SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — James Wood launched two home runs, including a critical insurance blast in the eighth inning, to power the Washington Nationals to a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon at Truist Park, snapping a two-game skid.

The Nationals, who had dropped the first two games of the series by a combined 14-7 score, built an early lead and held off a late Braves rally to improve to 65-94. Atlanta fell to 75-84 with the loss.

Washington struck immediately against Braves starter Bryce Elder. CJ Abrams led off the game with a double and scored on a single by Daylen Lile for a quick 1-0 advantage.

The Nationals extended their lead in the fourth inning when Josh Bell connected for a solo home run, his 21st of the season, deep to center field. Wood then got involved in the sixth, crushing his 29th homer to center to make it 3-0.

That run proved vital as Atlanta finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Drake Baldwin answered Wood’s homer with one of his own, a solo shot to right-center off Nationals reliever Clayton Beeter to trim the deficit to 3-1.

Wood provided what became the decisive run in the top of the eighth, hammering his 30th home run of the year off reliever Tyler Kinley to restore Washington’s three-run cushion at 4-1.

The Braves mounted a comeback attempt in the late innings. Marcell Ozuna led off the bottom of the eighth with a homer to center, pulling Atlanta within two runs. Then, in the ninth, pinch-hitter Eli White led off with a solo home run against Nationals closer Jose A. Ferrer, cutting the lead to 4-3.

Ferrer then navigated trouble to secure the win. After White’s homer, he struck out Jurickson Profar. Matt Olson also struck out, but not before a successful Braves challenge turned a would-be game-ending groundout from Ronald Acuña Jr. into an infield single, bringing the potential winning run to the plate. Ferrer induced a groundout from Baldwin to end the game, earning his 10th save of the season.

The win went to Mitchell Parker, who recorded two outs in relief to improve to 9-16. The loss was charged to Elder, who pitched effectively for seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven, but fell to 8-11.

Nationals starter Andrew Alvarez delivered a strong performance, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits while striking out five. The Washington bullpen, featuring Beeter, Parker, and Ferrer, combined to strike out eight batters over the final 4 2/3 innings.

The game, played in 2 hours and 28 minutes, was a departure from the pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 7-3 Braves victory, and its ELO system gave Atlanta a 65.7% chance to win. The combined seven total runs fell under the posted over/under line of 9.

The announced attendance was 32,898.

Washington will look to carry the momentum into its next series, a three-game set against the Chicago White Sox beginning Friday at home. Atlanta will also return to action Friday, starting a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Truist Park.