Braves beat Nats to split series

Sunday's game was just what the doctor ordered for the Atlanta Braves after two tough losses Friday and Saturday. They got a great starting pitching performance from someone not named Max Fried or Ian Anderson. And they hit more home runs - two, as a matter of fact.

That storyline will produce a lot of wins for this team, and it worked perfectly Sunday as Atlanta beat Washington 10-3 in the series finale.

Josh Tomlin had his best start of the season with one run allowed on three hits in six innings, with no walk and two strikeouts. He then got the big lead and turned it over to the pen, which gave up two runs in the ninth inning to not let Washington get close to the lead.

Chris Martin and Darren O'Day both pitched scoreless innings, while Bryse Wilson's issues continued as he allowed two runs in the ninth inning.

The Braves got a solo home run from Marcell Ozuna (13) in the fifth inning, and then Freddie Freeman hit his second grand slam in three days with a bomb in the sixth inning to bust the game wide open.

Ozuna had another big day, with a double and single to go along with his home run. He also had four RBI and now has 36 on the season in 40 games. Ozuna is second in the NL in RBI, tied for second in home runs, third in sluggling percentage (.653), seventh in batting average (.320), and eighth in on base percentage (.409) .

The Braves (24-16) lead the NL East by three games over the Phillies (19-17), 4.5 games over the Marlins (17-18), 5.5 games over the Mets (19-22) and 9.5 games over the Nationals (14-25).