ATLANTA -- Rkie Reynaldo Lopez beat the Atlanta Braves five days ago, so he knew they would likely struggle against his fastball again.At the beginning I felt like a caged animal, he said. I just wanted to get out there and be very aggressive.Lopez struck out 11, Jayson Werth reached safely in his 46th straight game and the Washington Nationals pulled away from the Braves 8-2 on Thursday night.Werth hit an RBI double in the fifth inning to tie Rusty Staub on the Nationals-Expos franchise list for the longest streak of reaching base. Werth went 2 for 4 and has 43 hits and 32 walks during his string, the best in the majors this season.After rain delayed the start for 1 hour, 16 minutes, Lopez (2-1) struck out eight of the first nine batters. He had 10 whiffs through his first 4 2/3 innings.Lopez set a career high for strikeouts and allowed one earned run and four hits in seven innings. He added some maturity by laboring in the seventh and getting out of a jam.Sometimes youve got to let them grow up, Washington manager Dusty Baker said. You cant always recuse them. But hes a calm young man. He made the pitches when he had to and hes getting better and better.The Nationals broke it open with five runs in the eighth. They are 30-10 against the Braves since June 21, 2014.Rob Whalen (1-2) allowed three hits and one earned run in a career-best six innings.Washington tk a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-base error by left fielder Matt Kemp, who dropped Anthony Rendons fly ball on the warning track to let two runs in.I just dropped the ball. Unacceptable, Kemp said. It changed the mode of the game right there. Robbie pitched a great game. I didnt help him out by dropping that ball.The Braves made it 2-1 in the fourth on Nick Markakis sacrifice fly. Kemps RBI groundout cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth.Atlanta has been outscored 54-25 in its last seven games.Werths streak is the longest in the majors since Cincinnatis Joey Votto reached safely in 48 straight games last year.SECOND NIGHT IN THE SHOWAtlanta SS Dansby Swanson went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in his second major league game. Swanson, the No. 1 overall draft pick of 2015, went 2 for 4 in Tuesdays 10-3 loss to Minnesota.HAPPY AND HEALTHYBraves ace Julio Teheran is ready to return from the 15-day DL and start Friday. Hes been sidelined since July 31 with strained lat, but is in gd spirits after his son Jordan was born Tuesday.Ive got another motivation to play, the two-time All-Star said. They just got home today before I got here. Its gd.ROSTER MOVESNationals: Recalled RHP A.J. Cole from Triple-A Syracuse to work from the bullpen. OF Brian Gdwin was optioned to the same affiliate.Braves: RHP Arodys Vizcaino, activated from the DL after missing 30 games with a right oblique strain, faced four batters to begin the eighth. He gave up one hit, four runs and walked two. Interim manager Brian Snitker said before the game that Vizcaino wont immediately reclaim the closers role. Jim Johnson has the job for now. ... RHP Jason Hursh was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.ROUGH PATCHAtlantas bullpen had an NL-best 2.49 ERA in August before allowing 15 earned runs in its last 8 1/3 innings. Braves relievers began the night with a 4.69 ERA, second-worst in the majors.TRAINERS RMBaker said theres a gd chance that 1B Ryan Zimmerman (bruised left wrist) and backup C Jose Lobaton (left elbow tendinitis) will be activated from the DL Friday.UP NEXTNationals: Tanner Roark (13-6) is 5-1 with a 1.73 ERA in nine career starts and five relief appearances against Atlanta.Braves: Teheran (3-9) is 3-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 13 career starts against Washington. kiestore.com/Packers-Jace-Sternberger-Jersey/" target="_blank">Jace Sternberger Youth Jersey . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. kiestore.com/Packers-Jaire-Alexander-Jersey/" target="_blank">Jaire Alexander Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. kiestore.com/Packers-Paul-Hornung-Jersey/" target="_blank">http://www.packersrkiestore.com/Packers-Paul-Hornung-Jersey/ . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and ft injuries. kiestore.com/Packers-Reggie-White-Jersey/" target="_blank">Reggie White Womens Jersey . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. kiestore.com/Packers-Rashan-Gary-Jersey/" target="_blank">Rashan Gary Packers Jersey . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Rory McIlroy revealed how much work he has to do before bidding to regain his Open title after an erratic opening round in the 100th French Open in Paris.McIlroy was two under par after six holes at Le Golf National but eventually had to settle for a level-par 71 featuring four birdies, four bogeys and two trips to the water at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue.That left the 27-year-old five shots off the lead held by Denmarks Lucas Bjerregaard, whose 66 gave him a one-shot lead over defending champion Bernd Wiesberger, Belgiums Thomas Pieters, Thailands Thongchai Jaidee and Spains Adrian Otaegui.McIlroy has been putting in the hours on the range with coach Michael Bannon ever since an opening 77 in the US Open led to a first missed cut in a major championship since the 2013 Open.And asked what areas he was working on, the four-time major winner joked: Have you got 10 minutes?My left-hand grip is t strong. Takeaway was going on the inside. Wasnt holding my right elbow properly at the top of my swing. Wasnt getting my right knee out of the way on the downswing... Ive been working on a few things.I was joking with my friends at the weekend; Ive got 17 swing thoughts down to about five, so Im doing okay. Try to get that to two next week.Ive got another hopefully three competitive rounds here. Ive got all next week and then obviously a few days leading up to the Thursday of The Open. So hopefully by then, it will be all bedded in.McIlroy, who was unable to defend his Open title in 2015 after suffering an ankle injury during a game of ftball with friends, added: I think the hardest thing is that I havent focused on my grip since I changed it when I was maybe 12 years old. Progressively the left hand got a bit stronger and stronger and that clubface is coming in closed at impact.ddddddddddddGripping the club feels quite strange at the minute but I just need to stay with it. Bigger picture, its the right thing to do. They are not major changes. They are tweaks trying to get it back to where I know I can be.Every tournament is important and you want to try and play well but sometimes it just has to be done.Despite his problems, McIlroy still fared better than Masters champion Danny Willett, who double-bogeyed the 18th after finding water with his approach to card a 75 and face the prospect of a second consecutive missed cut.Playing partner Lee Westwd, who finished second to Willett at Augusta, was only a shot better off, while two-time winner Graeme McDowell slumped to a nine-over-par 80.Bjerregaards 66 contained a hole-in-one on the second hole from 202 yards and five birdies, despite playing with a new set of clubs after his own had been lost in transit.It was a great way to start my round, the 24-year-old said. Its my first ever hole-in-one, so that was pretty sweet. It was a perfect number for a seven iron downwind. I hit a great shot straight at it but we couldnt really see it.It lked like it went in, but about five guys were at the back of the green and nobody clapped or reacted in any way and then Matteo (Manassero) said he thought he could see it right behind the pin. I grabbed my putter and we started walking and when we got a little closer we could see no ball on the green.My clubs got lost on the way down here so Nike made me a new set yesterday. Maybe I should just keep these now and let the airline company keep my old ones. ' ' '