BRAVES TOP NATS

Atlanta builds big lead, holds on 11-8

WASHINGTON — Adam Duvall had two home runs and four hits, Josh Donaldson added a three-run homer and the Atlanta Braves beat Washington 11-8 on Tuesday night to reopen a 5 1/2-game lead over the second-place Nationals in the NL East.

Julio Teheran (6-7) allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings for Atlanta, which burst to an 11-1 lead and held on to split the first two games of the three-game series. Teheran had a 1.48 ERA in July as the Braves won four of his five starts but was just 1-1 those games.

Duvall was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett on July 27 after Nick Markakis broke his left wrist. He is hitting .529 with three homers in four games.

With three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer back on the injured list with a rhomboid strain, the Nationals brought up Erick Fedde from Double-A Harrisburg to take his turn in the rotation. Fedde (1-2) allowed nine runs, nine hits and four walks

in 3 2/3 innings.

Ozzie Albies and Ender Inciarte each had three hits for Atlanta.

Yan Gomes, Trea Turner and Juan Soto homered for the Nationals, who rallied late.

Fedde threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the second; then the Braves scored four runs each in the third and fourth to take an 8-0 lead.

Freddie Freeman and Brian McCann hit RBI singles in the third, and Inciarte followed with a two-run double. One batter later, Duvall homered and chased Fedde.

Brian Dozier hit an RBI single in the sixth.

Duvall hit his second homer in the seventh off Javy Guerra.

Trade: The Braves acquired reliever Chris Martin from the Texas Rangers for minor league pitcher Kolby Allard.

Texas announced the deal during its game Tuesday night, just moments after Martin was seen high-fiving teammates in the bullpen before leaving down the tunnel.

Martin was 0-2 with four saves and a 3.08 ERA in 38 appearances. The 33-year-old right-hander has allowed only three earned runs over his last 19 games since May 24. The 6-foot-8 Martin has 24 strikeouts and only one walk in 18 2/3 innings over that span for his hometown Rangers.

Atlanta assumes the remaining $737,903 of Martin’s $2.25 million salary.

AP PHOTOS/PATRICK SEMANSKY The Atlanta Braves’ Ender Inciarte, left, slides safely past Washington Nationals pitcher Erick Fedde to score a run on a wild pitch during the second inning Tuesday in Washington.

The Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman rounds third base to score on Brian McCann’s single during the third inning on Tuesday.