After stumbling through a three game series with Philadelphia at Turner Field, the Braves have embarked on an extended road trip with the first stop in Washington – a wretched hive of scum and villainy – for a four game tilt. The Braves started play 1.5 games back of the first place Nationals, tied with the Marlins in the division, and flirting with a .500 record.

To stop the losing streak, the Braves turned to Gavin Floyd. The Nationals countered with Jordan Zimmermann, as the Nationals pitcher took the hill coming off back-to-back complete games. Both pitchers were incredibly sharp early, mowing down the opposition for the first three innings. The Braves made some noise in the fourth, as singles by Freddie Freeman, Evan Gattis (extending the hitting streak to eighteen games), and Jason Heyward loaded the bases with one out. Chris Johnson singled Zimmermann’s 3-1 pitch to center to score both Freeman and Gattis and give Atlanta a 2-0 lead.

Floyd was exceptional through the first six innings, surrendering just two hits and a walk against six strikeouts while needing only 63 pitches. Since nothing gold can stay, Floyd was removed from the game in the seventh after throwing a single pitch to Jayson Werth due to an apparent arm injury. Anthony Varvaro would replace Floyd and escape the seventh unscathed, and the Braves headed to the eighth inning with a 2-0 lead.

Following a Freeman double and a Gattis single, the Braves added to their lead in the eighth when Johnson knocked a single off Jerry Blevins (literally) to make the game 3-0. Jordan Walden and Craig Kimbrel threw scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively, to give the Braves a 3-0 shutout win in the opener. The Nationals managed only three hits on the night.

The Braves stopped the bleeding from the Philadelphia series and continued their dominance of the Nationals – winning six of seven in 2014. There’s 89 games left to play. Let’s win a few more.