ATLANTA -- Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann pitched seven effective innings and produced a momentum-changing three-run single to spark the Washington Nationals to a 13-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday at Turner Field.

Zimmermann (2-2) pitched seven innings, his longest stint of the year, and allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits and one walk. He had a season-high seven strikeouts.

But Zimmermann's most important contribution may have come at the plate. With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Zimmermann served a 3-2 pitch into left-center field that drove in three runs and gave the Nationals a 5-3 lead they never relinquished.

Matt Grace pitched a scoreless eighth and Aaron Barrett threw a scoreless ninth to help the Nationals win the final two games of the three-game series.

Third baseman Danny Espinosa had four hits and two RBIs for Washington, which had 15 hits. Espinosa had seven hits in the series.

Atlanta starter Alex Wood (1-1) took the loss. In five innings he allowed five runs, six hits and one walk, with six strikeouts. Reliever Trevor Cahill allowed the game to get away when he allowed four runs on six hits in two innings.

Atlanta scored twice in the first inning when catcher A.J. Pierzynski extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a bloop single that drove in right fielder Nick Markakis and first baseman Freddie Freeman.

The Nationals got a run back in the second. Catcher Wilson Ramos singled home right fielder Bryce Harper.

Atlanta took a 3-1 lead with a run in the third. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons hit into what appeared to be an inning-ending double play, but second baseman Dan Uggla's throw bounced off first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and rolled into shallow right field. That allowed Simmons to advance to second base, where he scored on an opposite-field single by Freeman.

Washington scored four runs in the fourth. The key hit came from Zimmermann, a career .171 hitter who slapped a bases-loaded single to left-center field to drive home three runs. It was the first hit and first RBIs of the season for Zimmermann.

The Braves trimmed the lead to 5-4 with a run in the fifth when Markakis hit into a double play that scored center fielder Eric Young Jr.

Washington scored once in the sixth inning. Ramos singled and scored on Uggla's infield grounder.

The Nationals added three more in the seventh on an RBI single by left fielder Jayson Werth and a two-run single by Espinosa.

Washington scored four times in the ninth off rookie John Cornely, who was making his major league debut. The Nationals got an RBI single from Uggla and a three-run homer from center fielder Denard Span, his second.

NOTES: The Nationals placed OF Reed Johnson (left calf strain) on the 15-day disabled list and optioned RHP A.J. Cole to Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday. Washington recalled LHP Sammy Solis from Double-A Harrisburg and OF Michael Taylor from Syracuse. Solis is the fifth rookie to debut for the Nationals this spring. Taylor was on the Opening Day roster but optioned to Syracuse when OF Denard Span returned from the DL. ... The Braves open a four-game homestand with Cincinnati on Thursday. RHP Shelby Miller (3-0, 2.05 ERA) starts the opener against Cincinnati RHP Mike Leake (0-1, 3.90). ... The Nationals begin a four-game series in New York on Thursday, with RHP Stephen Strasburg (1-2, 4.88) going against Mets RHP Jacob deGrom (2-2, 2.96).