WASHINGTON _ Whether he's playing first base or third base, the Braves' Freddie Freeman does one thing like most major leaguers only wish they could do. He hits baseballs a long way. And he'll hit them the other way through the infield, too.
The man just hits. A lot.
Unfortunately for the Braves, Freeman can't close games. So after he drove in three runs and helped the Braves to a 4-1 lead, he couldn't prevent Jim Johnson from giving up three runs in the ninth inning or help Ian Krol stem the tide in the 10th, when the Nationals completed their comeback with Daniel Murphy's one-out single that gave them a 5-4 walk-off win against the Braves.
Johnson was saddled with his seventh blown save to tie him for the major league lead in that category and deny R.A. Dickey a win on a night when the Braves knuckleballer was dominant. The Nationals snapped the Braves' streak of four consecutive wins in extra innings and denied what would've been a fourth Braves win in five games this season at Nationals Park.
After the Nationals erased a three-run deficit with three runs in the ninth against Johnson _ he gave up four hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly and left with two outs _ they got a career-first hit from Adrian Sanchez to start the 10th against Krol. One out later, Ryan Zimmerman singled to right to put runners on the corners, and Murphy singled over the head of left fielder Matt Kemp to end it.
Freeman had a towering game-tying home run off Max Scherzer to start the seventh inning, added a two-run single in the eighth and put the Braves in position to secure at least a split in the four-game series with their second win in as many nights.
But Johnson came in and gave up a leadoff single in the ninth to Bryce Harper, then walked Zimmerman before Murphy lined an RBI single to right to trim the lead to 4-2.
Anthony Rendon followed with another run-scoring single before Johnson recorded an out on a force at second. That brought up Matt Wieters with runners on the corners. Braves manager Brian Snitker was ejected during the Wieters at-bat for arguing on a checked-swing call that would've been strike two but was called a ball.
Wieters fouled off a full-count pitch before the tying sacrifice fly to center field. Wilmer Difo followed with another single through the right side, just out of the reach of second baseman Brandon Phillips.
Dickey gave up three hits, one run and one walk in seven innings but got no decision, remaining 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA in his past four starts.
After Freeman pulled his long home run to right field in the seventh inning, he added a two-run single through the left side of the infield in the eighth off left-hander Oliver Perez, turning a one-run lead into a three-run margin.
Freeman's home run was his 15th and his first in four games since returning from a nearly seven-week absence for a fractured wrist. It was also his first major league home run as a third baseman, the position the longtime first baseman is playing for now in order to keep Matt Adams in the lineup.
The Nationals opted not to have Scherzer face Freeman with two on and two out in the eighth, bringing in veteran Perez _ to no avail.
Dickey didn't allow a hit until Stephen Drew's leadoff double in the sixth inning, the second consecutive Friday that a Braves pitcher flirted with a no-hitter. Mike Foltynewicz took his no-hit bid all the way to the ninth inning a week earlier at Oakland before giving up a leadoff homer to Matt Olson.
Wieters followed Drew with a single that tied the score, 1-1, but Dickey retired the next three on a sacrifice bunt and consecutive strikeouts looking.
Dickey retired the first 10 batters and faced the minimum 15 in the first five innings, allowing only a Ryan Raburn one-out walk in that span and erasing him by getting Harper to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Dickey completely turned the tables on the Nationals just 2{ weeks after they knocked him around for eight hits and eight runs in five innings on June 13 at Nationals Park. When the 42-year-old pitcher told reporters after that game that he felt like he was close to turning the page from being mediocre, there were some raised eyebrows.
But he obviously knew what he was talking about: Dickey has allowed one or no runs while pitching at least six innings in all four starts since then, giving up totals of 17 hits and three runs in 26 innings.
Adams had a pair of doubles against Scherzer, who retired the first nine Braves before Ender Inciarte's leadoff double in the fourth inning. Brandon Phillips followed with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead against the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, who came in as the leader among major league qualified starters in ERA (1.94) and opponents' batting average (.159), OBP (.223), slugging percentage (.280) and OPS (.503).
Scherzer lasted 72/3 innings and was charged with six hits, four runs and one walk with 10 strikeouts in a season-high 120 pitches including 85 strikes. The last two runs on his ledger scored when Freeman singled off Perez in the eighth.
