Daniel Hudson needed that ninth inning.
The Washington Nationals closer, after giving up a pair of two-run homers in the ninth in a 7-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Monday, closed things out quietly in the ninth on Tuesday, in an 8-5 win over the NL East leaders.
It was another wild one, with the teams combining for 31 hits and five errors.
The difference for the Nats (9-12) was a four-run fifth that turned a 5-2 deficit into a 6-5 lead, and a game-saving robbery by Victor Robles, who snagged a potential two-run homer off the bat of Austin Riley in the fifth, leaping over the center field fence to snare the ball, ice-cream-cone style.
Juan Soto was 2-for-4 at the plate, improving his slash line to .417/.500/.938, and rookie Luis Garcia was 3-for-4, getting him to 6-for-17 at the plate since being called up over the weekend to replace injured starting second baseman Starlin Castro.
Hudson, pitching for a third consecutive night, notched two K’s in his 1-2-3 ninth, which he completed in 16 pitches, 14 of them strikes.
The series concludes Wednesday at 7 p.m. with Erick Fedde (1-1, 2.55 ERA) facing Braves starter Kyle Wright (0-3, 7.20 ERA).
Story by Chris Graham
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