The Braves didn't plan on Martin Perez starting Saturday night against the Nationals. Reynaldo Lopez was supposed to take the mound until he came up with left knee soreness during his pregame routine, and Atlanta scrambled to hand the ball to Perez with barely half an hour's notice, despite the lefty having spent his afternoon prepping to pitch the next day instead.
What followed was one of the wilder spot-start performances you'll see all season. Perez carried a no-hit bid deep into the game against the highest-scoring offense in baseball, mixing in a 90 mph sinker and painting the corners like he'd had a full week to prepare instead of a pregame scramble.
Perez working through the middle innings with Atlanta up 4-0 and the no-hitter still intact.
Perez ultimately took the no-hit bid into the 7th before Brady House broke it up with a clean single to right, finishing with 6 2/3 no-hit innings, one hit allowed, no runs and six strikeouts across seven innings on just 78 pitches. Atlanta hasn't thrown a no-hitter since Kent Mercker shut down the Dodgers back in 1994, so this was as close as the Braves have come in over three decades.
Perez wasn't the only one doing damage. Ronald Acuna Jr. got the scoring started with a homer, and Matt Olson and Dominic Smith piled on more long balls as Atlanta cruised to an 8-3 win and stretched their winning streak to four games.
Acuna rounds the bases after the home run that opened the scoring for Atlanta.
It's the kind of night that sums up where the Braves are right now, patching together a rotation on the fly and still finding ways to win big. Perez himself has had a rocky year, reportedly nearing an IL stint with forearm issues just last month before working his way back into the rotation picture. Fans in the replies were already noticing the vibe shift, with one crediting the emergency-fill-in outing as a legitimate bounce-back for a staff that's needed length from anywhere it can get it.
None of it changes the standings overnight, but a spot starter no-hitting the league's best offense into the 7th on a phone call's notice is the kind of story that sticks. With the trade deadline picture still shaping up in Atlanta, a start like this only makes the front office's job easier if they're looking to hang onto arms instead of moving them.