Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Washington 8, Atlanta 4
When: 1:35 PM ET, Sunday, July 1, 2012
Where: Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia
Temperature: 101°
Umpires: Home - Tim McClelland, 1B - Brian Runge, 2B - Ted Barrett, 3B - Marvin Hudson
Attendance: 18796

Nationals 8, Braves 4: Ryan Zimmerman homered and drove in four runs, and Gio Gonzalez won his 11th game as visiting Washington took the rubber game of the weekend series.

Zimmerman sparked a four-run first inning with a two-run double to center. He hit his sixth homer of the season in the fifth.

Gonzalez (11-3) went five-plus innings, allowing four runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

After Zimmerman’s double off Atlanta starter Tim Hudson (6-4) staked the Nationals to a 2-0 lead, an Adam LaRoche sacrifice fly and a Rick Ankiel single pushed Washington’s advantage to 4-0.

The Braves drew within 4-1 in the third, on Chipper Jones’ double to right that scored Jason Heyward.

Zimmerman’s homer gave Washington a 5-1 lead. Jhonatan Solano’s sixth-inning single gave the Nationals a five-run advantage, and the Braves drew within 6-4 in the sixth on Freddie Freeman’s 10th homer of the season, a three-run shot to center.

Hudson pitched six innings, giving up eight hits and six runs (five earned). Hudson walked two and struck out four.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Temperature at first pitch was 100 degrees. … Washington improved to 6-2 against the Braves this season. ... The Nationals now lead Atlanta by 4 1/2 games in the NL East.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Washington   Atlanta
Gio Gonzalez Player Tim Hudson
Win W/L Loss
5.0 IP 6.0
4 Strikeouts 4
5 Hits 7
7.20 ERA 7.50
Hitting
Washington   Atlanta
Ryan Zimmerman Player Freddie Freeman
3 Hits 2
4 RBI 3
1 HR 1
7 TB 5
.600 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Washington 8 1 14 .229 10 9 7 4 1 0
Atlanta 8 1 13 .229 12 9 4 4 0 2