WASHINGTON — Atlanta pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval drove a two-run homer to the deepest part of the ballpark off a Washington reliever who took over after Stephen Strasburg’s six scoreless innings Wednesday, lifting the Braves to a 2-0 victory over the Nationals and a doubleheader sweep.

Sandoval drove a 96 mph fastball from Tanner Rainey (0-1) more than 400 feet following Dansby Swanson’s two-out single in the seventh and final inning.

Luke Jackson (1-0) earned the win in Game 2, and Sean Newcomb got three strikeouts for the save.

Ronald Acuna Jr. doubled and had a pair of singles as Atlanta won the opener 7-6.

The Braves put up five runs in the second inning off Erick Fedde (0-1), then wound up barely holding on with a save by Will Smith. Andrew Stevenson grounded into a game-ending double play.

Josh Tomlin (1-0) pitched two hitless innings.

Washington is missing nine players because of a coronavirus outbreak that led to the postponement of the team’s first four games. Four players tested positive for COVID-19, and another five who would have been on the 26-man roster are under quarantine.

REDS 11, PIRATES 4

CINCINNATI — Tyler Naquin hit another leadoff homer, this time off Chad Kuhl (0-1), Kyle Farmer added a two-run double in the first, and Cincinnati won its fifth straight

Luis Castillo (1-1) allowed four hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked one.

Erik Gonzalez hit his first career grand slam in the Pirates ninth off Amir Garrett.

RED SOX 9 RAYS 2

BOSTON — Christian Vazquez homered, Xander Bogaerts had three hits and J.D. Martinez went for extra bases for the seventh game in a row as Boston completed a three-game sweep.

Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) allowed one run, three hits and three walks over seven innings with seven strikeouts. The Red Sox, swept by lowly Baltimore in their opening series over the weekend, beat the defending AL champion Rays in three straight by a combined 26-9.

Ryan Yarbrough (0-1), who pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings in his first outing this season, added three more scoreless before Bogaerts singled in a run and scored on Vazquez’s line drive over the Green Monster in the fourth.

INDIANS 4, ROYALS 2

CLEVELAND — Jose Ramirez’s second two-run homer of the game snapped a tie in the eighth against Greg Holland (0-1).

Shane Bieber struck out 12 for the second straight game, allowing two runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings. Emmanuel Clase (1-0) pitched the eighth — all nine of his fastballs were over 100 mph — and Nick Wittgren worked the ninth for his first save since Sept. 4, 2019.

Salvador Perez homered for the Royals.

TWINS 3, TIGERS 2

DETROIT (AP) — Jorge Polanco hit a two-run double in the sixth.

Kenta Maeda (1-0) pitched six mostly strong innings, allowing two runs and seven hits, and Alex Colome pitched two innings for his second save.

Akil Baddoo hit an RBI triple and threw a runner out from left field — another impressive day in this stellar start to his big league career. Matthew Boyd (1-1) allowed three runs in seven innings.

RANGERS 2, BLUE JAYS 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kyle Gibson (1-0) struck out eight and allowed six hits over six scoreless innings. Ian Kennedy, the third Texas reliever, struck out three around a hit in the ninth for his second save, both in less than 24 hours.

Nick Solak homered off left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu (0-1), who struck out seven without a walk over seven innings.

Marcus Semien hit his third homer for the Blue Jays, a leadoff shot in the eighth.