WASHINGTON - Orlando Arcia, Adam Duvall and Austin Riley homered as the Atlanta Braves won 8-4 Friday night to send the Washington Nationals to their eighth straight loss.
Atlanta improved to 9-2 against the Nationals this season and extended its winning streak in Washington to a franchise-record 13 games. The Braves have won six of their past eight games overall, while the Nationals lost for the 14th time in 15 games.
Left-hander Patrick Corbin (4-12) dropped his ninth consecutive start against Atlanta. Washington has the worst record in the majors at 30-62 and is 7-35 against National League East Division opponents this season.
Washington outfielder Juan Soto went 0-for-2 with three walks, ending a 16-game hitting streak that was the best of his MLB career.
Atlanta starter Ian Anderson (8-5) allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings and struck out five batters. He is 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in three starts this month.
"We're playing really good right now, and for me personally to go into the break on this kind of note, I feel good," Anderson said. "Body feels good, arm feels good. Hopefully I can keep it going once we get back."
The Braves (55-37) secured at least a split of their final series before the All-Star break, but not without a late scare for the reigning World Series champions as the Nationals scored three runs that were charged to Will Smith in the ninth, including one on a wild pitch by A.J. Minter. But after loading the bases again with a walk, Minter struck out Keibert Ruiz for his fifth save of the season.
Smith was Atlanta's closer last season, but that role was given this year to Kenley Jansen after the former Los Angeles Dodgers star signed with the Braves this spring. Jansen worked the ninth during the Braves' 5-4 win Thursday night to post his 21st save of the season.
"He'd had five days off, so we need to get him out there and pitch," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said of Smith. "They mis-hit some balls that fell right in front of us. Minter came in and did a really good job and put it down."
The Braves pounced on Corbin in the first. After Dansby Swanson reached on an error with one out and scored on Matt Olson's single, Riley launched his 26th homer of the season over the visitors' bullpen to make it 3-0. He's hitting .413 with six homers and 12 RBIs during his 11-game hitting streak and ranks second in the NL in homers behind Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies.
"I can't believe he's not an All-Star," Anderson said of Riley. "Everyone is saying he turned it on a little too late, but he's right in the MVP talks again and it's just a steady, steady effort. Every day he has a chance to get two or three hits and knock one out of the ballpark."
Olson added RBI singles in the second and fourth innings, and Arcia homered in the fifth to continue his season-long trend of tormenting Washington. Arcia is hitting .483 (14-of-29) against the Nationals this year, including three of his four homers.
Corbin matched Washington's Joan Adon, who is currently in the minors, for the MLB lead in losses this year. The left-hander allowed six runs (five earned) and nine hits in five innings while striking out eight batters. He is the first pitcher to lose nine consecutive starts to a team since the Kansas City Royals' Danny Duffy dropped 10 in a row to Cleveland from 2015-19. Corbin has a 7.28 ERA against the Braves in that span.
Duvall homered in the ninth off Kyle Finnegan, his second in three games since returning from the paternity list. Atlanta leads the NL this season with 145 home runs.
The four-game series continues Saturday afternoon with the Braves starting ace left-hander Max Fried (9-3, 2.56 ERA), who lost for the first time since April 13 in his most recent outing Monday against the New York Mets but is 5-1 with a 1.99 ERA over his past 10 starts (14 earned runs in 63 1/3 innings).
Washington will start right-hander Paolo Espino (0-2, 3.42), who is 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA in six starts since joining the rotation. He gave up two runs in four innings against Atlanta on Sunday.
On the injury front, Nationals left-hander Sean Doolittle will undergo an internal brace procedure on his left elbow, ending his season. The two-time All-Star, who pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings before going on the injured list April 20, is expected to be out five to six months.
"I don't feel good about getting surgery," Doolittle said, "I feel good that this has been the right course of action for me right now at this point in my career, at this point in this process with my elbow. As far as I'm looking at it, 2023 starts right now. I'm viewing this as a long, extended ramp-up into the season next year."