WASHINGTON – Ozzie Albies homered for the fourth straight game, and Dansby Swanson had two homers and six RBIs as he went deep for the second game in a row as the surging Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 12-2 on Saturday night.
Albies’ 22nd homer of the season – a two-run shot off struggling starter Patrick Corbin (6-12) in the fifth inning – landed in the Washington bullpen in left-center field. Atlanta has won nine of its past 11 games and kept pace at the top of the National League East Division standings with the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-1 earlier in the day.
“It’s a huge difference from where we were three weeks ago,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, whose club has come from five games back to grab a share of first in that period. “The lineup depth … the guys are swinging the bat well. It’s pretty good.”
Washington is going in the opposite direction. The rebuilding Nationals have lost 11 of their past 12 and are 10-29 since July 1. They are 17 games under .500 for the first time since August 2010.
Albies finished with three hits and has five homers in the past six games. The Atlanta second baseman hit his sixth triple of the season in the third inning.