Braves Snap Three Game Skid Behind Pérez Ahead of Phillies Series

The Atlanta Braves needed somebody to stop the bleeding, and Martín Pérez was the one who did it.

The veteran left-hander threw seven scoreless innings Thursday afternoon in a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Truist Park, snapping a three game losing streak that had shaved a five game NL East lead down to three in a span of four days.

Ha-Seong Kim drove in two runs during the eighth inning after Austin Riley started it with an RBI single, and the bullpen held on after Victor Mesa Jr. tagged Raisel Iglesias for a solo homer in the ninth.

The three losses before Thursday had the coaching staff searching for answers.

Wednesday's 7-2 defeat was the worst of the bunch, with Reynaldo López giving up six runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings during his return from the injured list after being out since late July with left knee inflammation.

Mesa Jr. hit a solo homer in the second and Jorge Mateo added a two run single, then the Rays piled on three more in the fourth with singles from Cedric Mullins and Richie Palacios and a sacrifice fly by Yandy Díaz.

Drake Baldwin answered with his 23rd home run and Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled ahead of a Matt Olson sacrifice fly, but those hits plus a Mauricio Dubón single were the whole night for Atlanta.

Walt Weiss did not hold back afterward.

"There's been some extremes this year with the highs and lows offensively. We've got to ride it out and figure it out," he said.

MLB.com's Mark Bowman noted that Atlanta ended April with the second best OPS in baseball and has carried the sixth worst mark since the start of May.

Pérez calmed some of the concern at the back of the rotation with Thursday's gem, but the questions have not disappeared entirely.

Bryce Elder landed on the injured list after knee surgery as part of a run of roster moves around this series, AJ Smith-Shawver owns a 7.71 ERA through five starts, and López looked far from ready on Wednesday.

Weiss has said repeatedly that he has no rotation plans beyond this weekend, and getting Sale, Mahle and Holmes lined up for the Phillies was the priority all along.

The lead sits at three and a half games with 15 to play, and the Phillies open a three game series at Truist Park on Friday night.

Atlanta won Sunday's game in Philadelphia behind an eighth inning Acuña homer, and the right fielder had some fun with the crowd there, but the three losses since handed most of that cushion back.

Acuña has hit .253 with 16 home runs in 93 games this season.

Thursday proved the pitching can hold up when it needs to.

Whether the bats can deliver more than one productive inning over a full weekend against Philadelphia will determine if this lead holds through September.