Teheran leads Braves to rare series win at Nationals (Jun 14, 2017)
WASHINGTON (AP) Kurt Suzuki homered, Julio Teheran earned his third consecutive victory and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Washington Nationals 13-2 on Wednesday to earn a rare series victory on the road against their NL East rival.
Brandon Phillips had four hits and three RBIs for the Braves, who had dropped seven consecutive road series against the Nationals and had lost 23 of their last 25 games in Washington before taking two of three this week.
Braves outfielder Matt Kemp left the game in the third inning after suffering an apparent leg injury while sliding into third base.
Atlanta was in control from the start against Washington starter Tanner Roark (6-4), who gave up two runs before he recorded an out and three total in the first inning.
The Braves would add three more in the third, with Nick Markakis scoring from third after Nationals catcher Jose Lobaton's pickoff attempt of Kemp caught first baseman Ryan Zimmerman off guard and sailed into right field. Kemp was thrown out and injured at third on the play.
After a walk to Matt Adams, Suzuki hit his fourth home run of the season to make it 6-2.
Teheran (6-4) yielded a two-run homer to Brian Goodwin in the second inning, but otherwise encountered little difficulty. He matched a season-high with seven innings, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out three against a lineup that did not include resting regulars Anthony Rendon and Matt Wieters. He did not allow a runner past second base after Goodwin's home run.
The Braves scored six runs in the seventh against Washington's struggling bullpen to seal it. It was Atlanta's first series victory at Washington since taking two during a three-game set April 4-6, 2014.
Roark absorbed his second consecutive loss, surrendering nine hits while matching a season-high with seven runs allowed over five innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Braves: The team announced INF Adonis Garcia underwent surgery Monday to repair ligament damage in his left ring finger. Garcia, who is hitting .247 with four homers and 16 RBIs, went on the DL June 7 and is expected to miss about two months.
Nationals: OF Chris Heisey, on the DL since May 24 with a ruptured right biceps, will not join the team on its trip to New York and Miami. ''He's not close, I don't think,'' manager Dusty Baker said. ''He's not as close as he thought he was a couple weeks ago. That injury is a lot more serious than he and we thought it was.''
UP NEXT
Braves: Rookie LHP Sean Newcomb (0-1, 0.00) makes his second start as Atlanta opens a weekend series with Miami at home Friday.
Nationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (5-1, 2.91) seeks his third win in his last four starts as Washington begins a four-game series against the Mets.
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