Lopez tosses much-needed gem as Nats beat Braves 8-2

ATLANTA - Salvation for the Nationals' overtaxed pitching staff came not from either of their aces, nor from an established big leaguer. No, when the Nats really needed a big-time pitching performance tonight, they turned to a 22-year-old flamethrower making his fourth career start.

Reynaldo Lopez overwhelmed the Braves for the better part of seven innings, striking out 11 while allowing only one earned run, leading the Nationals to a much-needed 8-2 victory at Turner Field that was close until a late meltdown by Atlanta's bullpen.

In the wake of a three-game series in Colorado that left just about everyone else on the Nats' pitching staff gasping for air, Lopez gave manager Dusty Baker exactly what he needed. The rookie right-hander blew away Atlanta's lineup from the outset, at one point recording eight consecutive outs via strikeout.

Baker even pushed Lopez further than he might normally push a young starter. With his pitch count at 90 on a muggy evening in Georgia, Lopez was given a chance to bat for himself in the top of the seventh, and then pitch the bottom of the inning with his team clinging to a 3-2 lead.

Lopez got into a jam, with two on and two out, but he pitched his way out of it, getting Ender Inciarte to groundout on his 101st pitch of the game.

By the time Shawn Kelley entered for the bottom of the eighth, that razor-thin lead had grown dramatically, thanks to a five-run top of the inning that featured only two hits but a flurry of walks, hit batters, passed balls and errors by a Braves team that did just about everything in its power to gift-wrap this game to the opponents.

The victory, combined with the Marlins' loss in Cincinnati, extended the Nats' lead in the National League East to a season-high 9 1/2 games.

The Nationals jumped out to a 2-0 lead, though it would not have been possible without the most gracious of gaffes by Matt Kemp, who flat-out dropped Anthony Rendon's two-out flyball to the warning track in left field. Both Trea Turner and Bryce Harper raced home on the error, which left the crowd booing and Kemp standing all alone in the outfield with nowhere to hide.

The Nats added a run in the fifth on doubles by Pedro Severino and Jayson Werth, who extended his streak of games reaching base to 46 with that hit, matching Rusty Staub for the Expos/Nationals franchise record.