WASHINGTON (AP) — Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia and Adam Duvall homered as the Atlanta Braves beat Washington 8-4 Friday night, sending the Nationals to their eighth straight loss.
Atlanta improved to 9-2 against the Nationals this season and extended its winning streak in Washington to a franchise-record 13 games. The Braves have won six of eight overall, while the Nationals lost for the 14th time in 15 games.
Left-hander Patrick Corbin (4-12) dropped his ninth consecutive start against Atlanta. Washington has the worst record in the majors at 30-62 and is 7-35 against NL East opponents this season.
Washington outfielder Juan Soto went 0 for 2 with three walks, ending his career-best 16-game hitting streak.
Ian Anderson (8-5) allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings and struck out five. He is 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in three starts this month.
“We’re playing really good right now, and for me personally to go into the break on this kind of note, I feel good,” Anderson said. “Body feels good, arm feels good. Hopefully I can keep it going once we get back.”
The Nationals scored three runs against Will Smith in the ninth, including one on a wild pitch by A.J. Minter. But after loading the bases again with a walk, Minter struck out Keibert Ruiz for his fifth save.
“He’d had five days off, so we need to get him out there and pitch,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said of Smith. “They miss-hit some balls that fell right in front of us. Minter came in and did a really good job and put it down.”
The Braves pounced on Corbin in the first. After Dansby Swanson reached on an error with one out and scored on Matt Olson’s single, Riley launched his 26th homer of the season over the visitor’s dugout to make it 3-0. He’s hitting .413 with six homers and 12 RBIs during his 11-game hitting streak…
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