Martín Pérez flirts with a no-hitter as Braves power past Nationals 8-3

ATLANTA (AP) — Martín Pérez held Washington hitless until the seventh inning , Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and Dominic Smith hit home runs, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Nationals 8-3 on Saturday night, their third straight win in the series.

Pérez (7-6) started in place of Reynaldo López, who was scratched 35 minutes before the game with left knee inflammation .

He allowed one hit, no runs and had six strikeouts in seven innings on 78 pitches against the highest scoring team in Major League Baseball. Brady House broke up the no-hit bid with a clean single to right field.

The Braves have not had a no-hitter since 1994, when Kent Mercker shut down the Dodgers in a 6-0 victory. They have just four since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.

Austin Riley was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and Mike Yastrzemski had two hits and scored a run for the Braves, who are 8-2 at home since the All-Star break.

Acuña and Olson hit back-to-back homers in the first inning to give the Braves a lead they would not relinquish. Smith added a 403-foot home run to lead off the fourth. Smith's home run came after he kept his at-bat alive by successfully challenging what would have been strike three.

Trailing 8-0, the Nats scored three runs in the eighth on an RBI double by Dylan Crews and a two-run single by CJ Abrams.

Miles Mikolas (3-8) took the loss after allowing five runs in six innings. He gave up nine hits, including the three home runs.

The Nationals have lost four straight and are 55-57 two days before the trade deadline.

Nationals RHP Cade Cavalli (7-4, 3.58 ERA) will start the series finale Sunday. The Braves have yet to announce a starting pitcher.

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