It played out about as expected early. Atlanta grabbed single runs in each of the first two innings and Washington answered with one of its own in the fourth, and through five it looked like the kind of grind-it-out game these two clubs have been playing all series. Then the sixth inning happened.
Atlanta strung together the big rally it's leaned on all season, sending the middle of the order through the sixth and turning a 2-run edge into a 4-run cushion by the time the inning was over. Washington got a run back in the ninth to make it respectable, but by then the Braves' bullpen had more than enough cushion to shut the door.
The win keeps Atlanta comfortably above .500 while its lineup carries a rotation still missing Strider and Schwellenbach. For Washington, the loss is just another data point in a season that's landed the club dead in the middle — 55-55 with a trade deadline bearing down and names like Luis Garcia Jr. drawing outside interest even while he's in the middle of a career year at the plate.
Griffin's next turn through the rotation will get watched closely no matter what happens between now and the deadline — a 31-year-old rookie having this kind of year doesn't come around often, breakout arm or trade chip depending who you ask. For the Braves, it's on to the next one with the kind of late-inning firepower that's made Truist Park a tough building all year.