Ian Anderson pitches a gem in Washington as Braves beat the Nationals
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Ian Anderson became the first Atlanta Braves starting pitcher to go seven full innings and his great performance led the Braves to a 2-1 victory over the Nationals in game three of the weekend series.
Anderson pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up just one hit, with three walks and nine strikeouts. He improved to 3-0 and now has a 1.64 earned run average.
On the season, Anderson has allowed 10 hits in 22.0 innings pitched, with four earned runs, 10 walks and 27 strikeouts.
The performance continues the trend where the trio of Anderson, Max Fried and Mike Soroka have dominated the Atlanta rotation. The three starters have a combined 9-1 mark with an ERA of 2.21. They have allowed 57 hits in 85.2 innings, 21 earned runs, 34 walks and 82 strikeouts.
Meanwhile, the other starting pitchers not named Anderson, Fried or Soroka have combined for an ERA of 9.00.
The Braves got on the scoreboard first when Marcell Ozuna singled home Ronald Acuna in the first inning. Then in the fifth inning, Ozzie Albies singled home Adam Duvall.
The Nationals scored a run in the eighth inning off Atlanta reliever Shane Greene when Trea Turner doubled home a run. Washington had the bases loaded in the ninth inning, but Mark Melancon was able to get his 10th save of the season.
Atlanta is now 27-19 on the season, still 2.5 games up on the Philadelphia Phillies, who won Saturday night in New York over the Mets.
Kyle Wright goes again for his first MLB victory Sunday in the series finale against the Nationals. Game time is at 12:35 pm ET.