Nationals improve to 4-1 with win over Braves

Max Scherzer wasn’t Max Scherzer, but he was good enough for the Washington Nationals Monday night.

Scherzer picked up his first win of 2016, and Daniel Murphy hit his second homer, pushing the Nats to a 6-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Scherzer (1-0) gave up four runs on six hits in six innings, striking out six and walking three. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save.

Murphy was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in the first. Wilson Ramos was 4-for-4 with two RBIs – an infield single in the fifth that broke a 4-4 tie, and an RBI single in the seventh that provided an important insurance run.