Treinen still strong after pitching three consecutive days

The Nationals dropped the Braves 2-1 behind outstanding pitching from starter Gio Gonzalez and the bullpen.

Shawn Kelley, Oliver Perez, Blake Treinen and Felipe Rivero managed to hold the Braves to one run over the final three innings.

Manager Dusty Baker again singled out Treinen for finding a way to keep the Braves at bay.

"This is why you like that sinkerballer on your staff because they can throw that double-play ground ball," Baker said. "You can get out of trouble. Any time you can throw one pitch and get two outs and get out of trouble, that's a very, very valuable man. No, he's definitely - you can quote this - he's definitely off tomorrow because he went three days in a row. We were trying to stay away from that. But he'd only thrown 14 pitches in (the last) two days. I tell you, he's becoming a man."

Treinen notched four key outs in his third appearance in as many games. He induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the eighth and then struck out two to start the ninth. He walked Gordon Beckham.

Rivero surrendered an RBI double but then struck out Mallex Smith to end the game.

It marked Treinen's second win of the season.

"I came in with first and second and one out, and my goal was just to pound a sinker in on a righty," Treinen said. "My best with his best, the guy is an aggressive swinger and he's looking for the heater. So I'm going to trust my stuff and try to keep the ball down. I got some good swings-and-misses early but also the one that he hit for a single, Garcia, was elevated, so maybe a little bit lack of focus that I left it up because the four before it were down right where I wanted them.

"The next guy, same thing, (Jeff) Francoeur, he's a pull guy. He's got good power to the pull side and aggressive with the fastball. I tried to use that to my advantage, go sinkers down and in. I got a couple, I like to call them cheap strikes, but he wasn't going to get cheated on a fastball. (Jose Lobaton) came out and we talked about it."

Lobaton approached the mound and asked Treinen where he wanted the next pitch.

"He said, 'Hey, what do you want to go with here? You want to go in?' I said, 'Let's go down and away.' I missed probably more over and in, and it worked to our advantage. We were able to get a ground ball to (Stephen) Drew and it turned a good double play. It was a huge moment in the game, glad I was able to come in and execute to give our team a chance to win the game. We did such a great job of grinding. I'm really proud of my teammates. I think that was a huge momentum shift in the game."

Baker confirmed that Treinen will get a day of rest Wednesday. But Treinen said he doesn't feel overly fatigued despite appearances in three consecutive games against Miami and two versus Atlanta. He went a combined three full innings, allowed no runs and just one hit in the three games.

"The thing is I feel pretty dang good. I'm sure I'll be a little tender tomorrow," Treinen said. "But you get out there, the adrenaline runs a little bit. I didn't feel fatigued to the point where I needed to come out of the game for the better of the team.

"He asked if I was good to go and I said I was. So I went back out there. I think if I don't walk the guy, things are different. But I think it's smart on his call, lefty matchup. Bring Felipe in. Felipe throwing 98 mph, usually bodes well and it did, we got the win. 2-1. It's awesome. Just keep it rolling."

Treinen didn't get to see the celebration, but he is always impressed with what Bryce Harper can do. Harper delivered an eighth-inning two-run double, providing all the offense the Nationals needed in the 2-1 win.

"Just standard Bryce I guess. He comes in in the clutch," Treinen said. "I think he lives for those big moments and I'll take them. I love that our guys clutch up. (Stephen) Drew started it with a one out hit and (Michael A. Taylor) got him over, (Anthony) Rendon walked and then Bryce put one over there in left field. It was just huge. I don't have words for it, it's just fun to win."

Baker had so much confidence in Treinen after the eighth-inning double play, he decided to bring him back for the ninth instead of using Jonathan Papelbon or others for the final three outs.

"It's nice that they have confidence in me, and I have confidence in myself to go out and get those outs," Treinen said. "It's just frustrating to walk a guy. You never want to walk a guy, especially a righty. It's frustrating on a personal level, but at the end of the day, we got the win. Everybody pitched phenomenal today, people grinded. It's just one of those games where who wants it more? I feel like our guys did a heck of a job competing."