Atlanta's Dansby Swanson turned around a 98-mph fastball from Tanner Rainey for a solo homer in the eighth inning to complete the Braves' 7-6 come-from-behind win over the home Washington Nationals on Thursday.
Swanson's seventh homer enabled Atlanta (26-18) to overcome a 5-0 deficit and win the opener of the four-game series. The shortstop is now batting .413 from the seventh inning on.
The Braves' comeback was sparked by a pair of two-run homers from first baseman Freddie Freeman, who has 10 for the season and took over the National League RBI lead with 42. Freeman has 10 RBI in his last two games.
The winning pitcher was Chris Martin (1-1), who struck out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh inning. Mark Melancon worked around a two-out infield single in the ninth and earned his ninth save.
Rainey (1-1) was the losing pitcher.
Washington reliever Sean Doolittle left the game with an undisclosed leg injury in the ninth inning.
The Nationals (16-26) feasted early on Atlanta starter Robbie Erlin. They scored three times in the first on a triple by Trea Turner, a double by Juan Soto and a triple by Asdrubal Cabrera, then added two more in the second inning on Adam Eaton's fourth homer, a two-run shot to center field.
The Braves, coming off Wednesday's historic 29-run performance, responded with a two-run homer by Freeman in the fourth and a two-run shot by Ronald Acuna Jr. in the fifth, his 11th.
The Nationals took a 6-4 lead in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Yan Gomes. Atlanta tied the game in the seventh when Freeman hit a two-run homer into the second deck.
Neither starter was involved in the decision. Erlin was yanked after working 1 2/3 innings and allowing five runs on six hits and one strikeout. Washington's Austin Voth pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on two hits, two walks and four strikeouts.
The Braves hold a 4-3 lead in the season series with Washington.
--Field Level Media
