Hudson impressive again as Braves top Nationals

May 16, 2007, 2:10 GMT

Washington, DC - Edgar Renteria drilled two home runs, and Tim Hudson hurled seven solid innings as Atlanta downed Washington, 6-2, in the second leg of a four-game set at RFK Stadium.

Renteria finished 3-for-5 with three runs batted in for the Braves, who snapped a modest two-game skid and won for the sixth time in eight tries. Hudson (5-1) allowed just one run on three hits and lowered his earned run average to a sterling 1.77.

Scott Thorman was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Willie Harris had two hits and two runs scored.

Ryan Langerhans was 1-for-2 with an RBI for the Nationals, who lost for the first time in five games. Tony Batista drove in Washington's other run with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly.

The Nats activated Jerome Williams (0-5), who had been on the shelf since late April with a sprained left ankle, to start on the hill, but he was ineffective. Williams lasted just two-plus innings and surrendered five runs on seven hits en route to the loss. He also suffered a rotator cuff strain which contributed to his poor outing.

The Braves took an early 2-0 lead thanks to Renteria's two-run homer in the first.

Atlanta added another three runs in the third to take control of the contest. The Braves played station-to-station baseball early in the inning and put up a run with four consecutive singles by Kelly Johnson, Harris, Renteria and Andruw Jones.

Washington had seen enough of Williams at that point and went to Micah Bowie, but Brian McCann greeted him with a sacrifice fly, and a batter later, Thorman ripped another RBI single to make it a 5-0 game.

The Nats finally got to Hudson with a two-out rally in the fifth. The right- hander had gotten 14 in a row and was perfect through 4 2/3 innings before issuing a walk to Brian Schneider. Robert Fick and Langerhans followed with consecutive singles to get Washington on the board and make it 5-1. Hudson then settled down and got pinch-hitter Dmitri Young to bounce back to the box and end the threat.

The Braves got that run back in the seventh when Renteria ripped his second home run of the game over the wall in center.

Washington scrapped out another run against Mike Gonzalez in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Nook Logan tripled and crossed the plate on Batista's sac fly.

Game Notes

Atlanta activated closer Bob Wickman from the 15-day disabled list prior to their game. Wickman had been shelved with upper back tendinitis. To make room for him on the roster, the Braves optioned reliever Kevin Barry to Triple-A Richmond...Hudson is now 3-1 in his career against Washington.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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