LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- It was around this time one year ago -- after he was released by the Twins during Spring Training -- that Anibal Sanchez signed with the Braves and ended up playing a crucial role in Atlanta’s return to the postseason for the first time since 2013.

So, before he took the mound in Tuesday afternoon’s 3-2 victory over the Braves at Champion Stadium, Sanchez stopped by the home clubhouse once again to catch up with his former teammates. Although he spent a year with one of the Nationals’ biggest division rivals and has years of experience pitching in the National League East, Sanchez denied that history would give him any sort of extra advantage pitching against the defending NL East champs throughout the course of the season.

“They are great hitters, they are great players,” Sanchez said. “No matter what, you have to prepare your game every time you’re going to face any team in the big leagues.”

On the mound, Sanchez turned in another solid spring outing, giving up two runs on five hits in five innings with three strikeouts and a walk. He threw a nasty changeup to strike out Freddie Freeman in the first inning, besting the man who has been a thorn in the Nationals' side for years -- although Freeman followed it up with a single in his next at-bat.

Steady rainfall throughout the morning had left Tuesday’s game in question, but Sanchez was able to prepare and complete his outing without any interruptions, even as rain fell through the opening few innings. Sanchez threw 79 pitches, and although manager Dave Martinez considered letting him start another inning to stretch out to about 90 pitches, he decided against it with the conditions on the mound getting worse as rain continued to fall.

Sanchez became the latest veteran Nats pitcher to make a long spring road trip to pitch on their scheduled day, joining Max Scherzer, who pitched on the road at Fort Myers and Patrick Corbin, who also pitched here against the Braves earlier this spring. Martinez has been pleased that his veteran starters have made these trips so willingly, setting an example for younger pitchers.

And Sanchez has been one of the pitchers Martinez has consistently raved about this spring.

“He came in here with a new team with that sense of leadership and work ethic is unbelievable,” Martinez said. "I said this before, I get to the ballpark early and he’s always there before I get there. I’ve grown to really, really admire and like him a lot, not only as a pitcher, but as a person and what he does in our clubhouse, what he brings.”