ATLANTA -- An eight-game losing streak was way too long for Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "It was nice to shake hands," Gonzalez said. "It seems its been an eternity." Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman hit two of Atlantas four homers off Stephen Strasburg, and the Braves snapped their long skid with a 7-6 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night. Rain delayed the game by 1 hour, 11 minutes in the middle of the sixth inning. Atlanta, which nearly blew a 7-0 lead, moved within 3 1/2 games of NL East-leading Washington. The Nationals, who had won two straight and four of six, have lost 21 of 30 against the Braves. "After a rough road trip and an off day, its nice to come back and win a ballgame that we needed," Upton said. "Theyre a good ballclub. We split with them the last time we played. Its good to jump out and get the first one." Strasburg (8-10) gave up two more homers than his previous career high. He allowed seven runs, seven hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in five innings, dropping to 1-3 with a 6.99 ERA in seven starts at Turner Field. Strasburg, who fell to 1-8 with a 5.25 ERA in 12 road starts this year, was coming off a dominating home performance against Philadelphia last Sunday, striking out 10, walking one and holding the Phillies scoreless for seven innings. "Just not executing pitches -- thats the bottom line," Strasburg said. "It feels good out of the hand, Im just not hitting the spot well enough. I really dont know how to work on it. Some days Im hitting the spot and some days Im a couple inches up, so Ive got to roll with it, try to miss down instead of miss up." Ervin Santana (11-6) held the Nationals scoreless until the sixth, when Asdrubal Cabrera had an RBI single, and Anthony Rendon hit his 15th homer to make it 7-4. Santana, who allowed four runs, four hits and two walks, struck out four in six innings and won his fourth straight decision. Wilson Ramos fifth homer and Cabreras sacrifice fly cut Atlantas lead to 7-6 off reliever Anthony Varvaro in the seventh. Craig Kimbrel earned his 33rd save in 37 chances by striking out Ramos, retiring Kevin Frandsen on a comebacker, and fanning pinch-hitter Danny Espinosa. The Braves went up 2-0 in the first on Justin Uptons 20th homer, and they made it 6-0 in the second on B.J. Uptons eighth shot and Freemans 16th. Tommy La Stella put Atlanta ahead 7-0 in the fifth with his first career home run. Washingtons Denard Span went 3 for 4 with a run scored and reached base safely for the 34th straight game. TRAINERS ROOM Nationals: RF Jayson Werth was given the night off because of a sore right ankle and right shoulder, but manager Matt Williams said he should be in the lineup for the series next two games. Werths replacement, Steven Souza, hit the wall so hard in an attempt to catch Freemans homer that his glove fell on the warning track. He stayed down on his back for about one minute but remained in the game after a trainer checked on him in right field. Souza lined out in his only at-bat before Frandsen replaced him in the fourth. "Hes OK," Williams said. "He banged the wall pretty good, full speed into the wall. His shoulders hurting, pretty good impact, so well see how he is tomorrow." Braves: SS Andrelton Simmons missed his second straight game with a left ankle sprain, and Gonzalez said the earliest he might return is Monday when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit Turner Field. Cheap Nike Air Vapormax Plus . Three days after falling to Hamilton, Abbotsford scored three goals in 53 seconds en route to a convincing 5-1 win over the Bulldogs Saturday in American Hockey League play. Nike Vapormax Plus Wholesale .Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006. http://www.cheapairvapormax.com/. Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz. Cheap Air Vapormax . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days. Cheap Nike Vapormax China . The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Panthers have activated running back Jonathan Stewart from the physically unable to perform list. Stewart is eligible to play in Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. The team waived running back Armond Smith on Saturday to make room for Stewart on the 53-man roster. Stewart, a former first-round draft pick, has missed the first seven games recovering frrom an ankle injury.dddddddddddd Hes expected to split carries with running back DeAngelo Williams and fullback Mike Tolbert. Stewart hasnt played since last November when he first injured his ankle. Stewart is Carolinas second-leading rusher behind Williams with 3,836 yards on 818 carries. He has rushed for 27 touchdowns. He caught 47 passes for 413 yards in 2011. ' ' '