JOSIAH GRAY

Dansby Swanson and the Atlanta Braves won their 12th straight game, beating the Washington Nationals 9-5 despite losing All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies to a broken left foot.

Lane Thomas had a three-homer game for the first time in his career, and Nelson Cruz and Juan Soto also went deep, leading the Washington Nationals to an 8-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Taijuan Walker pitched seven no-fuss innings and the New York Mets remained unbeaten in 10 series this season, cruising past the sloppy Washington Nationals 4-1.

As they wait for star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. to return from knee surgery, the World Series champion Atlanta Braves are off to a slow start at 7-10.

A benches-clearing interruption after Mets star Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch overshadowed Max Scherzer’s return to Nationals Park even as the three-time Cy Young Award winner pitched New York to a 7-3 victory over Washington.

Benches and bullpens emptied and the Mets and Nationals confronted each other on the infield grass after Francisco Lindor was struck by a pitch from Steve Cishek in the fifth inning.

Baseball players and fans are familiar with rain delays.

Will Strasburg bounce back from surgery? Will Corbin and Robles hit their strides? Unknowns make interesting baseball.

Christian Vázquez tripled home the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox moved to the brink of a postseason berth with a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

Javier Báez and his New York Mets teammates turned the boos at Citi Field to cheers this weekend — and turned their thumbs upside down at frustrated fans.

Shohei Ohtani has won four straight pitching starts for the Los Angeles Angels and is 7-0 on the mound since his last loss May 28.

Pinch-hitter Will Smith connected for a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied from five runs down to defeat the San Francisco Giants 8-6 in the second game of a pivotal series between NL West rivals.