was relieved by Jordan Walden with two outs and the tying runner at
second. Walden retired third baseman Anthony Rendon on a line drive
to center field to end the threat.
Walden retired all four batters he faced and turned it over to
closer Craig Kimbrel, who pitched a scoreless ninth and posted his
33rd save.
"Walden did a great job to retire those four hitters," Gonzalez
said. "The last seven batters were retired by Walden and Kimbrel and
that was good."
The Nationals closed the gap by scoring four times in the sixth
inning. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera knocked in a run with a single
and Rendon followed with a three-run homer, his 15th home run of the
season.
Washington added a run in the seventh inning on a solo homer by
catcher Wilson Ramos, his fifth. Cabrera cut the lead to 7-6 on a
sacrifice fly to left.
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"We got down early but fought back hard," Williams said. "It was
just not quite enough at the end. An ordinary team would fold down
that many runs that early in the game. Our guys fought." The
Braves jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning when Justin Upton
pounded a two-run homer to straightaway center field, his 20th home
run of the season.
Atlanta extended the lead to 6-0 with four runs in the second
inning. B.J. Upton hit a two-run homer, his eighth home run of the
season, and Freeman hit a two-run homer, his 16th home run this
year.
Washington right fielder Steven Souza Jr. was injured on Freeman's
homer. He tried to make a leaping grab and slammed his left shoulder
into the fence. Souza batted in the third inning but was replaced in
the bottom half of the inning by Kevin Frandsen. Souza will be
examined again on Saturday.
Atlanta added a solo home run from La Stella in the fifth inning,
the first homer of his career, to take a 7-0 lead.
NOTES: The Braves honored new Hall of Fame members Greg Maddux, Tom
Glavine and Bobby Cox with an on-field ceremony before the game.
Their plaques will be on display at the stadium through the weekend.
... Atlanta will wear a "PETE" patch on the left chest of their
jerseys for the remainder of the season in honor of announcer Pete
Van Wieren, who called games for the team for 33 years until his
retirement. Van Wieren died last Saturday after a long bout with
lung cancer. ... The second game of the three-game series on
Saturday features Washington RHP Tanner Roark (11-7) against
Atlanta's Aaron Harang (9-6). ... Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez
said SS Andrelton Simmons (ankle) isn't likely to play this weekend
but could return by early next week. ... Washington CF Denard Span
extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the fourth
inning Friday night. He has reached base in 34 straight games, the
second-longest streak in club history. ... Washington OF Jayson
Werth sat out the game with a sprained right ankle and sore right
shoulder. His status will be reassessed on Saturday.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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