ATLANTA — Ozzie Albies and Adam Duvall each hit a two-run homer off Patrick Corbin, Max Fried pitched six strong innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 5-4 on Sunday.
Albies was 3 for his last 26 when he went deep for the 18th time to make it 2-1 in the third inning.
Corbin has allowed 27 homers, most in the National League, and is 0-4 with a 7.22 ERA in his past five starts. The lefty has lost his past five starts against Atlanta.
The three-time defending East Division champion Braves, winners in five of six, stayed two games behind Philadelphia in second place. Fried had gone 1-1 with an 8.44 ERA in three starts against the Nationals this season. Fried (9-7) stranded runners on first and third to end the sixth. He allowed seven hits and one run with one walk and five strikeouts.
“Mostly it’s just slowing everything down, focusing on my breathing, the only thing I can control is executing this pitch right here and there,” Fried said. “Not trying to do too much in one pitch and kind of trusting the defense.”
Atlanta made it 5-1 in the sixth when Albies walked and scored on Austin Riley’s double and Duvall hit his 24th homer.
Chris Martin faced five batters in the ninth for the Braves, earning a shaky first save in three chances. Ryan Zimmerman doubled in a run to make it 5-4 off Martin.
Corbin (6-11) gave up five hits and five runs with one walk and five strikeouts in six innings. He couldn’t really explain why so many of his pitches have left the yard this season.
Washington led 1-0 in the third. Luis Garcia singled, advanced on a walk and a bunt and scored on Alcides Escobar’s single. RBI singles by Victor Robles and Zimmerman trimmed the lead to 5-3 against Jesse Chavez in the seventh.
Fried struck out Josh Bell to strand a runner at second base in the first. Yadiel Hernandez singled in the second and was erased on a double-play grounder.
The Nationals have dropped six of seven. They fell nine games behind the Phillies.
Around the majors
Phillies 3, Mets 0: Zack Wheeler pitched a two-hitter and struck out 11, Bryce Harper homered and the first-place Philadelphia Phillies finished off a three-game sweep for their eighth straight victory, 3-0 over the fading New York Mets on Sunday.
Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto also homered to help the Phillies move 2 1/2 games ahead of the Mets in the NL East. The streak is Philadelphia’s longest since winning eight straight in July 2010.
The Mets got a pregame pep talk in the clubhouse from owner Steve Cohen before losing for the seventh time in eight tries. New York arrived at Citizens Bank Park this weekend leading the division.
Dodgers 8, Angels 2: Albert Pujols hit his first home run against the Los Angeles Angels since they released him in May, sending Walker Buehler and the Dodgers to the victory.
Cody Bellinger homered for the second straight game, helping the World Series champions take two of three at Dodger Stadium in the Freeway Series.
Buehler (12-2) pitched six strong innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out eight. He worked around four walks.
Mariners 2, Yankees 0: Yusei Kikuchi and the Seattle bullpen combined on a six-hitter, Kyle Seager doubled to break a scoreless tie in the eighth inning and the Mariners avoided a four-game sweep.
New York rookie starter Luis Gil pitched two-hit ball for five scoreless innings, striking out eight.
Kikuchi and relievers Casey Sadler, Paul Sewald (7-3) and Drew Steckenrider combined to strike out 12, with Steckenrider pitching the final two innings for his fourth save.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 8: George Springer hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning and Toronto overcame a five-run deficit.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a two-run drive to help the Blue Jays finish 9-2 on their first homestand in Canada since September 2019. Guerrero has 35 homers.
J.D. Martinez had four hits and three RBIs in his return to the Boston lineup after being reinstated from the COVID-19 list.
Giants 5, Brewers 4: Pinch-hitter Tommy La Stella singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and San Francisco beat Milwaukee to take two of three in the series between division leaders.
Brandon Belt had tied it in the seventh with a two-run pinch-hit homer off Daniel Norris. Darin Ruf also homered for the Giants.
Tony Watson (4-3) was the winner, and Zack Littell earned his first save of the season. Brad Boxberger (4-3) was the loser.
Reds 3, Pirates 2: Tyler Mahle struck out 10, Kyle Farmer had another key hit and Cincinnati finished a four-game sweep.
Nick Castellanos added a double and scored as playoff-chasing Cincinnati continued its dominance of the Pirates, improving to 9-1 against them this season. Dating to last season, the Reds have won 13 of 14 games from Pittsburgh.
Mahle (9-3) allowed six hits without a walk in seven innings. Mychal Givens earned his second save of the season. Bryse Wilson (2-5) was the loser.
White Sox 9, Cubs 3: Eloy Jiménez drove in five runs with two homers and a double and the White Sox completed their first sweep of a three-game series at Wrigley Field since May 2012.
Jiménez and Andrew Vaughn hit two-run shots after Tim Anderson led off the game with a solo drive as the White Sox hit Zach Davies (6-9) hard in a five-run first inning.
Anderson also finished with three hits as the AL Central-leading White Sox won their fourth straight. The Cubs have dropped four straight and 10 of 12.
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