Atlanta: Atlanta moved joint top of the National League East division with Washington by beating the Nationals 6-3 on Saturday, thanks chiefly to Freddie Freeman’s three hits, including a homer.
Among other games, pacesetting Milwaukee made it eight straight wins by edging Pittsburgh, Colorado’s bullpen dominated to shut out San Francisco and Oakland leapfrogged Seattle to the top of the American League West.
Atlanta’s B.J. Upton had two hits, including his first homer, and Dan Uggla drove in two runs with two hits for the Braves, who have already beaten Washington four times out of five early this season.
Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking his right thumb when he was picked off at second base in the fifth inning. Before the game, the Nationals placed outfielder Denard Span on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion.
Milwaukee extended their storming start to the season with a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh, set up by a leadoff homer by Carlos Gomez.
Gomez got the Brewers started with a 432-foot drive to centrefield and went up 2-0 in the second inning before the Pirates came back to square it in the third. Jonathan Lucroy drove in the tiebreaking run with an eighth-inning single.
Colorado’s Tommy Kahnle and four relievers combined to limit San Francisco to two hits over the final six innings, delivering the Rockies a 1-0 win.
Rockies relievers extended their scoreless streak to 9 2-3 innings in the series. They began early after starter Brett Anderson left the game after three innings with a bruised left index finger.
Giants starter Matt Cain (0-2) was an unlucky loser after allowing only one run over seven innings with eight strikeouts. He is winless in his last seven starts at home.
Oakland went top of the AL West with their fifth win in six games, with Sonny Gray overcoming a shaky start to allow just one run in seven innings.
