The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Thursday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series in Washington DC, which allowed Atlanta to sweep Washington at Nationals Park for the first time since 2013. That was the Braves’ first sweep of the Nats at all since 2014.
Drew Smyly gave up just one run (unearned) and four hits, walked four, and struck out four over six innings en route to his first win for this season. Will Smith escaped a DC threat in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save.
All three of the Braves’ runs were scored in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI double from Marcell Ozuna and a two-run single by Ehire Adrianza. The Nats came within a run of the Braves on fielding error from Ronald Acuna Jr. that allowed Josh Bell to reach homeplate during the bottom of the fourth and an RBI single from Yan Gomes in the eighth. Jon Lester was tagged with the loss for Washington.
The Braves finished up their six game road trip with an even three wins and three losses. They will open up a six-game homestand tonight with the first outing of a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies. First pitch is set for 7:20 pm. That game will be broadcast on WLAQ 1410 AM/96.9 FM; air time is 6:05 pm.
And in a minor league update, the Rome Braves improved to 3-0 on their ’21 season with a 5-2 victory over the Winston-Salem Dash on Thursday evening in Winston-Salem, NC. Game four of the six-game series between those two teams is scheduled for tonight at 7 pm.