Braves Clip Nationals, 3-2

The lead is now 13.5.

There wasn't a whole lot that happened in this one. A number of players got on base, but very few scored. Both starters, Stephen Strasburg and Mike Minor, labored through their outings, though Strasburg seemed to figure it out a bit more than Minor as the game wore on.

The scoring started early. After a walk and a single, Adam LaRoche made up for an error in the top of the first with an RBI double in the bottom of the first, but as Wilson Ramos tried to score from first, Andrelton Simmons launched one of his trademark missiles from short right to nail the catcher as he raced to the plate.

A few innings later, the Braves fought back to tie the score. Singles by Jason Heyward and Justin Upton put a runner in scoring position, and Freddie Freeman knows what to do with those. Two innings later, Justin Upton singled and stole second without a throw, and with a runner in scoring position, Freeman came through again, making the score 2-1.

It didn't take too long for the Nationals to tie the game, however. A few singles put a man on third with less than two outs, and Anthony Rendon hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-2.

Tyler Clippard came on in relief of Stephen Strasburg, and Justin Upton made him wish he hadn't. Sending a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall, Upton did a patented bat flip and took an appreciative trip around the bases.

Things got difficult in the bottom of the ninth, however. With Kimbrel having pitched the last three days, Jordan Walden came on to close the game. Rendon singled up the middle, and Denard Span sacrificed him to second. A "wild pitch" that McCann should have blocked brought Rendon to third with one out. Walden locked it up, though, inducing a pop up and routine fly to finish off the Braves' 11th straight win.

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