ATLANTA (AP) — Marcell Ozuna broke a scoreless tie with his 16th homer in the seventh, Max Fried threw eight strong innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Fried (5-2) allowed seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts while finishing three outs shy of his second consecutive complete game and third of the season. He gave credit to a defense which set a season high by turning four double plays.
“Not much you can say besides our defense was amazing,” Fried said. “Some incredible plays.”
Fried was helped by double plays in the first, fourth, sixth and seventh innings and his pickoff of Jesse Winker following Winker’s leadoff single in the fifth. Joey Meneses had three singles but was erased by the double plays in the fourth and seventh innings.
“Some tough ones, too,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “There weren’t just routine double plays.”