Nationals 3 - 6 Braves
Final
  for this game

Uptons lead Braves past Nationals

Apr 13, 2014 - 5:25 AM Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Justin Upton had three hits for the second straight night and B.J. Upton went deep for the first time this season as the Atlanta Braves downed the Washington Nationals, 6-3, to take the first two games of a three-game set from Turner Field.

The Upton brothers went a combined 5-for-9 with three runs scored behind Alex Wood (2-1), who struck out eight and allowed just one run in five innings of work. Evan Gattis and Freddie Freeman had three hits apiece, with Freeman also going deep for Atlanta.

"It was definitely a pretty weird game from a lot of aspects, but somehow I managed to get through five," said Wood. "Don't ask me how and if I could do it that way again, but we made it through and came out with the victory tonight."

Anthony Rendon led off the game with a home run for Washington, which hit just 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Starter Taylor Jordan (0-1) scattered five runs on 10 hits over five frames.

"We're two really good teams, but at the same time they've been coming out on top," said Nationals utility man Kevin Frandsen. "We need to change that."

Trailing 1-0, Atlanta batted around in the home half of the first, getting three RBI hits with two outs. B.J. Upton knotted the score at 1-1 with his blast to center.

Freeman then singled and scored on Justin Upton's double to left. Upton came around on Dan Uggla's single, and Gattis found the gap in left-center for an RBI double. Andrelton Simmons walked to put two on for Wood, who grounded back to Jordan to finally end the frame.

Uggla plated Justin Upton with a single to left in the fifth, and Atlanta loaded the bases when Gattis followed with a single and Simmons reached on Nate McLouth's dropped a fly ball in right. Jordan avoided further damage, however, striking out pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit and Jason Heyward.

Anthony Varvaro took over for Wood in the sixth inning and allowed Ian Desmond to score on a wild pitch for a 5-2 score, and Sandy Leon singled home Desmond in the eighth. Freeman's solo shot in the bottom of the stanza resulted in the final margin, as Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save of the season.

Game Notes

Uggla had two hits and two RBI ... Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman hurt his thumb sliding into second base in the fifth inning and left the game. He is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks ... Desmond had two of Washington's three errors at shortstop ... Washington has lost two in a row on the heels of four straight wins.






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