The game belonged to the long ball from the first pitch. Six home runs flew out of Nationals Park as Atlanta overcame an early three-run deficit to defeat Washington 8-6, with the lead changing hands three times before the Braves pulled away.
Michael Harris carried Atlanta's offense with two home runs and three RBIs. His first blast tied the game in the second inning when Harris homered to right, scoring Albies to make it 4-4. Harris struck again in the third with a solo shot to left center that gave Atlanta the lead for good. The outfielder finished 2-for-4, raising his season totals to six home runs and 14 RBIs while batting .296.
The decisive blow came in the fourth when Matt Olson launched a three-run homer to right, scoring Heim and Acuña Jr. to extend Atlanta's lead to 8-4. The blast capped a four-run inning that broke the game open after Washington had seized early control on Daylen Lile's three-run homer in the first.
Zack Littell absorbed the loss for Washington, allowing eight runs over six innings with a 7.56 ERA. Dylan Lee earned the victory in relief for Atlanta, working a scoreless inning to improve to 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA. Robert Suarez closed out the ninth for his second save.
Atlanta improved to 16-8 and maintained first place in the division. Washington fell to 11-13 despite the offensive outburst. Olson sits five home runs away from 300 career homers, while Albies is two stolen bases from reaching 100 for his career.