DJ Herz and CJ Abrams help the Nationals knock off the Braves 5-1

ATLANTA (AP) — DJ Herz struck out eight in five sparkling innings, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

CJ Abrams had two hits and two RBIs for Washington. Jacob Young also had two hits and scored two runs.

Herz allowed one hit — Orlando Arcia’s second-inning single — and walked three in his 14th major league start. Jacob Barnes (8-2) pitched an inning for the win, and Kyle Finnegan got four outs for his 32nd save.

“The big thing about (Herz) is the strike zone,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We talk about it all the time. It is about getting the ball close to the zone, because his stuff is really good. When he gets erratic, he gets in trouble. When he gets it in the zone, he gets a lot of swings and misses.”

Herz had a rocky 27-pitch first inning, when he walked two and hit a batter, but he settled down from there.

“I don’t want to chase quick outs (after a long first inning),” Herz said. “I just need to attack the zone, get ahead early and then everything will play out how it is supposed to play out. That’s something that I can control is getting ahead.”

Matt Olson hit his 22nd homer for Atlanta, which had won six of seven. The Braves finished with three hits.

Olson tied it at 1 when he connected against Barnes in the sixth. But Washington responded with three runs in the seventh.

Leading off, Keibert Ruiz reached on an error on second baseman Whit Merrifield. He advanced to third on Drew Millas’ single and scored on a wild pitch from Luke Jackson (4-3). Young doubled in Millas and scored on Abrams’ single against Aaron Bummer, lifting the Nationals to a 4-1 lead.

Abrams added another RBI single in the ninth for Washington, which had six rookies in its starting lineup.

“We’re all taking it day by day and learning how we go,” Herz said. “There are days where we learn something. When we do get that learning experience, we need to learn and go about it a different way the next time. Everybody is just figuring it out and it is fun when we put it all together.”

The Braves wasted a sharp performance by Reynaldo López, who struck out seven while pitching six innings of three-hit ball. He lowered his ERA to 2.02.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: CF Michael Harris II was removed in the fifth inning because of left hand soreness. Harris was hit by a pitch leading off the game. Manager Brian Snitker said Harris was still undergoing tests and the Braves expected to see the results by Sunday evening.

Nationals: LHP Mitchell Parker (7-7, 4.26 ERA) will face Yankees LHP Nestor Cortes (7-10, 4.00 ERA) in the opener of a three-game series at home on Monday. Outfielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 amateur draft, is expected to be called up and make his debut for the Nationals.

Braves: LHP Max Fried (7-7, 3.57 ERA) will open a three-game series at Minnesota against Twins RHP Bailey Ober (12-5, 3.54 ERA) on Monday.

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