Braves fall again, 4-1 to Nationals

WASHINGTON -- Chien-Ming Wang had a strong finish to his comeback from shoulder surgery and drove in a run with his first career hit to lead the Washington Nationals over Atlanta 4-1 Saturday and stall the Braves' wild-card run.

Atlanta lost for the 16th time in its last 26 games and remained two games ahead of St. Louis for the NL wild card with four games left.

Making his 11th start since returning from a two-year layoff, Wang (4-3) allowed one run and four hits in six innings and lowered his ERA to 4.04. He struck out four and walked none.

Wang's RBI single off Brandon Beachy (7-3) capped a three-run fourth that put the Nationals ahead 4-0. He had been 0 for 32 at the plate in his career.