Martín Pérez sauntered into the Braves’ clubhouse on Thursday morning wearing a hat and sunglasses. He said hello to a couple teammates and then coolly walked to the other side of the room, where he changed the music playlist from '90s rap to more of a salsa mix. This was the first sign Pérez would be in total command during what proved to be a good day for the Braves. Led by Pérez’s seven scoreless innings, the Braves avoided a three-game sweep by claiming a 3-1 win over the Rays on Thursday afternoon at Truist Park. Ozzie Albies’ pinch-hit triple sparked a three-run eighth that ensured the strong start didn’t go to waste. “We needed to win today and Martín was huge,” a relieved Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. Along with ending a three-game losing streak, the Braves (86-61) improved their National League East lead to four games over the second-place Phillies (82-65). Atlanta hosts Philadelphia for a three-game series starting on Friday that could go a long way toward determining who wins the division. Weiss sent Albies a text Wednesday night telling the second baseman he wouldn’t be in Thursday’s starting lineup. The veteran infielder was unsuccessful with his attempts to lobby against a “day off.” But when given a chance to come off the bench in the eighth, he dented the right-center-field wall with a triple against Kevin Kelly. Austin Riley followed with a RBI single through the right side of a drawn-in infield to account for the game’s first run. Mike Yastrzemski’s pinch-hit double then set the stage for Ha-Seong Kim’s two-run single. The three runs scored in the eighth equaled what the Braves had tallied over their previous 34 innings combined.
