SPLIT IN D.C.
Braves top Scherzer, Nationals in nightcap
WASHINGTON — Ender Inciarte snapped a ninth-inning tie with a tworun triple, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 Tuesday night to earn a doubleheader split.
In the opener, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman hit consecutive homers to spark a four-run fourth inning that carried Washington to an 8-3 victory.
Seeking to blunt the momentum of the surging Nationals, Atlanta shook off a strong pitching performance by Max Scherzer before striking against the Washington bullpen in the second game of the day-night doubleheader.
Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis singled off Kelvin Herrera (1-2) before Inciarte hit a liner down the first-base line. The ball bounced off a low barrier in foul ground and momentarily eluded Harper, who had no options by the time he picked it up in right field.
That was the final pitch thrown by Herrera, who left after a visit from Washington’s trainer.
Jesse Biddle (3-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings and A.J. Minter got three outs for his ninth save.
Washington has nine wins in 12 games and is chasing first-place Philadelphia and Atlanta in the NL East. Atlanta has won seven of nine. The second game developed into a pitchers’ duel between Scherzer, seeking to win his sixth straight start, and Sean Newcomb, who allowed one run and five hits over six sharp innings.
Scherzer gave up one run and four hits in seven innings with six strikeouts. He remains unbeaten since July 2.
The Nationals went up 1-0 in the first inning when 19-year-old Juan Soto homered on an opposite-field drive to left.
Atlanta put runners on the corners with no outs in the fourth before Scherzer deftly worked out of the jam.
Calhoun, Georgia’s Charlie Culberson tied it for the Braves in the sixth with his second homer of the day. Four of his seven home runs this season have come against Washington.
In the first game, Zimmerman and Trea Turner had three hits apiece and Harper added two hits and two RBIs.
Jefry Rodriguez (1-1) allowed one run and three hits in five innings in his first major league victory. He also got his first bigleague hit and scored a run.
Greg Holland, who went 0-2 with a 7.29 ERA with St. Louis, struck out the side during a scoreless seventh inning in his Nationals debut.
Holland, who pitched for Kansas City in the 2014 World Series, was signed Tuesday as a free agent.
Harper led off the fourth with his 27th home run, and Zimmerman followed with a drive far over the center-field wall for a 2-1 lead. After Rodriguez doubled with two outs, Turner and Soto hit RBI singles.
All the damage came against 20-year-old Kolby Allard (1-1), recalled from the minors to be the 26th man in the doubleheader. Starter Max Fried was struck in the lower back by a line drive in the second inning and was removed with a left groin strain.
Washington pulled away with a four-run sixth. After Anthony Rendon delivered a sacrifice fly, Harper singled in a run and Zimmerman hit a tworun double.
The game was the makeup of a rainout on July 21.
Trapped
The weirdest play of Game 1 came in the third inning, when Soto hit a liner to center with Turner on first base. Inciarte leaped at the wall, and the ball appeared to bounce from his glove into the mitt of left fielder Adam Duvall. Turner scampered back to first. After a replay, it was determined that Inciarte trapped the ball against the wall and Soto was called out for passing Turner on the basepath.