NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">WASHINGTON (2) VS ATLANTA (9) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg N Logan cf 4 0 2 0 0 2 2 .271 F Lopez ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .244 R Zimmerman 3b 2 0 0 0 2 1 2 .267 D Young 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .325 A Kearns rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .267 W Pena lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .238 R Belliard 2b 3 1 1 2 0 0 1 .279 J Flores c 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .257 M Chico p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150 a-J Maxwell ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 J Albaladejo p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-T Batista ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .278 S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 A Munoz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 W Abreu p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 31 2 8 2 2 6 16 a-struck out swinging for M Chico in the 6th; b-singled to left for J Albaladejo in the 7th. BATTING: 2B - J Flores (8, C James). HR - R Belliard (9, 7th inning off C James 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - R Belliard 2 (44). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - F Lopez 1, D Young 1, J Flores 1. GIDP - F Lopez. Team LOB - 7. FIELDING: E - F Lopez (18, ground ball); N Logan (2, fly ball); R Zimmerman (23, throw). ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg Y Escobar 2b 4 3 2 1 1 1 0 .325 E Renteria ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .337 a-K Johnson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .287 C Jones 3b 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 .330 M Teixeira 1b 4 2 2 2 0 0 1 .309 J Francoeur rf 2 1 1 4 2 1 0 .295 A Jones cf 3 0 0 1 0 1 2 .223 B McCann c 3 0 1 1 1 0 2 .275 M Diaz lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .344 C James p 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .128 P Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 M Acosta p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-S Thorman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .220 Totals 33 9 8 9 5 5 10 a-flied out to left for E Renteria in the 8th; b-grounded to second for M Acosta in the 8th. BATTING: HR - J Francoeur (17, 5th inning off M Chico 2 on, 2 Out), Y Escobar (4, 8th inning off W Abreu 0 on, 1 Out). SF - A Jones. RBI - J Francoeur 4 (91), A Jones (85), M Teixeira 2 (34), B McCann (86), Y Escobar (25). 2-out RBI - J Francoeur 3, B McCann. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Diaz 2, B McCann 1. Team LOB - 6. FIELDING: DP: 1 (E Renteria-Y Escobar-M Teixeira). ---------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON - 000 000 20 -- 2 ATLANTA - 200 040 21 -- 9 ---------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era M Chico 5 6 6 0 1 5 1 4.61 J Albaladejo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 S Rivera 2/3 1 2 2 3 0 0 3.84 A Munoz 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 W Abreu 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 6.15 ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr era C James 6 1/3 8 2 2 1 4 1 4.21 P Moylan 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.83 M Acosta 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.32 BALK - C James. Pitches-strikes: M Chico 79-54; J Albaladejo 4-4; S Rivera 20-8; A Munoz 12-6; W Abreu 17-8; C James 100-72; P Moylan 8-5; M Acosta 17-9. Ground balls-fly balls: M Chico 5-6; J Albaladejo 2-1; S Rivera 1-1; A Munoz 0-1; W Abreu 1-2; C James 9-6; P Moylan 1-0; M Acosta 0-2. Batters faced: M Chico 24; J Albaladejo 3; S Rivera 6; A Munoz 2; W Abreu 4; C James 27; P Moylan 2; M Acosta 4. UMPIRES: HP--Tim Welke. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance Barksdale. EJECTIONS: WASHINGTON's Corrales by Reynolds (5th). Weather: 86 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 0 mph, in from left.</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 8 3 ATLANTA 2 0 0 0 4 0 2 1 9 8 0 (TOP 9) CURRENT PITCHERS: WAS - WINSTON ABREU ATL - MANNY ACOSTA (OUT) DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R BELLIARD (.279, 1-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI) J FLORES (.257, 1-FOR-3) W ABREU (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: C Woodward at third base. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2 ATLANTA 9 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R Belliard (.279, 1-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI)</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - PITCHING CHANGE ATL: TYLER YATES (2-3, 4.77) STARTING THE 9TH CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 9 DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R BELLIARD (.279, 1-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI)</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: T Yates relieved M Acosta. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2 ATLANTA 9 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R Belliard (.279, 1-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI)</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: K Johnson at second base. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2 ATLANTA 9 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R Belliard (.279, 1-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI)</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: Y Escobar at shortstop. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2 ATLANTA 9 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R Belliard (.279, 1-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI)</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL AT ATLANTA - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: R Langerhans hit for W Abreu. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2 ATLANTA 9 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R Langerhans (.156, 5 HR, 20 RBI)</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 9 3 ATLANTA 2 0 0 0 4 0 2 1 x 9 8 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: WAS - MATT CHICO, JONATHAN ALBALADEJO (6TH), SAUL RIVERA (7TH), ARNIE MUNOZ (7TH), WINSTON ABREU (8TH) AND JESUS FLORES ATL - CHUCK JAMES, PETER MOYLAN (7TH), MANNY ACOSTA (8TH), TYLER YATES (9TH) AND BRIAN MCCANN HOME RUNS: WAS - RONNIE BELLIARD (9) OFF CHUCK JAMES IN THE 7TH, 1 ON ATL - JEFF FRANCOEUR (17) OFF MATT CHICO IN THE 5TH, 2 ON YUNEL ESCOBAR (4) OFF WINSTON ABREU IN THE 8TH, 0 ON</div>
Francoeur's blast buoys Braves past Nationals <h3>ATLANTA 9, WASHINGTON 2</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Jeff Francoeur's three-run home runhighlighted a four-run fifth inning as the Atlanta Bravesdefeated the Washington Nationals, 9-2, on Saturday. The blast was Francoeur's 17th of the season and helped theBraves defeat the Nationals for the eighth time in nine tries inAtlanta this season. Francoeur also had a bases-loaded walk in the first inning whileAndruw Jones' sacrifice fly to center plated Chipper Jones togive the Braves a 2-0 lead. Chuck James (10-10) allowed two runs on eight hits in 6 1/3innings in his third start since returning from a shoulderinjury. The victory also broke a five-game winless streak forthe 25-year-old lefthander. He had not won since July 31. Ronnie Belliard deposited James' lone mistake for a two-runhomer in the seventh inning. James departed two batters later. The Braves (73-69) trail the New York Mets (80-61) by 7 1/2games in the National League East, and are four games back ofthe wild card-leading San Diego Padres (76-64). Yunel Escobar belted a solo homer, his fourth of the season, tocap the scoring in the eighth inning. Washington didn't help itself in the field for the secondstraight night. The Nationals, who committed five errors onFriday, had three on Saturday. Atlanta's first six runs were all unearned, and third basemanRyan Zimmerman has four errors in his last two games. Rookie Matt Chico (5-8) allowed six runs on six hits on fiveinnings and is now 0-6 on the road.
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">WASHINGTON (2) VS ATLANTA (9) - FINAL WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg N Logan cf 5 0 2 0 0 3 3 .270 F Lopez ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .244 R Zimmerman 3b 2 0 0 0 2 1 2 .267 D Young 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .325 A Kearns rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .267 W Pena lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .238 R Belliard 2b 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 .278 J Flores c 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .255 M Chico p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150 a-J Maxwell ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 J Albaladejo p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-T Batista ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .278 S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 A Munoz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 W Abreu p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-R Langerhans ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .161 Totals 35 2 9 2 2 8 17 a-struck out swinging for M Chico in the 6th; b-singled to left for J Albaladejo in the 7th; c-tripled to deep center for W Abreu in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - J Flores (8, C James). 3B - R Langerhans (2, T Yates). HR - R Belliard (9, 7th inning off C James 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - R Belliard 2 (44). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - F Lopez 1, N Logan 1, D Young 1, J Flores 1. GIDP - F Lopez. Team LOB - 8. FIELDING: E - F Lopez (18, ground ball); N Logan (2, fly ball); R Zimmerman (23, throw). ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg Y Escobar 2b-ss 4 3 2 1 1 1 0 .325 E Renteria ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .337 a-K Johnson ph-2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .287 C Jones 3b 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 .330 C Woodward 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .192 M Teixeira 1b 4 2 2 2 0 0 1 .309 J Francoeur rf 2 1 1 4 2 1 0 .295 A Jones cf 3 0 0 1 0 1 2 .223 B McCann c 3 0 1 1 1 0 2 .275 M Diaz lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .344 C James p 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .128 P Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 M Acosta p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-S Thorman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .220 T Yates p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 33 9 8 9 5 5 10 a-flied out to left for E Renteria in the 8th; b-grounded to second for M Acosta in the 8th. BATTING: HR - J Francoeur (17, 5th inning off M Chico 2 on, 2 Out), Y Escobar (4, 8th inning off W Abreu 0 on, 1 Out). SF - A Jones. RBI - J Francoeur 4 (91), A Jones (85), M Teixeira 2 (34), B McCann (86), Y Escobar (25). 2-out RBI - J Francoeur 3, B McCann. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Diaz 2, B McCann 1. Team LOB - 6. FIELDING: DP: 1 (E Renteria-Y Escobar-M Teixeira). ---------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON - 000 000 200 -- 2 ATLANTA - 200 040 21x -- 9 ---------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era M Chico (L, 5-8) 5 6 6 0 1 5 1 4.61 J Albaladejo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 S Rivera 2/3 1 2 2 3 0 0 3.84 A Munoz 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 W Abreu 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 6.15 ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr era C James (W, 10-10) 6 1/3 8 2 2 1 4 1 4.21 P Moylan (H, 6) 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.83 M Acosta 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.32 T Yates 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.70 BALK - C James. Pitches-strikes: M Chico 79-54; J Albaladejo 4-4; S Rivera 20-8; A Munoz 12-6; W Abreu 17-8; C James 100-72; P Moylan 8-5; M Acosta 17-9; T Yates 20-15. Ground balls-fly balls: M Chico 5-6; J Albaladejo 2-1; S Rivera 1-1; A Munoz 0-1; W Abreu 1-2; C James 9-6; P Moylan 1-0; M Acosta 0-2; T Yates 1-0. Batters faced: M Chico 24; J Albaladejo 3; S Rivera 6; A Munoz 2; W Abreu 4; C James 27; P Moylan 2; M Acosta 4; T Yates 4. UMPIRES: HP--Tim Welke. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance Barksdale. EJECTIONS: WASHINGTON's Corrales by Reynolds (5th). T--2:45. Att--36,940. Weather: 86 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 0 mph, n/a.</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 9 3 ATLANTA 2 0 0 0 4 0 2 1 x 9 8 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: WAS - MATT CHICO, JONATHAN ALBALADEJO (6TH), SAUL RIVERA (7TH), ARNIE MUNOZ (7TH), WINSTON ABREU (8TH) AND JESUS FLORES ATL - CHUCK JAMES, PETER MOYLAN (7TH), MANNY ACOSTA (8TH), TYLER YATES (9TH) AND BRIAN MCCANN WP - CHUCK JAMES (10-10) LP - MATT CHICO (5-8) SAVE - NONE HOME RUNS: WAS - RONNIE BELLIARD (9) OFF CHUCK JAMES IN THE 7TH, 1 ON ATL - JEFF FRANCOEUR (17) OFF MATT CHICO IN THE 5TH, 2 ON YUNEL ESCOBAR (4) OFF WINSTON ABREU IN THE 8TH, 0 ON TIME: 2:45 ATT: 36,940 PROBABLES: WAS - JASON BERGMANN (3-5, 4.30) ATL - LANCE CORMIER (2-4, 6.69)</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WASHINGTON (2) AT ATLANTA (9) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ATLANTA 1ST: Y Escobar flied out to center. E Renteria singled to deep right. C Jones safe at first on error by shortstop F Lopez, E Renteria to second. M Teixeira singled to left, E Renteria to third, C Jones to second. J Francoeur walked, E Renteria scored, C Jones to third, M Teixeira to second. A Jones hit sacrifice fly to center, C Jones scored, M Teixeira to third. B McCann flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. ATLANTA 5TH: C James grounded out to first. Y Escobar reached on infield single to shortstop. E Renteria singled to left, Y Escobar to second. C Jones safe at first on error by center fielder N Logan, Y Escobar to third, E Renteria to second. Washington's Coach P Corrales ejected by J Reynolds in the 5th. M Teixeira grounded into fielder's choice to third, Y Escobar scored, E Renteria out at third, C Jones to second, C Jones to third, M Teixeira to second on throwing error by third baseman R Zimmerman. J Francoeur homered to right, C Jones and M Teixeira scored. A Jones popped out to first. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 2 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 6. WASHINGTON 7TH: A Kearns singled to left. W Pena popped out to shortstop. R Belliard homered to left, A Kearns scored. J Flores doubled to deep center. T Batista hit for J Albaladejo. T Batista singled to left, J Flores to third. P Moylan relieved C James. N Logan struck out swinging. F Lopez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, T Batista out at second. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 6. ATLANTA 7TH: S Rivera relieved J Albaladejo. Y Escobar walked. E Renteria lined out to right. C Jones walked, Y Escobar to second. M Teixeira singled to right, Y Escobar scored, C Jones to second. J Francoeur walked, C Jones to third, M Teixeira to second. A Jones grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, C Jones out at home, M Teixeira to third, J Francoeur to second. A Munoz relieved S Rivera. B McCann walked, M Teixeira scored, J Francoeur to third, A Jones to second. M Diaz lined out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 8. ATLANTA 8TH: W Abreu relieved A Munoz. S Thorman hit for M Acosta. S Thorman grounded out to second. Y Escobar homered to left. K Johnson hit for E Renteria. K Johnson flied out to left. C Jones flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 9.</div>
NL: WASHINGTON at ATLANTA <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WASHINGTON (2) AT ATLANTA (9) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Washington Starting Lineups -- N Logan CF, F Lopez SS, R Zimmerman 3B, D Young 1B, A Kearns RF, W Pena LF, R Belliard 2B, J Flores C, M Chico LHP. Atlanta Starting Lineups -- Y Escobar 2B, E Renteria SS, C Jones 3B, M Teixeira 1B, J Francoeur RF, A Jones CF, B McCann C, M Diaz LF, C James LHP. Umpires -- Tim Welke (HP), Jim Reynolds (1B), Gary Cederstrom (2B), Lance Barksdale (3B). Gametime Weather: 86 degrees, Cloudy, wind n/a at 0 mph. WASHINGTON 1ST: N Logan struck out swinging. F Lopez struck out swinging. R Zimmerman walked. D Young grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 0. ATLANTA 1ST: Y Escobar flied out to center. E Renteria singled to deep right. C Jones safe at first on error by shortstop F Lopez, E Renteria to second. M Teixeira singled to left, E Renteria to third, C Jones to second. J Francoeur walked, E Renteria scored, C Jones to third, M Teixeira to second. A Jones hit sacrifice fly to center, C Jones scored, M Teixeira to third. B McCann flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. WASHINGTON 2ND: A Kearns grounded out to second. W Pena singled to right center. R Belliard grounded into fielder's choice to third, W Pena out at second. R Belliard to second on balk by C James. J Flores grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. ATLANTA 2ND: M Diaz grounded out to third. C James struck out swinging. Y Escobar struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. WASHINGTON 3RD: M Chico grounded out to first. N Logan reached on bunt single to pitcher. F Lopez grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, N Logan out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. ATLANTA 3RD: E Renteria flied out to center. C Jones flied out to center. M Teixeira grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. WASHINGTON 4TH: R Zimmerman lined out to first. D Young grounded out to third. A Kearns popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. ATLANTA 4TH: J Francoeur struck out swinging. A Jones struck out swinging. B McCann singled to right. M Diaz struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. WASHINGTON 5TH: W Pena flied out to center. R Belliard lined out to pitcher. J Flores grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 2. ATLANTA 5TH: C James grounded out to first. Y Escobar reached on infield single to shortstop. E Renteria singled to left, Y Escobar to second. C Jones safe at first on error by center fielder N Logan, Y Escobar to third, E Renteria to second. Washington's Coach P Corrales ejected by J Reynolds in the 5th. M Teixeira grounded into fielder's choice to third, Y Escobar scored, E Renteria out at third, C Jones to second, C Jones to third, M Teixeira to second on throwing error by third baseman R Zimmerman. J Francoeur homered to right, C Jones and M Teixeira scored. A Jones popped out to first. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 2 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 6. WASHINGTON 6TH: J Maxwell hit for M Chico. J Maxwell struck out swinging. N Logan reached on bunt single to third. F Lopez singled to right, N Logan to second. R Zimmerman struck out looking. D Young flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 6. ATLANTA 6TH: J Albaladejo relieved M Chico. B McCann flied out to left. M Diaz grounded out to shortstop. C James grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, ATLANTA 6. WASHINGTON 7TH: A Kearns singled to left. W Pena popped out to shortstop. R Belliard homered to left, A Kearns scored. J Flores doubled to deep center. T Batista hit for J Albaladejo. T Batista singled to left, J Flores to third. P Moylan relieved C James. N Logan struck out swinging. F Lopez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, T Batista out at second. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 6. ATLANTA 7TH: S Rivera relieved J Albaladejo. Y Escobar walked. E Renteria lined out to right. C Jones walked, Y Escobar to second. M Teixeira singled to right, Y Escobar scored, C Jones to second. J Francoeur walked, C Jones to third, M Teixeira to second. A Jones grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, C Jones out at home, M Teixeira to third, J Francoeur to second. A Munoz relieved S Rivera. B McCann walked, M Teixeira scored, J Francoeur to third, A Jones to second. M Diaz lined out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 8. WASHINGTON 8TH: M Acosta relieved P Moylan. R Zimmerman walked. D Young struck out looking. A Kearns flied out to left. W Pena lined out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 8. ATLANTA 8TH: W Abreu relieved A Munoz. S Thorman hit for M Acosta. S Thorman grounded out to second. Y Escobar homered to left. K Johnson hit for E Renteria. K Johnson flied out to left. C Jones flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 9. WASHINGTON 9TH: Y Escobar at shortstop. K Johnson at second base. C Woodward at third base. T Yates relieved M Acosta. R Belliard grounded out to first. J Flores struck out looking. R Langerhans hit for W Abreu. R Langerhans tripled to deep center. N Logan struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 9.</div>
Francoeur's blast buoys Braves past Nationals <h3>ATLANTA 9, WASHINGTON 2</h3>ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Don't look now, but the Atlanta Braves havewon three in a row. Jeff Francoeur smashed a three-run homer and Chuck James pitchedsolidly into the seventh inning to lead the Braves to a 9-2 winover the defensively challenged Washington Nationals onSaturday. Entering Wednesday's contest against Philadelphia, Atlantaseemed lost, dropping 13 of 19 contests before rallying from asix-run eighth inning deficit to defeat the second-placePhillies. Playing for their playoff lives, John Smoltz dazzled on Fridayby taking a no-hitter into the eighth. On Saturday, it wasFrancoeur and James' turn to keep the winning streak alive. Francoeur powered a four-run fifth by smashing his 17th of theseason the opposite way off the glove of right fielder AustinKearns and over the right field wall to give the Braves a 6-0lead. "It was nice to get a little break and get it out," Francoeursaid. "You'll take it if you can get it. (As an outfielder),you don't want that to happen to you." "I didn't know (if it hit my glove or not)," Kearns said. "I sawthe replay and I don't think it did." The blast culminated what was another miserable defensiveperformance from the Nationals. In front of the Little League World Champions from WarnerRobbins, Georgia, the Nationals, who committed five errors onFriday, resembled more of a Little League team than majorleaguers - committing three more errors, which led to sixunearned runs on Saturday. "Obviously, we haven't been playing good defense over the lasttwo games," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "Defense is apart of our game. We're not going to out-slug anyone." Felipe Lopez's throwing error lead two unearned runs in thefirst. Kelly Johnson smashed a one out single before Chipper Jonesreached on Lopez's error and Mark Teixeira followed with asingle to load the bases. Nationals starter Matt Chico (5-8) followed by issuing abases-loaded walk to Francoeur and while Andruw Jones followedwith a sacrifice fly to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. "We've been getting lucky," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Theymade a few errors that helped us a little bit." Two more errors, a fly ball off the webbing of center fielderNook Logan's glove and a throwing error by Ryan Zimmerman - hisfourth in two nights - preceded Francoeur's blast and lead tofour unearned runs in the fifth. "Tonight, I gave up no earned runs," Chico said. "But theydidn't score because of the errors. I made bad pitches." James (10-10) allowed two runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings inhis third start since returning from a shoulder injury. Thevictory also broke a five-game winless streak for the25-year-old lefthander, who had not won since July 31. "It's really nice," James said. "I went out today and feltgreat. I finally could hit some spots. I had a good changeup anda good fastball today." The 25-year old southpaw credited a change in his mechanics,which he picked up watching an old tape of a Class AAAperformance on Friday night, for his stellar performance. "I went out and looked at some old tape of me in the minorleagues," James said. "I knew I bent my back more and had moretorque. I think it worked out." Ronnie Belliard deposited James' lone mistake for a two-runhomer in the seventh inning. James departed two batters later. By winning three straight, Atlanta may have inched back intofringe of the wild card race. The Braves (73-69) trail the New York Mets (80-61) by 7 1/2games in the National League East, but are 4 1/2 games back ofthe wild card-leading San Diego Padres (77-64). "Winning is the only thing we can do," Cox said. "They're up forit. They've been fired up." Yunel Escobar belted a solohomer, his fourth of the season, to cap the scoring in theeighth inning. Chico allowed six runs on six hits on fiveinnings and is now 0-6 on the road. Teixeira drove in a run with a single in the seventh for theBraves, who defeated the Nationals for the eighth time in ninetries in Atlanta this season.
