WASHINGTON - A patch of bad weather could only delay what has become an inevitable outcome when the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals meet these days.
Matt Olson and freshly minted National League All-Star selection Austin Riley hit consecutive home runs in the third inning, and the Braves rolled to a 6-3 victory Saturday night to deal the Nationals their ninth loss in a row.
Atlanta has won nine consecutive games against Washington and is 10-2 against the Nationals this season in a mismatch of NL East Division teams that is getting increasingly lopsided. The Braves have also won 14 in a row in Washington dating to last year.
The Braves took the lead in the third against Washington starter Paolo Espino (0-3). With two men on, Olson poked an opposite-field shot just over the fence in left field, the Atlanta first baseman's 17th homer of the season. Riley, the 25-year-old third baseman who was selected to his first All-Star team earlier in the day, then blasted his 27th home run of the year to center.
Riley ranks second in the NL in homers, two behind Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies.
"That guy is just the real deal," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "He's just a really, really good player. He's All-Star caliber. Hopefully he's in the MVP talk in another couple of months."
Riley is batting .412 (21-for-51) with seven homers and 13 RBIs during his 12-game hitting streak. He learned Saturday morning he was a late addition to the NL roster, replacing Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Riley joins five Atlanta teammates in making the list for Tuesday night's game against the American League All-Stars at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles: pitcher Max Fried, catchers Travis d'Arnaud and William Contreras - the latter will start as the designated hitter due to the Phillies' Bryce Harper being injured - shortstop Dansby Swanson and outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.
"Excited, that's about as plain and simple as I can put it," Riley said. "It's something you work for and try to accomplish. To be going, I'm super thankful."
Fried (10-3) earned his 50th career win Saturday, allowing three runs in seven innings while striking out four. He and Kyle Wright (11-4) are the first Braves pitching duo with double-digit victories at the All-Star break since Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens in 2011.
"They had some really good at-bats, and I would have liked to keep a couple more runs off the board, but the guys did a great job of grinding out at-bats and getting a good lead. So I just had to try to hold it," Fried said.
After a rain delay of 1 hour, 49 minutes, Jesse Chavez worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth and Kenley Jansen handled the ninth for his 22nd save in 26 attempts this year.
Reigning World Series champion Atlanta improved to 56-37.
The Nationals (30-63) have the worst record in the majors, have lost 15 of their past 16 games and are 7-36 against the NL East this year. The nine-game skid is Washington's longest since dropping 11 consecutive games spanning the 2008 and 2009 seasons and the franchise's lengthiest in a single season since a 12-game slide in August 2008.
Three years after winning the World Series, the Nationals are 33 games under .500 for the first time since going 59-103 in 2009.
"It would be nice to come out there tomorrow and get a victory, it really would," Washington manager Dave Martinez said. "What I do know is these guys are going to come out and play hard. Every day, these guys don't let up. They keep going."
Nationals outfielder Juan Soto extended his on-base streak to a career-high 25 games with a single in the fourth. Josh Bell then tripled Soto in before scoring on Keibert Ruiz's groundout. Bell added an RBI single in the sixth.
Espino allowed four runs (three earned) in 5 1/3 innings and struck out five.
Earlier in the day, Soto expressed irritation after The Athletic, citing unidentified sources, reported he turned down a $440 million, 15-year contract offer to remain with the Nationals that would have been the most lucrative in baseball history. The 23-year-old is a two-time All-Star who finished second in NL MVP voting last year.
Soto, who will not be a free agent until after the 2024 season, was unhappy contract negotiations became public.
"It feels really bad to see stuff going out like that because I'm a guy who, my side keeps everything quiet and try to keep it to them and me," Soto said before the game. "They just make the decision and do what they need to do."
In Sunday's finale of the four-game series, the Braves will start rookie right-hander Spencer Strider (4-2, 2.56 ERA), who has struck out 31 batters and allowed two earned runs in 16 2/3 innings over three outings this month. Washington will opt for a bullpen game.