SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — Jake Irvin pitched seven dominant innings and the Washington Nationals backed him with solo home runs from Dylan Crews and Jorbit Vivas, beating the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Saturday evening at Truist Park before a crowd of 35,819.

The Nationals improved to 26-27 with the victory, while the Braves dropped to 36-17. The game lasted 2 hours, 23 minutes.

Irvin (2-4) allowed just one hit over seven innings, striking out eight and walking one. He retired 11 batters in a row at one point and faced only two Braves baserunners beyond the first inning. Richard Lovelady pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save of the season.

Braves starter Grant Holmes (3-2) was nearly as effective, striking out 10 over five innings while allowing two runs on six hits. But the two runs came on two swings — a fourth-inning homer by Crews and a fifth-inning homer by Vivas — and the Braves offense never recovered.

Atlanta mustered only one hit, a sharp leadoff single by Michael Harris II in the seventh inning. It was the only time the Braves advanced a runner past first base. Harris finished 1 for 4.

Ronald Acuña Jr. went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, including a called third strike to end the third inning and another swinging strikeout with a runner on third in the seventh. Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Dominic Smith, Mauricio Dubón and Chadwick Tromp each went 0 for 3. Mike Yastrzemski went 0 for 2 with a hit by pitch.

The Nationals scored the only run they needed in the fourth. After a leadoff strikeout by CJ Abrams, Crews deposited a 1-0 pitch from Holmes over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season. The ball cleared the fence on a fly ball, and Crews circled the bases as the Nationals took a 1-0 lead.

An inning later, Vivas led off with a home run to right field, his first of the year. The back-to-back solo shots by the bottom of the lineup provided all the offense Washington required.

The Braves had their best scoring chance in the seventh. Harris lined a single to center off Irvin, then advanced to second on a fielder’s choice grounder by Olson that was initially ruled a forceout but overturned on review. With runners at first and second and no outs, Ozzie Albies popped out on the infield fly rule. Dominic Smith then flied to left, moving Harris to third. But Irvin struck out Riley on a foul tip to end the threat.

Dylan Dodd provided strong relief for Atlanta, working three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. Holmes faced the minimum through three innings before the home runs.

The Nationals finished with seven hits. Vivas singled and homered in four at-bats. Daylen Lile tripled and scored on a double play in the second but was left stranded. James Wood walked twice and singled. Luis García Jr. singled.

Washington had lost the series opener in extra innings Friday afternoon, 5-4 in 11 innings, a game in which the Braves rallied late. This time the Nationals reversed the momentum, handing Atlanta its second shutout loss of the season. The Braves had won nine of their previous 11 games.

The game featured a stark contrast in offensive output. Atlanta entered the afternoon averaging 5.2 runs per game, the best in the major leagues, but Irvin and Lovelady silenced a lineup that included four All-Stars from the previous season.

The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the fourth when Crews turned on a fastball for the opening run, and in the top of the fifth when Vivas followed with his solo blast. Those two swings created the margin that held up as Irvin continued to dominate.

Washington’s bullpen contributed a perfect eighth inning from left-hander Jose A. Ferrer, who struck out Acuña swinging to strand Yastrzemski at first. Lovelady then retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out Harris and getting Olson and Albies on groundouts.

The Nationals will play the rubber game of the series Sunday afternoon at Truist Park. Washington then travels to Cleveland for a three-game series starting Monday, while Atlanta visits Boston for a three-game set beginning Tuesday.

The Interstat game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta Braves 7, Washington Nationals 6. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Atlanta with a 68.50 percent probability to win. Atlanta had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 2 went over the over-under line of 9.