Nationalsclub.com | Washington Nationals News, nationals Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary - <div>Washington --- The Braves waited two games and nine innings for something wonderful, so they weren't about to complain about how they got it. </div>Kelly Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Braves a 1-0 win over the Nationals. That one run made 7 2/3 shutout innings by Jair Jurrjens stand up and kept the Braves from getting swept. "Finally caught a break a little bit," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We've had some really good pitched games that we haven't won." The Braves used a single by Matt Diaz and two-out walks by Jordan Schafer and Martin Prado to load the bases for Johnson, who took three straight balls from reliever Mike Hinckley before getting his free pass on the fifth pitch. "He threw the first one in the dirt, it helped me," Johnson said. "I knew he could be wild sometimes. So after that, it was just make it be there." Johnson credited Diaz for breaking up a double play in the ninth and keeping the inning alive. The win went to Mike Gonzalez (1-0), who got the final out of the eighth by striking out Adam Dunn, and Rafael Soriano got the save after a perfect ninth with two strikeouts. They finished off what Jurrjens had started in a scoreless duel with John Lannan. Jurrjens outlasted Lannan by two-thirds of an inning before Cox removed him after a two-out walk to Ryan Zimmerman. "Unbelievable," said Cox, who didn't want Jurrjens topping 100 pitches after 120 pitches in his previous outing. "Can't pitch any better than that. He was just dominating the strike zone all night long." A Braves starter hadn't worked into the eighth inning since opening night, when Derek Lowe shut out the Phillies for eight innings. "The last two starts I just say throw it down the middle and let them get themselves out," Jurrjens said. "I tried to work on not walking a lot of people, trying to go deep in the game to help the bullpen out." When the Nationals got their hits, he worked around them. The Nationals got leadoff hits in each of the fourth through seventh innings and failed to score. Twice they hit leadoff doubles but came up empty after the Braves made good defensive plays with the infield in for the critical second out. In the fourth, Yunel Escobar robbed Elijah Dukes by leaping to catch a line drive, and in the seventh, Chipper Jones made a smothering stop to take a hit from Jesus Flores. "Good defense by Chipper and Yunel there," Jurrjens said. "I got away with two. I'm really happy to finally get a win." In his previous start, Jurrjens allowed the Pirates only one run in 6 2/3 innings and the Braves still lost 3-0. This time his efforts didn't go to waste. He was more economical with only 96 pitches, including 65 for strikes. Lannan pitched seven shutout innings, striking out four. "He threw a lot of offspeed in fastball counts," Johnson said. "I don't think he wanted to get beat throwing a fastball over the plate." That was the opposite of what Jurrjens tried to do. "I'd say JJ got this team the win, even though he's not going to get the actual in-the-stat-category win," Johnson said. "You can't say enough about the way he threw tonight. He's been doing that since we got him." NEXT FOR Braves * Who: at Reds * When: 7:10 p.m. Friday * TV; radio: SportSouth; 640 AM, 96.1 FM

Washington --- The Braves waited two games and nine innings for something wonderful, so they weren't about to complain about how they got it.

Kelly Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Braves a 1-0 win over the Nationals. That one run made 7 2/3 shutout innings by Jair Jurrjens stand up and kept the Braves from getting swept.

"Finally caught a break a little bit," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We've had some really good pitched games that we haven't won."

The Braves used a single by Matt Diaz and two-out walks by Jordan Schafer and Martin Prado to load the bases for Johnson, who took three straight balls from reliever Mike Hinckley before getting his free pass on the fifth pitch.

"He threw the first one in the dirt, it helped me," Johnson said. "I knew he could be wild sometimes. So after that, it was just make it be there."

Johnson credited Diaz for breaking up a double play in the ninth and keeping the inning alive.

The win went to Mike Gonzalez (1-0), who got the final out of the eighth by striking out Adam Dunn, and Rafael Soriano got the save after a perfect ninth with two strikeouts.

They finished off what Jurrjens had started in a scoreless duel with John Lannan. Jurrjens outlasted Lannan by two-thirds of an inning before Cox removed him after a two-out walk to Ryan Zimmerman.

"Unbelievable," said Cox, who didn't want Jurrjens topping 100 pitches after 120 pitches in his previous outing. "Can't pitch any better than that. He was just dominating the strike zone all night long."

A Braves starter hadn't worked into the eighth inning since opening night, when Derek Lowe shut out the Phillies for eight innings.

"The last two starts I just say throw it down the middle and let them get themselves out," Jurrjens said. "I tried to work on not walking a lot of people, trying to go deep in the game to help the bullpen out."

When the Nationals got their hits, he worked around them.

The Nationals got leadoff hits in each of the fourth through seventh innings and failed to score. Twice they hit leadoff doubles but came up empty after the Braves made good defensive plays with the infield in for the critical second out.

In the fourth, Yunel Escobar robbed Elijah Dukes by leaping to catch a line drive, and in the seventh, Chipper Jones made a smothering stop to take a hit from Jesus Flores.

"Good defense by Chipper and Yunel there," Jurrjens said. "I got away with two. I'm really happy to finally get a win."

In his previous start, Jurrjens allowed the Pirates only one run in 6 2/3 innings and the Braves still lost 3-0. This time his efforts didn't go to waste. He was more economical with only 96 pitches, including 65 for strikes.

Lannan pitched seven shutout innings, striking out four. "He threw a lot of offspeed in fastball counts," Johnson said. "I don't think he wanted to get beat throwing a fastball over the plate."

That was the opposite of what Jurrjens tried to do.

"I'd say JJ got this team the win, even though he's not going to get the actual in-the-stat-category win," Johnson said. "You can't say enough about the way he threw tonight. He's been doing that since we got him."

NEXT FOR Braves

* Who: at Reds

* When: 7:10 p.m. Friday

* TV; radio: SportSouth; 640 AM, 96.1 FM