SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — Foster Griffin pitched six strong innings and the Washington Nationals edged the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Sunday evening at Truist Park, taking two of three in the interstate series.

Griffin (6-2) allowed one run on five hits over six innings, walking two and striking out four. Orlando Ribalta earned his second save of the season by working a tense ninth inning. Martín Pérez (2-3) took the loss, surrendering two runs on four hits in five innings.

The game remained scoreless until the fifth, when Washington broke through against Pérez. Daylen Lile led off with a double to center field. Jacob Young followed with a single to left, moving Lile to third. Nasim Nuñez then lined a single to right, scoring Lile and giving the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

Washington added an insurance run in the eighth. James Wood walked with one out, advanced to third on a flyout by Curtis Mead and scored on a single by Luis García Jr. to make it 2-0.

Atlanta mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth. Ozzie Albies led off with a single to right. Austin Riley followed with a single to left, putting runners at the corners. After Michael Harris II flied out, Eli White reached on a fielder’s choice grounder that was misplayed by second baseman Nasim Nuñez, allowing Albies to score and trimming the deficit to 2-1. Riley advanced to second on the error and White took first. Ha-Seong Kim then walked to load the bases with one out. Chadwick Tromp, batting for Jorge Mateo, struck out swinging. Ronald Acuña Jr. grounded out softly to first baseman García, and Ribalta retired the side to preserve the win.

The decisive sequence came in the top of the eighth, when Washington manufactured the run that proved to be the difference. Wood worked a two-out walk off Pérez, but the inning continued when Mead flied out and Wood tagged to third. García then delivered the key single to right field, scoring Wood for what became the game-winning run.

Washington’s offense managed only six hits, but two of them came in the pivotal fifth inning. Lile’s double and Young’s single set up Nuñez’s RBI hit. The Nationals also benefited from two walks by Pérez, who struggled with command at times.

For Atlanta, Reynaldo López provided two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out two. Carlos Carrasco threw a perfect eighth inning with no hits or runs. Didier Fuentes retired the only batter he faced in the ninth, striking out one. But the Braves could not overcome a afternoon in which their offense stranded six runners and went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Matt Olson doubled in the fourth and singled later, accounting for two of Atlanta’s six hits. Ozzie Albies had two singles. Austin Riley added two singles, including one in the ninth that helped spark the rally. However, Ronald Acuña Jr. walked twice but was 0 for 3, and Michael Harris Jr. finished 0 for 3. Jorge Mateo went 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter. Mauricio Dubón was 0 for 4. Ha-Seong Kim was 0 for 3 with a walk. Sandy León went 0 for 2. The Braves also struck out 10 times.

Washington’s defense committed one error, but it came at a costly moment in the ninth. Still, Griffin’s ability to escape a bases-loaded jam in the fourth kept the game scoreless. After Olson doubled and Albies singled, putting runners at first and third with one out, Griffin induced a strikeout of Austin Riley. Michael Harris II was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Eli White grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Griffin also worked around a leadoff double in the fourth, a walk in the first and a hit batter in the fourth. He retired eight of the final nine batters he faced before giving way to the bullpen.

Washington improved to 27-27 with the win, while Atlanta dropped to 36-18. The Nationals have now won two straight after losing the series opener in 11 innings on Friday. They split the four-game season series with Atlanta, each team winning three of six meetings.

Washington next travels to Cleveland for a three-game set beginning Monday. Atlanta heads to Boston for a three-game series starting Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta Braves 7, Washington Nationals 5. Interstat’s ELO system projected Atlanta with a 68.00 percent probability to win. Atlanta was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 3 went under the over/under line of 8.5.