Nationals vs. Braves Highlights (8/1/26) | MLB Highlights

Saturday night at Truist Park. Four game series, the Braves have won the first two. Gonna try to make it three in a row here against the Nationals tonight. Well, a bit of news. 30 minutes ago, we, along with everybody else, got the information passed to us that Reynaldo Lopez is dealing with some knee inflammation. He was supposed to start tonight. Instead, Martín Pérez, who was tomorrow's scheduled starter, will get the ball. All season long, Martín Pérez has stepped up for this team, and now they ask him on short notice to step up again. That was last two starts have been really good, and even E.E.R.A., excuse me, for the left-hander. We know the fastball, the two-seamer, the changeup, the cutter, all have been really good for Martín Pérez. So if anybody can handle short notice, Martín Pérez can be the guy to do it. One down here on the top of the first inning. Softly tapped out to second base. Charge again, Ozzie. Glove tosses to first base in time. Toro carrying that piano on his back down the first baseline. Two down now for Dylan Cruz. Cruz with a little bit of a missile out to left center. No problem for Yaz. That was quick. Seven pitches, three outs. Miles Michaelis goes to work in the bottom of the first inning. Thirty-seven-year-old right hander from Jupiter, Florida, will face Drake Baldwin leading it off. Baldwin a fly ball to left. Cruz using his glove for shade, then into the shade. So everyone's swinging early. One pitch and one out. Now Ronald Acuna Jr. won for seven of the two games so far. They won a home run. Ronald Acuna Jr., center field. Young back. A splash for Ronald in the Chattahoochee Falls. Homer number nine for Ronald Acuna and the Braves on the board. When you have a pedestrian fastball, Ben, you better locate it. In that time, Miles Michaelis, that was pretty close to middle-middle. And Ronald Acuna again struggled with heaters in New York, but since he's returned home, he's been on time. RBI number 24 for Ronald Acuna. Hit it to the deepest part of the yard. He knew it was gone, too. Now the batter is Matt Olsen. Olsen has 29 home runs. Olsen wrecks one to deep right. Will it stay fair? And that is a home run. Just branded his mark on that one. Sent it blazing in the fast lane down the right-field line, and it's two-nothing Braves. Back-to-back homers by Acuna and Olsen. So for Matt Olsen, reaching 30 home runs for the fifth time in his career. Two down for Ozzie Albee. Well, they are putting some pretty good swings on the baseball here in the first for the Braves. Ozzie held to a two-out single. And the batter now will be Dominic Smith, the former national. Ozzie goes. He is safe in his career-stolen base, number 100 for Ozzie Albee. That's after that hit just a moment ago, which was Ozzie's 1,200th career hit. 0-2 to Abrams. Got him looking. Beautiful sinker right on the outside corner. First strikeout by Perez, one down in the top of the second inning. When he's the best version of himself, that sinker-change combo is so devastating. Out of the gate, looking pretty good. 1-2 to House. Fandom, changeup. Back-to-back strikeouts for Perez. And again, command here from Martín Perez. Some deep drives here early. That one almost got out. People don't realize Atlantis, the third-highest elevation in any park in the major leagues after Colorado and Arizona. Here's Mike Yastrzemski. Yastrzemski swinging on a fly ball down the left field line. A trio of Nationals trying to get there, and no one gets there. Abrams overran it. Cruz wasn't quite there. Brady House had no idea where it was. And it's a double for Mike Yastrzemski. Perfectly placed down the left field line in no-man's land. Drake Baldwin with a man of word and two down. Drake 0 for 9 in the series. He's due. He's not going to get Baldwin. The other way for a hit. Yastrzemski's coming home. 3-0. Squared up by Baldwin through the left side. RBI number 57 for Drake Baldwin. And a beautiful swing there from Drake. The pitch was on the outer half. He went with it. Like you said, just whistled it right in front of the belt buckle of Mike Yastrzemski. He had to pause and then go. What a great start tonight. Well, at this point, Martin Perez has faced six Nationals. He's retired all six, has two strikeouts. Ball bobbled by Jarvis. And instead of the first out of the inning, it will be he's six and Nunez reaches. So error number five for Jarvis. And the Nationals first base runner brings in Garcia. A strikeout on the changeup. Strikeout number three for Perez. One down at the top of the third inning for Kieber Ues. Jarvis, a chance to make amends. And he will double. And Perez has faced the minimum and not surrendered a hit through three frames. Here is James Wood to lead off. It's 3-0 Atlanta, top of the fourth. Ozzie reaching out and making the catch. Get the changeup from Martin Perez. And what you also get from James Wood is really long arms and great power. But Martin had him out in front just enough. It was hit hard, 101 miles an hour. But Ozzie able to track it down and pull it in. And he walked him. That went in the dirt. Changeup bounced. And Andres Chaparro draws a one-out walk. Cruz hit one sharply, lined out to left his first time. Down to third. Riley reaches for it. They get the promotion at first. That may have been a double play, but the gold-glover Olsen missed the throw. And it rolls out of play. So Cruz will be awarded second base. And two down for Abrams. Jarvis bobbles another. Abrams hustling down the line, beats it out. So a couple of times the inning could have been over. Nationals all of a sudden bring the tying run to the plate, represented by Brady House. He struck him out! The changeup brings down House and into top of the fourth. We can't honor hundreds and hundreds of great staff members. They said to come see you, because they said your personality, you got the smile. You make everybody enjoy the experience a little bit more. Your favorite memory as a Brave? It has to be with Chippa Jones. Oh, you and Cynthia pop up at the dance, Tyler. Dominic Smith with a homer out into the chop house, while Cynthia Morgan is telling us to have fun. I know Dominic Smith's having fun. That's a pretty good moment right there. It was when Chippa Jones retired over at Turner Field, and everyone in the stadium had their number 10 that's hanging in their hands. It was a beautiful sight. Three solo homers for the Braves tonight, now after that Dom Smith bomb. I think that she just got this foul ball off the bat of Austin Wright. Her first ever, as long as she has been here. That's her first ever ever in 22 years. Let's go. That's unbelievable. 1-0. Leaping cash, robs him of a hit. He climbs the ladder and brings it back down, snaring it into the webbing of his mitt. Fine play by Nassim Nunez with a leaping cash. And it's a one, two, three, fifth inning. Martín Pérez continues to cruise. You do not see this often. Fifty pitches to complete five and no hits. Kieber Ruiz is going to lead off the top of the sixth here against Martín Pérez, who has been stellar. Five hitless innings lifted into shallow left field. Jarvis drifting out. Yaz racing in. It'll be the shortstop Jarvis making the call and cradling the first out just above his left shoulder. He comes back to get it. To freeze James Wood. It's all coming together for Martín Pérez tonight. Swinging butt down the third baseline. He makes the throw. He is through six. On just 59 pitches tonight is Martín Pérez. Greatest athletes on the field, the left-handed pitchers, and what a play here by Martín to get it done. Bravely, four-nothing leaders to go to the top of the seventh, but we still have some drama tonight. All eyes on Martín Pérez. And that's up in the zone. How about his ability to battle back right there? It was three and one. He's able to come back with two perfect pitches. And officially the longest outing of the season for Martín Pérez. Olsen has it. Pérez hustles over. Two down. Well, if the Nationals wait around, they're not doing anything. If they swing at the first pitch, they're not doing anything. So it's two outs, nobody on for Brady House. And there goes the no-hitter. It is House with a line drive single to right field. But 40,000 are going to appreciate what Pérez has done so far. As they said, it has been incredible. You love seeing the zero and the opportunity to go for something really special. But this is bigger than this for me with Martín and facing this incredibly deep Washington Nationals lineup. And he's pitching into the seventh inning with a really good pitch count. Inside, ball four. Nashville's trying to put a dent into this Atlanta lead. Two on, two out. Liner to left. He has backing up a few steps. He's got it. And seven shutout innings for Martín Pérez. What a great night for him, but that's the end of the line. Seven brilliant innings out of Martín. Cornelio in a really tough spot. Bases loaded, no one out. We'll face Harris, whom he faced in game one. And he got Harris to ground out the first base, but much different scenario here tonight. Popped him up. Brady House in the foul territory for the first down. There's one down for Cornelio. He still has to go through all these. Got him! Elevated slider. Back to back outs recorded by Cornelio. Bases loaded, two down for Dominic Smith. And the 3-0 pitch. Missed high. How about an RBI the easy way? It's a bases loaded walk. Baldwin will score, 5-0 Braves in the seventh. And the new right hander, Eddie Jean, is on. Rookie now pitching in his just sixth game of his career. Does have a start in there as well. The bases will be juiced for Austin Reilly. All the way to the backstop. Dashing to the plate now. Acuna, he dives. Safe! A wild pitch by Yeen. It's 6-0 Braves in the seventh. Waiting to see if the Nationals want to review this. They do not. So that run comes across. That pitch bounced under the glove of Ruiz. Went to the backstop. Now two men aboard. The Braves have scored two runs here in the seventh without the benefit of a base hit. Attack on two more with a base hit right here. Couldn't survive the impact to the... And once he landed on the ground, it came out of there. It's a two RBI double out of Austin Reilly. 8-0 Braves in the seventh. Two on with two out. Crews hope for three tonight. Another chance for the Nationals to snap their skid with runners in scoring position. Crews gonna do it. Out to right center. Nobody catching this one. And it'll one-hop the wall. Runs scored number 100 this season. And Dylan Crews, RBI number 25. CJ struck out looking. Reached on an error by the shortstop and grounded first. Young delivers and Abrams swings and lines one into center field. That's a base hit. Japara scores from third. Crews around third. He's coming home as Harris lobs the ball into second base. CJ Abrams delivers. A two-run single to center field. RBI's 84-85 of the year. And it's a two-out double for Luis Garcia. The Nationals still alive here. Hey, Barrett Ruiz will come up. The bat left-handed against the right-hander Medeiros. In the air towards Acuna. Back he goes. Ronald under it. He has got it. Braves won at 8-3 over the Nationals. They've won four in a row for the first time since May 19th through 22nd. And of course, the bats were very loud tonight. And it was a night where Martin Perez was brilliant on the mound.