Lopez, Werth help Nationals beat Braves

ATLANTA (AP) Rookie Reynaldo Lopez struck out 11, Jayson Werth reached safely in his 46th straight game and the Washington Nationals pulled away from the Atlanta Braves 8-2 on Thursday night.

Werth hit an RBI double in the fifth inning to tie Rusty Staub on the Nationals-Expos franchise list for the longest streak of reaching base. Werth went 2 for 4 and has 43 hits and 32 walks during his string, the best in the majors this season.

After rain delayed the start for 1 hour, 16 minutes, Lopez (2-1) struck out eight of the first nine batters. He had 10 whiffs through his first 4 2-3 innings.

Lopez set a career high for strikeouts and allowed one earned run and four hits in seven innings.

The Nationals broke it open with five runs in the eighth. They are 30-10 against the Braves since June 21, 2014.

Rob Whalen (1-2) allowed three hits and one earned run in a career-best six innings.