Homers by Wood, Bell help Nationals snap Braves’ 10-game win streak

ATLANTA — James Wood hit two home runs and Josh Bell added another as the Washington Nationals snapped the Atlanta Braves’ 10-game winning streak with a 4-3 win on Wednesday.

Mitchell Parker (9-16) got the final two outs of the fifth inning and earned the victory out of the bullpen for Washington. He relieved rookie Andrew Alvarez, who did not give up a run in 4 1/3 innings in his fifth career start.

Rookie Daylen Lile had three hits, including an RBI single for the Nationals. Jose Ferrer earned his 10th save.

Wood’s two solo home runs gave him 30 for the season. He hit them in the sixth and eighth innings. Bell led off the fourth inning with his 21st home run.

Eli White hit a pinch-hit home run for the Braves to lead off the ninth inning. Drake Baldwin hit his 19th home run in the sixth inning, a solo shot to left field. Marcell Ozuna also hit a solo homer in the eighth. The two teams hit 10 solo home runs in the final two games of the series.

Bryce Elder (8-11) took the loss in his final start of the season, giving up three runs on six hits in seven innings. He struck out seven.

Key moment: With two outs and the bases empty in the ninth, Ronald Acuña Jr. was ruled safe on an infield single after a replay overturned umpire C.B. Bucknor’s out call. Bucknor then ruled Baldwin safe at first on the next play, but that too was overturned, ending the ballgame.

Key stat: Alvarez lowered his opponents’ batting average to .184. The 26-year-old lefthander has thrown 23 1/3 innings and has an ERA of 2.31.

Up next: Braves left-hander Joey Wentz (5-6, 5.46) will open Atlanta’s final three-game series of the season Friday at home against the Pirates, who have not announced a starter. Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli (3-1, 4.23) will face White Sox right-hander Yoendrys Gomez (3-3, 4.92) on Friday in the opener of a three-game series in the District.

General manager news: Before Wednesday’s game, there were multiple reports that the Washington Nationals were finalizing a deal to hire Boston Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni.

The Nationals fired the World Series-winning general manager and manager duo of Mike Rizzo and Dave Martinez amid their sixth-straight losing season in July. 

The franchise appointed Mike DeBartolo as the interim general manager, leading the team through a busy trade deadline and a draft that saw the Nationals hold the No. 1 overall pick. 

Toboni, 35, has spent nearly 11 years in Boston, working his way up from baseball operations intern and area scout to his current role as senior vice president and assistant general manager. He started his career in 2013 as an intern with the Oakland Athletics. 

Several top executives have left the Nationals organization since Rizzo’s firing. Former Scouting Director Danny Haas resigned and joined the Baltimore Orioles earlier this month. Brad Ciolek, who was Washington’s senior director of amateur scouting, left the Nationals on Monday to join the Detroit Tigers. 

The Nationals are 65-94 on the season.