ATLANTA — AJ Smith-Shawver allowed only two hits and no earned runs in six strong innings, Nick Allen drove in a run with two hits and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Thursday.
The Braves won three of four games in the series, leaving the Nationals with eight losses in their last nine games. Washington snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 5-4 comeback win on Wednesday night.
Smith-Shawver relied on his splitter for six strikeouts and gave up one unearned run.
C.J. Abrams had two hits, including a homer off left-hander Dylan Lee in the eighth, for Washington.
Smith-Shawver (3-2) has allowed one earned run in 19 2/3 innings over his last three starts, leaving his ERA at 2.33. The right-hander took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 4-0 win over Cincinnati on May 5.
“For me, it’s really just been trusting my stuff,” Smith-Shawver said Thursday.
“I don’t know if it’s more belief or just getting more comfortable with more reps.”
“Very impressive right there,” Snitker said. “He came out of the shoot firing, boy.”
Smith-Shawver has won his last three decisions and is a big reason the Braves (22-22) returned to .500 for the second time in three days after losing their first seven games to open the season.
Trevor Williams (2-5) gave up four runs, three earned, in 4 1/3 innings.
Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his seventh save, a day after suffering his third blown save.
Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch from Williams to open the fifth, setting up a three-run inning that gave Atlanta a 4-0 lead. Alex Verdugo and Drake Baldwin had run-scoring singles and Marcell Ozuna added a sacrifice fly in the inning.
Washington opens a three-game series at Baltimore on Friday night with left-hander MacKenzie Gore (2-4, 3.59 ERA) scheduled to start for the Nationals. The Braves also will open an interleague series on the road when they play at Boston with left-hander Chris Sale (1-3, 3.97), who pitched for the Red Sox from 2017 through 2023, scheduled to face left-hander Garrett Crochet (4-2, 1.93).
