ATLANTA — DJ Herz struck out eight in five sparkling innings, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
CJ Abrams had two hits and two RBIs for Washington. Jacob Young also had two hits and scored two runs.
Herz allowed one hit — Orlando Arcia’s second-inning single — and walked three in his 14th major league start. Jacob Barnes (8-2) pitched an inning for the win, and Kyle Finnegan got four outs for his 32nd save.
Herz had a rocky 27-pitch first inning, when walked two and hit a batter, but he settled down from there.
Matt Olson hit his 22nd homer for Atlanta, which had won six of seven. The Braves finished with three hits.
Olson tied it at 1 when he connected against Barnes in the sixth. But Washington responded with three runs in the seventh.
Leading off, Keibert Ruiz reached on an error on second baseman Whit Merrifield. He advanced to third on Drew Millas’ single and scored on a wild pitch from Luke Jackson (4-3). Young doubled in Millas and scored on Abrams’ single against Aaron Bummer, lifting the Nationals to a 4-1 lead.
Abrams added another RBI single in the ninth.
The Braves wasted a sharp performance by Reynaldo López, who struck out seven while pitching six innings of three-hit ball. He lowered his ERA to 2.02.
UP NEXT
Nationals: LHP Mitchell Parker (7-7, 4.26 ERA) will face Yankees LHP Nestor Cortes (7-10, 4.00 ERA) in the opener of a three-game series at home on Monday. Outfielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 amateur draft, is expected to be called up and make his debut for the Nationals.
Braves: LHP Max Fried (7-7, 3.57 ERA) will open a three-game series at Minnesota against Twins RHP Bailey Ober (12-5, 3.54 ERA) on Monday.
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