ATLANTA _ On a day when Stephen Strasburg was utterly dominant, the Braves still made things interesting Sunday but couldn't pull off a sweep of the division-leading Washington Nationals.
Dansby Swanson had a two-run, two-out double in the eighth inning to pull the Braves within a run and chase Strasburg from the game, but the Nationals held on for a 3-2 win in a series finale at SunTrust Park.
Strasburg had a season-high 11 strikeouts with one walk in 7 2/3 innings and the Braves lost for just the third time in their past 10 games. He's 5-0 with a 1.34 ERA in his past five starts in Atlanta including two this season.
Swanson struck out in each of his first three plate appearances Sunday against Strasburg before coming up to face him again in the eighth inning with two out and runners at first and second base, the Braves trailing 3-0.
After working the count full, Swanson hit a line-drive foul to left field and another foul to right before driving a full-count pitch off the right-center wall above the outstretched glove of leaping Bryce Harper.
Swanson's big hit cut the lead to 3-2, scoring Rio Ruiz, the rookie who hit a two-run homer Saturday and drew a one-out walk in the eighth inning Sunday, and Ender Inciarte, who singled with two out.
It was a hard-luck loss for Braves starter Jaime Garcia, who pitched a season-high eight innings and gave up seven hits and three runs (one earned) with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Then again, part of the hard luck was of his own doing as the Nationals scored two unearned runs in the third inning after consecutive errors by right fielder Nick Markakis _ a missed fly ball for a two-base error to start the inning _ and Garcia himself when he failed to field a grounder in front of the mound.
Garcia had not pitched more than 6 1/3 innings as a Brave before working eight on an afternoon that turned a bit steamy after sun followed heavy morning showers.
Daniel Murphy's leadoff homer in the second inning was only the second allowed by Garcia in his past five starts. After the two errors to start the third inning, the Nationals drove in both runners on singles from Bryce Harper, who had a relatively quiet series, and Murphy.
The Nationals snapped a season-high four-game losing streak and won for the 19th time in 25 games against the Braves since the beginning of the 2016 season. The Braves are 2-4 against them this season, all the games in Atlanta.
Strasburg was 3-7 with a 4.61 ERA and .274 opponents' average in his first 16 starts against the Braves, who won 11 of those games against him through Sept. 10, 2014 and knocked him out of the game in five innings or fewer seven times.
To say he's turned the tables since then would be quite an understatement.
Strasburg is 7-1 with a 2.33 ERA in his past nine starts against the Braves, working at least six innings in six of them while piling up 63 strikeouts with 12 walks in 53 innings over that span. The Braves scored two runs or fewer in seven of those nine games, and Strasburg has been particularly dominant against them in games in Atlanta during that stretch.
He's won his past five starts in Atlanta _ three at Turner Field, two this season at SunTrust Park _ while posting a 1.34 ERA with 39 strikeouts, seven walks and no home runs allowed in 33 2/3 innings. Strasburg pitched six or seven innings in the first four of those starts before pitching into the eighth inning Sunday and maintaining his upper-90 mph velocity all the way.
Has two double-digit strikeout games this season, both against the Braves at SunTrust Park.
