Carter Kieboom, Jake Alu, Kibert Ruiz, Dominic Smith, and Lane Thomas all hit home runs to lead the Washington Nationals to a 10-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
Washington tied their season-high for home runs on a night when the NL East champion Braves decided to rest their regular players in preparation for the postseason.
Jordan Weems (5-0) earned the win with one inning of relief, while Kyle Finnegan closed out the game. The Nationals used six relievers after Trevor Williams, the starting pitcher, gave up two runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Ronald Acuña Jr. had a productive night, going 1 for 2 with a run and two stolen bases before being replaced after two innings. He tied the Braves’ steals record of 72, set by Otis Nixon in 1991. Matt Olson was also taken out of the game for a pinch runner in the third inning after getting an RBI single in the first and a walk in the third.
Brad Hand (5-3) took the loss in relief of rookie Allan Winans, who surrendered six runs in 5 1/3 innings, including three home runs. The Braves had previously won four consecutive games.
Kibert Ruiz went 2 for 5 with three runs for the Nationals, while Luis Garcia also had a 2-for-5 performance.
Braves rookie Forrest Wall, filling in for Michael Harris II, had a strong game, going 3 for 5 with a run and a stolen base.
Kieboom’s three-run home run in the fourth inning opened the scoring for the Nationals and gave them a 3-2 lead.
In the sixth inning, the Nationals scored three runs to reclaim the lead. A solo home run by Ruiz and a two-run shot by Smith propelled the Nationals to a 7-6 lead. They added three more runs in the seventh inning, with Thomas leading off with a homer and the Nats benefiting from two unearned runs due to errors by Jesse Chavez and Nickey Lopez.
UP NEXT
The Braves’ right-handed pitcher Spencer Strider (19-5, 3.81) was scheduled to face the Nationals’ right-handed pitcher Joan Adon (2-4, 6.42) on Saturday.
