Field Level Media
Sep 9, 2021
Joc Pederson's RBI single drove in the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning, giving the Atlanta Braves a 7-6 walk-off win over the visiting Washington Nationals on Thursday.
Pederson delivered a sharp single to left against Wander Suero (2-3), who had loaded the bases. The winning pitcher was Jacob Webb (3-2), who tossed a scoreless top of the 10th.
The game featured a wild finish. Luis Garcia hit a 448-foot homer in the eighth to give the Nationals a 5-4 lead, but the Braves answered with solo shots from Freddie Freeman and Adam Duvall in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6-5 advantage.
Washington tied the game in the ninth against Atlanta closer Will Smith, who allowed a leadoff triple to Lane Thomas. After intentionally walking Juan Soto with one out, the Braves failed to complete a game-ending double play when second baseman Ozzie Albies threw the relay past Freeman at first base, allowing Thomas to score the tying run.
Atlanta (74-65) took two games in the three-game set with Washington (58-82) and won the season series 14-5. The Braves extended their lead in the National League East to 3 1/2 games over the Philadelphia Phillies (71-69) and five games over the New York Mets (70-71).
Washington starter Erick Fedde pitched six innings and allowed four runs on five hits and no walks with seven strikeouts.
Atlanta starter Huascar Ynoa worked five innings and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
The Nationals scored twice in the first inning on an RBI double from Josh Bell and a run-scoring grounder from Yadiel Hernandez.
The Braves halved the deficit in the third on Stephen Vogt's solo homer and tied the game in the fourth on Austin Riley's RBI double.
Atlanta took a 3-2 lead in the fifth when Vogt hit his second home run, his first multi-home run game since 2017. Vogt had to leave the game with an injury in the seventh.
The Nationals tied the game 3-3 in top of the sixth on Carter Kieboom's RBI single, but the Braves regained the lead when Jorge Soler hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning.
Washington tied the game 4-4 on Thomas' seventh-inning RBI single, but the Nationals left the bases loaded.
--Field Level Media