ATLANTA -- Braves left fielder Matt Kemp couldnt handle a routine fly ball, a first-inning mistake that put his team in a quick 2-0 hole and set the tone for the rest of the night.I just dropped the ball. Unacceptable, Kemp said. It changed the mode of the game right there. Robbie (Whalen) pitched a great game. I didnt help him out by dropping that ball.Kemps two-base error, a muffed attempt on the warning track, was the first of several Atlanta miscues in the Braves 8-2 loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday.Reynaldo Lopez struck out 11, and Jayson Werth reached safely in his 46th straight game for the Nationals.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.Washington broke it open with five runs in the eighth, scoring three runs on a hit batter, a walk and a passed ball. The Braves dropped to 10-30 against the Nationals since June 21, 2014.Atlanta has been outscored 58-28 in losing seven of its last eight.Weve had chances to win games, Kemp said. Weve just got to play better, show these teams were capable of winning games.Whalen (1-2) allowed three hits and one earned run in a career-best six innings. The rookie didnt blame Kemp for the loss.Its not the first time its happened in a game and it wont be the last, Whalen said. Its no big deal. Youve just got to go get the next guy and refocus.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.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 good 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 good.ROSTER MOVESNationals: Recalled RHP A.J. Cole from Triple-A Syracuse to work from the bullpen. OF Brian Goodwin 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 ROOMNationals manager Dusty Baker said theres a good 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.Shoes NZ Nike . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Shoes NZ From China .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. https://www.shoesnzonline.com/ . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Wholesale Shoes NZ . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. Shoes NZ 2020 .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.WATKINS GLEN, NY - Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his first appearance at a racetrack since being diagnosed with a concussion four weeks ago, and he has a message for his fans:Hes not retiring. Not yet, anyway.Earnhardt, who has missed the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and will miss at least two more, took questions for 30 minutes during a media appearance at Watkins Glen International, where the Cup Series races on Sunday.The popular driver said he is continuing to make progress in his therapy, but as long as he continues to suffer from ocular imbalance issues, there can be no set timetable for his return to the seat of the No. 88 Chevrolet.However, he does plan to return to competition as soon as he is cleared by doctors.Im not ready to stop racing; Im not ready to quit, Earnhardt said.Its a slow process and I wish it wasnt, he continued. I dont know how long its gonna take, and as impatient as I am, I worry about everyone elses patience as well.But Im not going to go in the car until the doctors say Im ready to race.Earnhardt sustained the concussion in a relatively minor looking crash at Michigan Speedway on June 12, but he said the symptoms were slow to develop. He drove in three more races before recognizing that he wasnt feeling right, at which point he sought medical attention.Unfortunately its a slow process and theres no guidelines or rulebook, he said. Theres no consistent history over how long this really takes to clear up so were just having to be patient.My doctors feel great about the opportunity that I not only will be healthy again, but they can actuallyy make my brain stronger to be able to withstand these common events, he added.dddddddddddd The event that I had a Michigan which they tied this concussion to, I should have been able to get through that without having a concussion. So theyre working not only to get me healed up, but to make sure I can compete and I can go through events like that without any concern.Earnhardt has been involved in several major accidents over the course of his 16-year NASCAR career, and he missed two races due to a concussion in 2012.He said his therapy is different this time, with doctors encouraging him to engage in activities outside his comfort zone. That includes things like dining out, playing with his sisters kids, or making himself available to the media at Watkins Glen.In this situation, my doctor says its good therapy to go somewhere that makes you feel worse, Earnhardt explained. He wants me to do anything that pushes me into areas to get my anxiety and drive the symptoms so my body gets used to them. He calls that exposure, and this [press conference] is probably the worst situation as far as making my senses to go haywire.I just want to get better, he added. Nothing else is really a priority except for just getting the symptoms to clear up and get back to feeling like yourself. Thats all that Im thinking about. Its a challenge, but weve got some great doctors and I really believe and trust what they are telling me. I just have to do what they tell me. ' ' '