Washington D.C.- The Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves this afternoon, 7-3. The Nationals are now 29 -35 and 12-17 at home, and the Nationals took a 2-1 series lead with one more game left in the Braves series tomorrow. The Nationals improved to 8-4 against the Braves since September 24, 2023.

LHP MacKenzie Gore pitched 5.0 innings, giving up two runs on six hits. He threw a total of 99 pitches, 61 of them being strikes. He struck out seven and only walked one.  Gore now has a 5-5 record with a 3.57 ERA.

Nick Senzel and Eddie Rosario lead the National's offense this afternoon with three combined doubles, a home run, and six RBI.

Nickel Senzel went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI, a walk, and three runs scored. This was his second career game with three extra-base hits. The last time this occurred was when he was with the Cincinnati Reds on July 19, 2019, in Colorado. Over his 13 games, he hit .359 (14-for-39) with a .444 on-base percentage, six walks, a .590 slugging percentage with six doubles, and a home run and a stolen base.

Eddie Rosario went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI. He is hitting .333 (5-for-15) in his last four games. That includes two doubles, three RBI, one walk, and two runs scored over this time span.

Also checking in this afternoon was Jesse Winker, who went 1-for-3 and has now hit safely in six straight games. Over this stretch, Winker has gone 11-19 (.579) with three RBI and three runs scored himself. Lastly, Winker has reached base safely in 13-of-22 plate appearances during this span.

Lane Thomas also performed well this afternoon, scoring 2-for-4 with two runs. In his last three games, Thomas has gone 4-for-11 with a batting average of .364. He has a triple, one home run, an RBI, a walk, and three runs scored.

The Nationals left six base runners on base and went 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Up Next, the Washington Nationals will finish their weekend series tomorrow against the Atlanta Braves. RHP Hurston Waldrep will make his MLB debut tomorrow afternoon for the Atlanta Braves, with LHP DJ Herz making his second MLB start. Herz pitched 4.0 innings in his MLB debut, giving up four runs on seven hits, striking out three, and walking two.

On another note, RHP Josiah Gray will be making his first rehab start on Sunday afternoon with the Fredericksburg Nationals. The Fredericksburg Nationals are playing the Cannon Ballers, the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

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