ATLANTA -- Martín Pérez sauntered into the Braves’ clubhouse on Thursday morning wearing a hat and sunglasses. He said hello to a couple teammates and then coolly walked to the other side of the room, where he changed the music playlist from '90s rap to more of a salsa mix.
This was the first sign Pérez would be in total command during what proved to be a good day for the Braves.
Led by Pérez’s seven scoreless innings, the Braves avoided a three-game sweep by claiming a 3-1 win over the Rays on Thursday afternoon at Truist Park. Ozzie Albies’ pinch-hit triple sparked a three-run eighth that ensured the strong start didn’t go to waste.
“We needed to win today and Martín was huge,” a relieved Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said.
Along with ending a three-game losing streak, the Braves (86-61) improved their National League East lead to four games over the second-place Phillies (82-65). Atlanta hosts Philadelphia for a three-game series starting on Friday that could go a long way toward determining who wins the division.
Weiss sent Albies a text Wednesday night telling the second baseman he wouldn’t be in Thursday’s starting lineup. The veteran infielder was unsuccessful with his attempts to lobby against a “day off.” But when given a chance to come off the bench in the eighth, he dented the right-center-field wall with a triple against Kevin Kelly.
Austin Riley followed with a RBI single through the right side of a drawn-in infield to account for the game’s first run. Mike Yastrzemski’s pinch-hit double then set the stage for Ha-Seong Kim’s two-run single.
The three runs scored in the eighth equaled what the Braves had tallied over their previous 34 innings combined.
“That's that's what it's all about,” Yastrzemski said. “You want to be playing games that are meaningful. You want to have meaningful baseball in September, and you want to be challenging yourselves constantly. You want to put up more wins than losses, but you also want to see how you rebound after tough losses.”
Pérez allowed just four hits while keeping Tampa Bay's offense scoreless for seven innings. This was just the 13th time in his career that the 35-year-old southpaw has pitched seven or more scoreless innings. But it’s the second time in a little more than a month. He also blanked the Nationals over seven innings on Aug. 1.
“When I was in the bullpen [before the game], I didn’t feel that good,” Pérez said. “But a lot of times when you don’t feel good in the bullpen, that means you’re going to have a good game. I wasn’t putting too much stress on myself. I was just trying to attack.”
This was a timely outing for the Braves, who had endured a rough few days with some of their starters. Bryce Elder underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery on Tuesday and will be sidelined for three weeks. AJ Smith-Shawver and Reynaldo López then had consecutive bad starts to begin this three-game series.
As for Pérez, he walked four and allowed seven hits over just 3 2/3 innings against the Phillies on Saturday. He blamed the rough outing on extended rest.
Five days later, the rest wasn’t the only thing that seemed normal for the Braves hurler, who has a 3.16 ERA in 24 starts this year.
Pérez allowed a single to three of the first four Rays he faced. But he escaped a bases-loaded jam when Chandler Simpson grounded into an inning-ending double play. Matt Olson fielded the speedy Simpson's grounder and threw to the plate before receiving Drake Baldwin’s return throw to first base.
“I just told myself, 'Hit your spot and then get a ground ball, so we could have a chance to win this game,'” Pérez said.
Pérez retired 12 straight batters before issuing a two-out walk in the fifth. He showed his athleticism when he came off the mound to field a bunt before throwing to first base to retire the speedy Chandler, an Atlanta-area native who grew up playing with Michael Harris II.
“That was incredible,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He's not supposed to do that at his age. And I say that because I have so much respect for him and know him well and played with him. But that was a heck of a play."
Cash was a 33-year-old catcher and Pérez was a 20-year-old pitcher for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2011. Fifteen years later, they are both tasting success and preparing for the playoffs.
"I'm just enjoying this year, man,” Pérez said.