ATLANTA - Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley likes where his team is at headed into into a big series against the first-place New York Mets.
Even if it is still second place - at least for now.
The Braves have kept winning and chipping away at the Mets' lead in the National League East Division, where Atlanta is the four-time reigning champion.
"I've said from the beginning that it's not a sprint, it's a marathon," Riley said. "Early on, things weren't going our way. Now we're playing the ball we want to and right where we want to be. If we continue to do that, I like our chances."
Riley hit a tying home run in the eighth inning and the winning single in the 12th, lifting the surging Braves to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday. It completed a sweep of the three-game series at Truist Park against Washington, which sits last in the NL East.
The Braves, who made a remarkable midseason turnaround last year on the way to the franchise's first World Series championship since 1995, have won six of their past seven games and improved to 29-8 since June 1, the best record in the majors in that span. They are 1 1/2 games behind the Mets and open a three-game series against them Monday night in Atlanta.
Washington has lost 10 of its past 11. Nationals outfielder Juan Soto extended his hitting streak to 13 games - he's batting .409 during the run - and also has a 20-game on-base string.
Dansby Swanson started the Braves' half of the 12th as the automatic runner at second base. After an intentional walk to Matt Olson, Riley lined a single to left field off Jordan Weems (0-1).
"It's hard to win a major league game against anybody," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "We've got to keep doing what we're doing."
Riley was the automatic runner in the 10th when William Contreras lined an infield single that second baseman Alcides Escobar bobbled. Escobar recovered in time to throw out Riley at the plate to end the inning. Riley also had an RBI single in the third.
Atlanta reliever Collin McHugh (2-1) earned the win after pitching clean innings in the 11th and 12th.
Riley, going deep for the second straight day, hit his 23rd homer of the season to tie it at 3 off Kyle Finnegan in the eighth. He is batting .489 with multiple hits in eight of his past 10 games.
"My work has been good in the cage and being able to repeat my swings," Riley said. "If you do that and stick to your plan, you have a good chance."
Lane Thomas hit the Nationals' first pinch-hit homer of the season, a three-run drive off reliever Dylan Lee in the sixth that made it 3-2. Thomas drove his ninth homer of 2022 into the left-field seats to give Washington its first lead of the series.
"Any time you can come from behind like that, it boosts everyone's morale, including yourself," Thomas said. "The hard work you put in to prepare for situations like that makes a difference."
The Braves have won six straight in the season series against the Nationals. Washington was swept in Atlanta for the first time since April 11-13, 2014.
Atlanta starter Ian Anderson, who had the NL's highest ERA over six starts in June at 6.91, was trying to win his second straight start, but he exited after issuing consecutive one-one walks to Soto and Nelson Cruz in the sixth.
Nationals starter Paolo Espino allowed two run and six hits in four innings.
Atlanta first baseman Olson dove to his left in the second inning for a backhanded spear of Maikel Franco's grounder, then flipped the ball to Anderson for the out. Franco returned the favor from third base in the fourth, ranging to his right to make a tough jump throw from foul territory across the diamond on one hop to retire Atlanta's Orlando Arcia.
Aces will take the mound Monday night at Truist Park as the Braves start left-hander Max Fried (9-2, 2.52 ERA) and the Mets counter with Max Scherzer (5-1, 2.26). Fried is 5-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 12 career starts and five relief appearances against New York.
Braves add Canó
The Braves have acquired veteran second baseman Robinson Canó in a minor league deal for cash considerations with the San Diego Padres.
Canó, 39, has hit a combined .149 with one homer and four RBIs in 74 at-bats for the Padres and the New York Mets this season. He has batted .333 with three homers and 20 RBIs in 96 at-bats for Triple-A El Paso since the Padres released him and re-signed him to a minor-league deal last month.
The Braves are without second baseman Ozzie Albies for the next few weeks. Albies fractured his foot last month in an at-bat, and Atlanta has been relying on Arcia as his replacement. Arcia is hitting .252 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 123 at-bats this year. Snitker has said he's been pleased with Arcia, especially his defense.
The Mets owe Canó nearly $45 million remaining on his original contract signed with the Seattle Mariners. He was earning a prorated share of the $700,000 minimum in his major league deal with San Diego. He sat out last season in serving a second suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
The Padres signed him to a minor league deal on June 10, eight days after releasing him. It's likely that Canó will report to Gwinnett, the Braves' Triple-A affiliate.