Baseballs flying out of Nats Park again (Nats win 10-5)

What is going on at Nationals Park in mid-June to baseballs in 91 degree weather?

On Monday night in the series opener between Washington and Atlanta, eight homers left the field of play, five by the Braves.

On Tuesday night, the Nationals cranked back-to-back homers in the first inning, starting it all with a triple by Ryan Raburn. Bryce Harper's groundout scored Raburn and the Nats led 1-0.

Ryan Zimmerman returned to the lineup with authority, crushing an R.A. Dickey offering over the right-center field wall to give the Nats a 2-0 lead. It was Zimmerman's 18th homer of the season and came on a 1-1 pitch.

Daniel Murphy then followed with a solo homer for his 11th of the season, also on a 1-1 pitch. The Nats lead 3-0.

Joe Ross allowed two leadoff hits in the first and second frames, but then was able to get out of each inning unscathed.

After 1 1/2 innings, the Nats lead the Braves 3-0.

Update: The Braves jumped back into the game with a big hit in the fourth. Matt Adams singled. With one out, Rio Ruiz walked. Dansby Swanson then unloaded a double to deep center that scored two runs. The Nats lead is cut to 3-2. Ross recorded a pair of outs to end the damage.

Dickey got the Nats three-up, three-down in the bottom of the fourth. The Nats have just one hit against the knuckleballer since the first inning.

After four frames, the Nats lead by one.

Update II: Atlanta rallied for three runs in the fifth. Adams doubled and later Ruiz crushed a two-run shot, his second homer of the season against the Nats, giving the Braves a 4-3 lead. After Swanson singled and the pitcher sacrificed the runner up, Ross was removed.

Against Trevor Gott, Ender Inciarte singled to score Swanson. The Braves led 5-3.

Ross finished with 102 pitches, 65 for strikes. He lasted 5 2/3 innings, giving up five runs on nine hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

In the bottom of the fifth, Raburn singled and went to second on a passed ball. Harper's single scored Raburn and the Nats cut into the Braves lead 5-4. Zimmerman followed with a two-run shot, his 19th of the season. The blast was also the 234th of his Nationals career, tying him with the Expos' Vladimir Guerrero for the franchise record. Frank Howard's 237 home runs with the Senators is the D.C. baseball record. The Nationals lead 6-5.

Murphy singled and Anthony Rendon was hit by pitch. Dickey was removed from the game and replaced by Luke Jackson.

Matt Wieters greeted Jackson with a two-run double off the base of the wall, Rendon scoring a few feet behind Murphy, opening up an 8-5 Nationals lead. The Nats scored five runs on six hits in the frame.

After six innings, the Nationals lead the Braves 8-5.

Update III: In the seventh, Zimmerman singled with one out. Murphy slapped an RBI double to right field. After seven innings, the Nats lead 9-5.

Update IV: The Nats added more insurance in the eighth. Michael A. Taylor doubled with one away. With two outs, Trea Turner singled him home. After eight innings, the Nats led 10-5. That's back-to-back games with 10 runs against the Braves.

Shawn Kelley pitched in the ninth. He allowed singles to Brandon Phillips and Nick Markakis, sandwiched around a pair of flyouts. Left-hander Oliver Pérez faced Matt Adams with two outs. Adams flew out to center field to end the game.

Final score: Nats 10, Braves 5. The four-game skid is history.