WASHINGTON _ Back when right-hander Williams Perez went on the disabled list, Braves pitchers had little margin for error because of the team's scuffling offense. By the time Perez returned to the mound on Tuesday, the Braves had transformed into a club that, more often than not, provides plenty of run support.
They gave Perez an early lead but he squandered it. The Braves came back to forge a tie, but the Nationals scored the go-ahead run on catcher Tyler Flowers' throwing error in the eighth inning and went on to a 9-7 victory at Nationals Park.
After sweeping the Padres and Phillies to win six straight, the Braves (54-85) will try to avoid a sweep by the Nationals in Thursday's series finale. The Nationals (81-57) are 13-2 against the Braves this season.
Perez gave up five runs in the third inning, including two homers, to blow a 4-1 lead. The Braves tied it in the fourth with rookie Dansby Swanson's RBI ground out _ his second RBI following his first career homer in the second _ and rookie reliever Joel De La Cruz's first career RBI.
The Braves beat up left-hander Gio Gonzalez for six earned runs over 21/3 innings but the Nationals bullpen stymied them. Seven relievers combined to retire 16 of 18 batters and the Nationals broke through against Braves reliever Jose Ramirez in the eighth inning.
Ramirez walked Ryan Zimmerman to begin the inning and also walked the next batter, Danny Espinosa. Pinch hitter Ben Revere put down a bunt that Flowers fielded cleanly. But Flowers threw wildly to third base while trying to get pinch runner Michael A. Taylor, who scored as the ball sailed into left field.
Trea Turner followed with a two-run single that extended the lead to 9-6. Nationals closer Mark Melancon gave up a leadoff double to Flowers and Swanson hit an RBI single before pinch hitter A.J. Pierzynski grounded into a double play to end the game.
Perez went on the disabled list June 7 with a strained rotator and got roughed up in his return. The Nationals touched him for eight hits and six runs over 21/3 innings to erase a pair of three-run deficits.
The Braves led 2-0 after Ender Inciarte singled and Adonis Garcia doubled in the first inning before scoring on ground outs. Swanson's inside-the-park homer put the Braves ahead, 3-0. After Gonzalez's RBI single in the second inning, the Braves answered with Freddie Freeman's run-scoring single in the third.
Staked to that 4-1 lead, Perez fell apart in the bottom of the third.
The Nationals loaded the bases with singles by Jayson Werth, Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper. Anthony Rendon cleared them by smashing Perez's 0-2 pitch several rows into the left-field seats.
Two batters later Zimmerman reached down and poked Perez's first pitch just over the wall in right field for a 6-4 lead. That sent Braves interim manager out to pull Perez, who needed 73 pitches to get through 21/3 innings.
