WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Olson had three RBIs, Bryce Elder struck out six in 6 2/3 innings and the Atlanta Braves won their sixth straight game with a 9-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
Drake Baldwin added two RBIs, and Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, Dominic Smith and Eli White each had an RBI for Atlanta.
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Atlanta Braves pitcher Joel Payamps looks on after a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams, foreground, runs to score during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Washington Nationals first baseman Luis Garcia Jr., left, catches the ball for an out against Atlanta Braves' Austin Riley (27) during the second inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Washington Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Bryce Elder throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Ronald Acuña Jr. was hit by a pitch in the fourth and sixth innings before leaving in the bottom of the sixth. The Braves said X-rays were negative and Acuña was day to day.
Olson’s two-run homer over the center-field wall tied it at 2-all in the fourth. Olson added an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the ninth for a five-run lead.
Atlanta broke it open with five runs in the sixth.
Atlanta chased Washington starter Jake Irvin in the sixth after a fielding error and a hit batter. Washington reliever PJ Poulin came in and threw a wild pitch, and then Baldwin drove in two on a double down the left-field line to put Atlanta ahead for good at 4-3.
Albies and Harris hit back-to-back RBI singles in the sixth and Smith followed with an RBI on a fielder’s choice to make it 7-3.
Atlanta has won 10 of its last 12 games.
Elder (3-1), who entered leading the National League with a 0.77 ERA through four starts this season, allowed four runs, three earned.
Irvin (1-3) allowed four runs, three earned, in five innings of work.
Daylen Lile homered for Washington and Jacob Young had a two-run single to open the scoring in the first.
The four-game series — and the second of 13 matchups between the teams this season — continues on Tuesday with Atlanta RHP Reynaldo Lopez (1-0, 2.18 ERA) going against Washington LHP Foster Griffin (2-0, 3.05). The Nationals are in a stretch of 17 games in 17 days with the next off day April 27.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Atlanta Braves pitcher Joel Payamps looks on after a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams, foreground, runs to score during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Washington Nationals first baseman Luis Garcia Jr., left, catches the ball for an out against Atlanta Braves' Austin Riley (27) during the second inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Washington Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Bryce Elder throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
MAISONS-ALFORT, France (AP) — A wildlife hospital in a southeastern Paris suburb is a place of no cuddles but lots of care. It helps injured, sick and orphaned animals — often victims of human activity and increasing urbanization — heal so they can return to their natural habitat.
Last week, a female fox cub was found alone in a garden on the city's outskirts, with no sign of her mother nearby. Now a team of volunteers takes care of her around the clock.
“We’ll make sure she’s eating well,” animal caretaker Valentin Delon said. “If that’s not the case, we might provide supplemental bottles to ensure she gains enough weight.”
Over the past year, the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort has taken in more than 10,400 wild animals, including a wide variety of birds and European mammals such as foxes, deer and hedgehogs.
Like the little brown-furred cub, the animals can easily capture a caretaker's heart — but bonding with humans is not an option when the goal is to eventually return them to the wild.
The baby fox was found by residents who own hunting dogs. Estimated to be about 2 weeks old, she was far too young to survive on her own.
At the Maisons-Alfort hospital, veterinarian Julie Piazza carefully examined her and aside from a minor injury, possibly caused by a wild animal or a dog’s bite, she was found to be in good health.
The cub was fed artificial milk — a product matching the composition of animal-produced milk — and because of that, her abdomen was swollen, Piazza said.
"That’s common in a young one that has had a disruption in its diet,” she added.
Once healed, the animals are transferred to outdoor enclosures and aviaries to prepare for a reintroduction into their natural environment.
Delon, the caretaker, says that “any kind of imprinting” — measures that attach the animals to their caregiver long-term — must be avoided.
“So we don’t cuddle them, we don’t talk to them,” she said. "There’s really a distance to maintain for their own good in the end, so they can be released later.”
Because she is just a cub, once she grows sufficiently, the baby fox will first be transferred to a rehabilitation center and placed with other foxes in an enclosure.
“We can’t just release her into the wild like that,” Delon said. “She really needs to go into an enclosure first, and then gradually we’ll open the door so she can come and go while still being fed. Then we’ll gradually reduce the food, and that’s how we achieve a truly gradual release.”
The hospital ran by the Faune Alfort group is the only facility in the greater Paris area that treats a wide range of wild species. Some 86% of its patients are birds.
Last week, there was a swan with a broken wing, injured hedgehogs, dozens of ducklings often found on balconies and elsewhere without parents, and lots of pigeons that are treated just as carefully as rarer birds.
Elisa Mora, head of communications for Faune Alfort, a nonprofit group running the Maisons-Alfort hospital, said a record 200 admissions were reported in a single day last summer. The hospital is mostly financed by donations from individuals and charities, and relies on volunteers to help feed and care for the animals.
April to September is the "juvenile period when wild animals reproduce” and the admissions peak, Mora said.
“Wild animals are already vulnerable, but juveniles even more so,” she said. Those too badly injured or unable to return to the wild have to be euthanized.
Veterinarian Jean-François Courreau launched Faune Alfort in 1987, inspired by students willing to better treat wild animals. Six years later, the idea turned into a proper hospital, hosted by the National Veterinary School of Alfort, established in the 18th century.
“It’s hard to stand by helplessly in front of an animal in distress without being able to do anything," Courreau said, adding that it's his duty to help as a vet.
When people find a wild animal in distress, they think “I can’t do anything, and the animal is going to die," he said. "So when they know a care center exists and that they can bring the animal there, it’s a huge relief.”
The vast majority of animals brought to the hospital — as many as 60% to 80% of admissions — are victims of road collisions, animals caught in barbed wire or injured by people using gardening tools or agricultural machinery, among other causes.
An animal caretaker treats a baby fox at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A pigeon is treated at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Baby ducks are bathed at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026 . (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Volunteers treat a swan at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
An animal caretaker treats a baby fox at the Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Maisons-Alfort, outside Paris, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
