ATLANTA -- When Thursday’s series opener between the Braves and Nationals entered the bottom of the fourth inning, Washington held a three-run lead after Braves starting pitcher Grant Holmes gave up three solo home runs and Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin hadn’t allowed a hit.
It was not a good start to the homestand for a recently struggling Braves offense that had scored just 11 total runs over its previous 47 innings.
Enter Ronald Acuña Jr., who returned to the Braves’ lineup on July 27 after missing 37 games with a left hamstring strain.
Acuña broke up Irvin’s no-hit bid with a solo home run -- his first homer since May 31 and his first at Truist Park since April 24 -- in the bottom of fourth, and his eighth blast of the year was the first of five unanswered runs that propelled Atlanta to a 5-4 victory over Washington at Truist Park.
Mike Yastrzemski’s two-run home run in the fifth tied the game at 3, and Ozzie Albies tallied a two-run single in the sixth that gave the Braves their first lead, 5-3. Irvin allowed five earned runs on three hits over five-plus innings.
Holmes allowed three runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings. It was the first time since June 22 that Holmes did not make it through at least five innings in a start.