Braves Halt Skid, Shut Out Nationals 5-0

The Braves put a halt to a four game losing streak and in the process gave Manager Bobby Cox his 2,500th win of his career. The victory temporarily puts them back in a tie with the San Diego Padres for the wild card lead. The Padres play the Cincinnati Reds later on today and will either be a half a game ahead or behind the Braves once the day ends.

The Braves got five shut out innings from Derek Lowe in which he allowed five hits while striking out four. It was Lowe’s fifteenth win of the season running his record to 15-12. Four Braves relievers Peter Moylan, Jonny Venters, Craig Kimbrel, and Billy Wagner came on to help preserve the shut out.

The Braves scratched their first run across in the third due to a Nationals error that allowed Brian McCann to score. The lead stayed a nervous 1-0 until the Braves were able to provide some cushion in the sixth inning. A Derrek Lee RBI double made the score 2-0 then Alex Gonzalez followed soon after with a three run homer that pushed the lead out to 5-0. The home run was Gonzalez’s sixth of the season.

The Braves will close out the final road trip of the regular season tomorrow when Brandon Beachy takes the hill for an injured Jair Jurrjens. The Nationals will counter with Livan Hernandez. The importance of the game for the Braves goes without speaking as they look to keep pace in the wild card race.