Struggling Braves drop series opener at Nats Park

WASHINGTON – For those pinning their Braves postseason hopes on the proposition of the team continuing to win most of its games against the Nationals, it might be time to reassess.

If the Braves manage to win a wild-card berth, it no longer appears they will do so on the backs of the Nationals, who’ve taken their game to another level while the Braves continue to struggle mightily with the bats.

The Nationals scored a run in the first inning Monday and another in the seventh, then hung on for a 2-1 win to open a three-game series at Nationals Park and hand the Braves their ninth loss in 15 games. It was their seventh game with one or no runs scored in that span.

Freddie Freeman’s two-out RBI single in the eighth inning cut the lead to 2-1 and ended the Braves’ 16-inning scoreless drought, before Justin Upton’s weak pop-up to first baseman Adam LaRoche in foul territory ended the inning with two runners on base. The Braves struck out in order in the ninth.

It was the Braves’ third consecutive loss at Nationals Park, and their third defeat in the first four games of a nine-game trip that began with a series loss at Miami.

They still have a 9-5 edge against Washington this season, but the Nationals have won four of the past six games against the Braves and opened an eight-game lead over Atlanta in the National League East with just 18 games to play.

The Braves fell to 1 1/2 games behind the Pirates in the race for the second and final NL wild-card spot, with the Brewers also a half-game ahead of Atlanta.

Mike Minor (6-10) limited the Nationals to two runs on seven hits and two walks in six-plus innings for his sixth consecutive quality start, but it wasn’t enough with the Braves’ bats quiet again and Nationals starter Doug Fister in complete control for most of the night.

Fister (13-6) allowed two hits and three walks in seven scoreless innings. He’s held the Braves to seven hits in 15 scoreless innings of two starts and wins against them this season.

The Braves didn’t advance a runner to second base until the seventh inning, when Freeman drew a leadoff walk and Tommy La Stella also walked with two outs. Fister induced a grounder from Andrelton Simmons to end the inning.

Simmons also ended the Braves’ next-closest thing to a scoring opportunity by grounding into an inning-ending double play in the second after La Stella’s one-out single. Simmons has grounded into 20 double plays, fourth-most in the National League. (Teammate Chris Johnson was tied for second in that category before Monday with 22.)

From that Simmons double-play grounder through the sixth inning, Fister recorded 14 outs in 14 batters, allowing on a walk in that span.

The Braves trailed 2-0 when they broke through in the eighth against the Nationals bullpen. Ryan Doumit had a one-out pinch-hit double against Tyler Clippard and Jason Heyward walk. After Clippard struck out pinch-hitter Ramiro Pena for the second out, left-hander Matt Thornton entered to face Freeman, whose single to right field but the lead in half.

They still had runners on the corners with two outs and team home-run and RBI leader Justin Upton coming to bat. But the streaky Upton, who’s in one of his cold stretches right now, popped out to LaRoche in front of the Nationals dugout to end the inning.

The Braves won four of their first five games at Nationals Park this season, but the Nationals won the last two games of a four-game series in June when the Braves last visited. The teams have two more games in Washington and a three-game series

They couldn’t put together anything against Fister, who improved to 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in three career starts against the Braves including two this season.

The veteran right-hander was 0-3 with a 5.94 ERA and .365 opponents’ average in his past three starts before Monday, after going 7-1 with a 1.57 ERA and .238 opponents’ average in his previous 10 starts. That previous 10-start tear began June 21 against the Braves at Nationals Park, when he allowed five hits in eight innings of a 3-0 win against Julio Teheran.