ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. and Marcell Ozuna each a two-run homer in the second inning off MacKenzie Gore and the Atlanta Braves won their seventh consecutive game, 6-4 over the Washington Nationals on Saturday.

After reeling off five straight comeback victories, the Braves avoided any suspense by taking an early lead to improve to a National League-best 40-24 as they seek a sixth straight division title.

Gore (3-5) made 39 pitches in the second as Atlanta went up 5-1. Ozuna’s 13th homer of the season sailed 426 feet to left and Acuña’s 13th homer went 413 feet to right-center. It marked the first time in his last 11 homers that Acuña didn’t reach 420 feet.

Acuña added an RBI double in the seventh to pad the lead at 6-3 and led off the first with a double, scoring on Austin Riley’s sacrifice fly to make it 1-all. The three-time All-Star and 2018 NL Rookie of the Year went 3 for 4 and is batting .333 with a .975 OPS.

Gore was charged with four hits and five runs in five innings and hasn’t won since April 26 at the New York Mets, a stretch of eight starts. The lefty has given up six homers in his last four outings. His ERA rose 38 points to 4.04.

Rookie Jared Shuster (3-2), pitching on nine days of rest, allowed eight hits and three runs in his seventh career start. The lefty was 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA over his previous three starts but was chased on consecutive singles to begin the sixth.

Jesse Chavez ended the threat by striking out two and retiring pinch-hitter Dominic Smith on a groundout. The 39-year-old then faced the minimum in the seventh.

After Joe Jiménez pitched a perfect eighth, A.J. Minter earned his ninth save in 12 chances, but he gave up a leadoff homer to Stone Garrett to make it 6-4 before retiring the next three batters.

Washington went up 1-0 in the first when Lane Thomas led off with a triple and scored on Luis García’s sacrifice fly. Center fielder Michael Harris II made a tough running catch as he banged into the wall.

Thomas hit a two-run double in the fifth to trim the lead to 5-3.

Atlanta leads the NL with an 11-5 record against lefties this year and improved to 17-5 against the NL East.

The last-place Nationals have dropped a season-high six in a row.

STREAK LIVES

Nationals DH Joey Meneses went 2 for 4 and has reached safely in a career-high 17 straight games. He’s hitting .348 during the streak.

UP NEXT

Braves RHP Bryce Elder (4-0, 2.26 ERA that leads the NL) faces Nationals RHP Trevor Williams (2-4, 4.15) as the teams conclude a three-game series on Sunday.

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