Baseball: Atlanta 2 Washington 1

Andrelton Simmons scored the winning run on a throwing error in the ninth inning Friday to give Atlanta a 2-1 victory over Washington. The Braves prevented Washington from what would have been its 90th win of the season and moved within 7 1/2 games of the Nationals in the NL East. Atlanta held a 1-0 lead until Bryce Harper hit his 19th homer of the season in the sixth inning to tie it. The Braves then scratched out the winning run against Sean Burnett (1-2). Simmons reached on an infield single with one away in the ninth and moved to third on a base hit by Michael Bourn. With the infield drawn in, Tyler Pastornicky hit a grounder to shortstop Ian Desmond. Simmons broke for the plate and Desmond fired home, but his throw sailed past catcher Kurt Suzuki. Desmond was charged with an error, making the run unearned. Craig Kimbrel (2-1) picked up the victory after striking out the side in the ninth. Atlanta starter Kris Medlen struck out a career-best 13 batters in seven innings.