WASHINGTON (AP) — Not too many teams locked in a pennant race get excited about a doubleheader split.That wasn’t the case with the Atlanta Braves Hisashi Iwakuma Jersey , who were absolutely delighted after Ender Inciarte snapped a ninth-inning tie with a two-run triple in a 3-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.The thing is, the Braves had already lost the opener 8-3 and were going up against three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer in the latter half of the day-night doubleheader.Seeking to win his sixth straight start, Scherzer left in a tie game and Atlanta jumped on Washington’s bullpen in the ninth.“It’s huge for us, splitting today after a tough loss in the first one,” said Charlie Culberson, who homered in each game. “We battled, we stayed in there and Ender came up big for us with that hit in the ninth.”Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis singled off Kelvin Herrera (1-2) before Inciarte hit a liner down the first-base line. The ball bounced off a low barrier in foul ground and momentarily eluded Bryce Harper, who had no options by the time he picked it up in right field.That was the final pitch thrown by Herrera, who left after a visit from Washington’s trainer.Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Herrera’s right shoulder tightened up him. The closer will have an MRI on Wednesday to determine the extent of the damage.Jesse Biddle (3-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings and A.J. Minter got three outs for his ninth save.The defeat ended Washington’s run of nine wins in 12 games. The Nationals are chasing first-place Philadelphia and Atlanta in the NL East.“Two good teams tonight,” Scherzer said. “Everybody was out there grinding. It just happens that they won. Proud of everybody’s effort. Doubleheader, hot day Ken Griffey Jersey , this was good baseball.”Scherzer gave up one run and four hits in seven innings with six strikeouts. He remains unbeaten since July 2.Sean Newcomb allowed one run and five hits over six sharp innings for the Braves, who have won seven of nine.The Nationals went up 1-0 in the first inning when 19-year-old Juan Soto homered on an opposite-field drive to left.Atlanta put runners on the corners with no outs in the fourth before Scherzer deftly worked out of the jam.But Culberson tied it in the sixth with a drive to left . Four of his seven home runs this season have come against Washington.In the first game, Ryan Zimmerman and Trea Turner had three hits apiece and Harper added two hits and two RBIs.Jefry Rodriguez (1-1) allowed one run and three hits in five innings in his first major victory. He also got his first big league hit and scored a run.Greg Holland, who went 0-2 with a 7.29 ERA with St. Louis, struck out the side during a scoreless seventh inning in his Nationals debut.Holland, who pitched for Kansas City in the 2014 World Series, was signed Tuesday morning as a free agent.Harper led off the fourth with his 27th home run, and Zimmerman followed a drive far over the center-field wall for a 2-1 lead. After Rodriguez doubled with two outs, Turner and Soto hit RBI singles.All the damage came against 20-year-old Kolby Allard (1-1), recalled from the minors to be the 26th man in the doubleheader. Starter Max Fried was struck in the lower back by a line drive in the second inning and removed with a left groin strain.TRAPPEDThe weirdest play of Game 1 came in the third inning, when Soto hit a liner to center with Turner on first base. Inciarte leaped at the wall http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-ichiro-suzuki-jersey , and the ball appeared to bounce from his glove into the mitt of left fielder Adam Duvall. Turner scampered back to first. After a replay, it was determined that Inciarte trapped the ball against the wall and Soto was called out for passing Turner on the basepath.TRAINER’S ROOMBraves: Fried hopes to avoid a trip to the disabled list. “Physically, where the ball hit me I’ll be fine,” he said. “Groin, I’m not expecting it to be a long time.”UP NEXTBraves: Mike Foltynewicz (8-7, 3.04 ERA) starts Wednesday night, looking for a sufficient encore to his last outing against Washington, a two-hit shutout with 11 Ks on June 1.Nationals: LH Tommy Milone (1-0, 3.00 ERA) makes his first career start against Atlanta. He yielded four runs in two relief appearances last year. NEW YORK — There may not be two pitchers in baseball who have turned their seasons around as drastically during the last few weeks as Zack Wheeler of the New York Mets and Tanner Roark of the Washington Nationals. The two right-handers will look to continue their summertime resurgences Saturday afternoon when they oppose each other as the Mets host the Nationals in the middle game of a three-game series at Citi Field.The Mets picked up a 3-0 victory Friday night when New York starter Jason Vargas allowed three hits in six innings and Jay Bruce returned from the disabled list by hitting a two-run homer.Article continues below ...The Mets (57-71) have won or split five straight series. The loss Friday dropped the Nationals (64-65) below .500 for the fourth time since July 29 and left them 8 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and behind four teams in the battle for the second wild-card spot.If the last few weeks are any indication, runs will again be at a premium Saturday with Wheeler (8-6, 3.63 ERA) and Roark (8-12 Kyle Seager Jersey , 4.05) squaring off. Both pitchers had their streaks of consecutive winning starts snapped in hard-luck fashion Monday night. Wheeler allowed one run in seven innings but did not get a decision in the Mets’ 2-1, 13-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants. Roark tossed three scoreless innings of one-hit ball before being pulled after a 102-minute rain delay in the Nationals’ 10-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.Wheeler had won his previous six starts, a stretch that began with a victory over the Nationals on July 14. The 28-year-old has a 1.93 ERA and has allowed just 43 baserunners in 46 2/3 innings in his last seven starts, during which he has pitched at least seven innings five times and lowered his overall ERA by more than three-quarters of a run.“I think my command has gotten a lot better,” Wheeler said Wednesday afternoon. “So that definitely helps out a lot, when you can put the ball where you want it.”Command has also been a recent key for Roark, who won five straight starts before Tuesday, when he exited with a 1-0 lead. The 31-year-old has a 1.63 ERA in his last six starts, during which he has allowed just 34 baserunners in 38 2/3 innings while lowering his ERA from 4.87 to 4.05.Roark said after the game he wanted to continue pitching but that he understood why manager Dave Martinez pulled him.“I felt OK to do it,” Roark told reporters. “But in the long run, if something goes wrong http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-nelson-cruz-jersey , it was an hour (and) 40 minutes between throwing my last pitch (and returning). So obviously (Martinez is) ruling against it.”Wheeler is 3-8 with a 4.79 ERA in 12 career starts against the Nationals. In two starts against Washington this year, Wheeler is 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA. His July 14 victory over the Nationals began his six-start winning streak.Roark is 8-3 with a 3.17 ERA in 21 career appearances (15 starts) against the Mets. Four of those starts against New York came this season, and Roark is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in those games. He beat the Mets on July 31, allowing just one run in seven innings of a 25-4 victory, but he gave up four runs in five innings against New York on July 13 in a 4-2 defeat, which also represented the last time Roark suffered a loss.