Spencer Schwellenbach pitched seven strong innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the visiting Washington Nationals 5-2 on Tuesday to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season.
The Braves lost their first seven games of the season and had failed on four previous attempts to reach the break-even point. With the Tuesday victory, they have won the first two games of the four-game series while sending Washington to a seventh straight loss.
Schwellenbach (2-3) allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the first time since beating Miami on April 4.
Pierce Johnson worked the ninth inning to record his first save.
Atlanta rookie catcher Drake Baldwin went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, three runs and two RBIs. Ozzie Albies ended an 0-for-28 skid while going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Washington’s Michael Soroka, making his first start against his former club, was lifted after four innings. He allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts, exiting after throwing 81 pitches.
Washington’s C.J. Abrams hit the first pitch of the game into the right field seats for his fifth home run, his first since April 9. It was the 10th leadoff homer in Abrams’ career.
The Nationals added a run in the fourth inning. James Wood worked a leadoff walk and scored on Amed Rosario’s two-out single.
Atlanta evened the score at 2 in the bottom of the fourth when Baldwin delivered a two-run homer, his fourth, into the right field seats.
Atlanta took the lead in the fifth on Austin Riley’s RBI single vs. reliever Brad Lord (1-5), but the threat ended when Matt Olson struck out and Riley was thrown out trying to steal second.
The Braves scored again in the sixth inning on Eli White’s RBI single up the middle with two outs, and they added an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single from Albies.
The Nationals placed Luis Garcia Jr. on the paternity list and recalled Trey Lipscomb from Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday. Garcia is expected to rejoin the team Friday in Baltimore.
–Field Level Media
