Adam LaRoche hits 2 homers, surging Braves edge Nationals 6-2 for fifth straight win

October 3rd, 2009 Nationals win 6th straight, beat Braves in 11ATLANTA — The Washington Nationals are playing as if they were contenders the last week of the season, not the team that has the worst record in the majors. Justin Maxwell hit a two-out, two-run homer in the 11th inning and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 Saturday for their sixth straight victory.

September 30th, 2009 Surging Braves win 6-3 in 10 to sweep NationalsWASHINGTON — The Atlanta Braves scored three in the top of the 10th inning Sunday, keeping up their late-season surge and completing a sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 6-3 victory. Brian McCann drove in a run with a groundout, and pinch hitter Omar Infante followed with a two-run single as the Braves ran their winning streak to six.

September 26th, 2009 Hanson helps Braves beat Nationals 11-5WASHINGTON — Tommy Hanson pitched seven innings for his 11th win, Yunel Escobar drove in three runs and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 11-5 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive victory. Atlanta pulled within three games of NL wild card-leading Colorado, which was scheduled to play St.

September 15th, 2009 LaRoche, Hanson lead Braves past MetsATLANTA — Adam LaRoche homered twice and drove in three runs, rookie Tommy Hanson pitched seven innings and the Atlanta Braves won their fifth straight, beating the New York Mets 6-0 on Tuesday night. The winning streak has likely come a little late for the Braves, who began the day 7½ games behind Philadelphia in the NL East and six games back in the wild-card race.

September 8th, 2009 Vazquez shuts out Astros in Braves' 2-1 winuHOUSTON — Javier Vazquez struck out nine in seven shutout innings and the Atlanta Braves snapped a five-game losing skid with a 2-1 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. Adam LaRoche and Nate McLouth hit solo homers off Felipe Paulino for Atlanta.

September 1st, 2009 Infante has two-run triple to lead BravesMIAMI — Omar Infante hit a two-run triple in the seventh and Kenshin Kawakami pitched six effective innings to carry the Atlanta Braves past the Florida Marlins on Monday night, 5-2 in a matchup between NL wild-card contenders. Marlins ace Josh Johnson did not allow a hit until the sixth inning when Matt Diaz lined a 2-2 slider to center field with two outs.

August 30th, 2009 Anderson, Braves hand Lee first NL loss, 9-1PHILADELPHIA — Garret Anderson hit a three-run homer off Cliff Lee and three other Braves went deep to help the Atlanta Braves hand the Phillies' new ace his first NL loss with a 9-1 win Saturday night over Philadelphia in a rain-shortened game. The game was called with the Phillies due up in the eighth inning after a 43-minute delay caused by torrential rain.

August 23rd, 2009 Hanson wins again as Braves edge Marlins, 4-3ATLANTA — Rookie Tommy Hanson won his fourth straight start in August, combining with two relievers on a four-hitter, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins 4-3 on Saturday night. The Braves, powered by home runs by Yunel Escobar and Omar Infante, took a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

August 2nd, 2009 Derek Lowe, Braves edge Dodgers 4-3ATLANTA — Derek Lowe pitched six innings in his first game against Los Angeles since he signed with Atlanta in the offseason, leading the Braves to a 4-3 victory over the Dodgers on Saturday. Lowe (11-7) allowed three runs and five hits to win his fourth straight decision.

August 2nd, 2009 Pirates' McCutchen hits three homers vs NatsPITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen homered three times and had a career-high six RBIs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates handed the Washington Nationals their fourth straight loss, 11-6 on Saturday night. McCutchen, a rookie, doubled his home run total by hitting three shots to left — one just inside the foul pole to lead off the first, one with Brandon Moss aboard in the fourth and another Moss and Ramon Vazquez on to give Pittsburgh an 11-4 lead in the sixth.

August 2nd, 2009 Pirates' McCutchen hits 3 homers in win over NatsPITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen homered three times and had a career-high six RBIs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates handed the Washington Nationals their fourth straight loss, 11-6 on Saturday night. McCutchen, a rookie, doubled his home run total by hitting three shots to left — one just inside the foul pole to lead off the first, one with Brandon Moss aboard in the fourth and another Moss and Ramon Vazquez on to give Pittsburgh an 11-4 lead in the sixth.

July 31st, 2009 Braves send Kotchman to Boston for Adam LaRocheATLANTA — The Boston Red Sox traded recently acquired Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves for Casey Kotchman in a swap of first basemen on Friday. The Braves, who rank 23rd in the majors with 91 homers — including only six from Kotchman — hope LaRoche's power can boost the team's chances in the NL wild-card race.

July 12th, 2009 Nationals hit 3 straight homers against AstrosHOUSTON — Nick Johnson, Josh Willingham and Adam Dunn of the Washington Nationals have homered in consecutive at-bats in the sixth inning off Houston's Felipe Paulino. The back-to-back-to-back shots Saturday night were the first by the Nationals since the franchise relocated from Montreal in 2005.

June 11th, 2009 Andy LaRoche's 9th-inning hit leads PiratesATLANTA — Andy LaRoche hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 Thursday to split the four-game series. LaRoche leaned forward to slap a 3-2 pitch from Rafael Soriano (1-1) up the middle for the tiebreaking hit.

June 7th, 2009 Beltran dismisses 'zero class' remark by LaRocheWASHINGTON — First, Carlos Beltran said he was embarrassed to be swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Adam LaRoche responded by saying Beltran was showing "zero class." It was Beltran's turn Saturday, with the New York Mets center fielder dismissing LaRoche's comments.