Major League Baseball
Atlanta 6, Washington 2
When: 1:35 PM ET, Sunday, September 18, 2016
Where: Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia
Temperature: 75°
Umpires: Home - Andy Fletcher, 1B - Kerwin Danley, 2B - Mark Ripperger, 3B - Joe West
Attendance: 37296

ATLANTA -- Atlanta pitcher Matt Wisler has experienced his share of setbacks this year, but his recent streak of success since returning from the minor leagues indicates why the Braves have been so willing to stick with the young right-hander through his various travails.

Wisler continued his late-season resurgence, throwing 5 2/3 strong innings in the Braves' rain-shortened 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday at Turner Field.

The game was called with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Umpires stopped play for the second time and waited 110 minutes before postponing the game when heavy rains left the field unplayable.

Wisler (7-12) allowed two runs and five hits and struck out two. He did not walk a batter and was the beneficiary of two double plays. He threw only 66 pitches but did not return to the mound after a 97-minute rain delay, the first of two lengthy stoppages.

"Today I thought I came out aggressively," Wisler said. "Made them put the ball in play. They were swinging kind of early. They weren't squaring up a lot of balls like they were the last game (he faced them). That was some stuff to build on."

Wisler has won three of four starts since returning from a three-week stay in the minor leagues. In those three wins, he has not allowed more than two runs.

"We told him, going back isn't a bad thing all the time," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "A lot of guys that have been successful here have had to do it over the years. It's good when they down, work on things and put it use. We just want him to trust himself, conviction in his pitches. If he can believe in himself the way we believe in him, he's going to be something."

The Atlanta offense produced 12 hits, including three from third baseman Adonis Garcia, who matched his career high with three RBIs. First baseman Freddie Freeman added two hits and extended his National League-leading hitting streak to 22 games.

Atlanta (58-91) won two of three against Washington (88-61) in the final series between the teams at Turner Field. Washington finished 15-4 against Atlanta this season.

Washington's Joe Ross (7-5) was activated from the disabled list and made his first start since July 2. He pitched three innings and allowed one run and six hits -- only one hit hard -- with five strikeouts. He loaded the bases in the third inning but got out of the mess by retiring the No. 4-6 hitters in the order.

"I thought he was pretty good, very good actually," Washington manager Dusty Baker said. "All the balls were ground balls seemed like they found every hole out there.

"(Command) was the most impressive and his arm speed. He didn't seem like he was favoring his shoulder. He had good tempo. The guys in the bullpen told me it was coming out hot. That's a good sign when it's coming out hot and Joe has movement and has command."

Ross said, "I was happy. I thought I did well. Pitched myself into a jam and was able to work out of in the third. Felt good and that's the main thing I was concerned with today."

The Washington bullpen let the game get away. Reynaldo Lopez gave up two runs in two innings, Rafael Martin allowed the only batter he faced to score and Marc Rzepczynski gave up two runs in one inning.

The Braves scored a run in the second on an RBI single by Jace Peterson.

Atlanta made it 3-0 by pushing across two runs across in the fourth, one on Dansby Swanson's RBI double, the other on a single by Garcia.

Washington cut the lead to 3-2 by pushing across two runs in the sixth. Trea Turner led off with a triple and scored on a double by Jayson Werth. After the rain delay, Bryce Harper greeted reliever Ian Krol with an RBI single.

Atlanta responded with three runs in the sixth on a two-run single by Garcia and a run-scoring double from Freeman.

NOTES: The Nationals reinstated RHP Joe Ross from the 60-day disabled list so he could start against the Braves. INF Chris Bostick was designed for assignment. ... Atlanta 2B Jace Peterson was back in the lineup after missing two games with a sprained ankle. ... Washington 2B Daniel Murphy got Sunday off, with Trea Turner moving to second base and Ben Revere starting in center field. 1B Ryan Zimmerman got the day off and was replaced by Chris Robinson. ... The Braves begin their final road trip of the season on Monday with three games in New York. The pitching matches for the first game are Atlanta RHP Aaron Blair (0-6, 8.23 ERA) vs. New York RHP Noah Syndergaard (13-8, 2.43). ... The Nationals continue the next leg of their three-city trip when they start at three-game set in Miami. The matchups for the first game are Washington's A.J. Cole (1-2, 4.71) vs. Miami's Wei-Yin Chen (5-4, 4.99).
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Washington   Atlanta
Joe Ross Player Matt Wisler
Loss W/L Win
3.0 IP 5.2
5 Strikeouts 2
6 Hits 5
3.00 ERA 3.18
Hitting
Washington   Atlanta
Joe Ross Player Adonis Garcia
1 Hits 3
0 RBI 3
0 HR 0
1 TB 3
1.000 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Washington 7 0 10 .269 6 4 2 0 0 0
Atlanta 12 0 15 .414 21 10 6 4 0 0