Five things about the Braves’ 4-2 win Thursday night against the Nationals to open a four-game series at SunTrust Park.

1. The Braves snapped the Nationals' six-game winning streak and their 10-game road winning streak, and moved back into first place, a half-game ahead of Washington.

2. Braves lefty Sean Newcomb gave up two runs, four hits and two walks in seven innings and finished the month of May with a 5-0 record, 1.54 ERA and no homers allowed in six starts and extended his homerless streak to 36 innings. Newcomb threw seven consecutive balls and walked the first two batters to start the game. But he gave up only only one run in the first inning, retired 14 of the last 15 batters and matched his career high for innings pitched.

3. Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a third-inning double. He's hit .385 (20-for-52) in the streak, the longest by a Brave this season.

4. Nick Markakis' double in the second inning gave him 42 hits in May, second-most by an Atlanta-era Braves player for the month behind Ralph Garr, who had 47 in May 1974.

5. The Braves played their 40th game against a team with a current winning record, the most of any team in the majors that's not in last place. The Braves are 24-16 in those games, the best record in the NL vs. winning teams. Only the Marlins (43 games), Reds (41) and Rangers (41) have played more games against teams with winning records.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Braves first baseman Matt Olson hit a home run for the third consecutive game, tallying three extra-base hits and driving in four runs for his second four-hit game of the season. (Colin Hubbard/AP)

Credit: AP

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT