“We get to the sixth inning and it was all about location that inning,” Martinez said. “He’s our ace. And when you have these conversations and you’re watching him and he says he feels good, for me, who else do you want out there in the sixth inning?”

Wright (1-4), who was 0-7 with a 7.86 ERA in 16 career appearances before Sunday, allowed three earned runs and eight hits.

“It took a lot longer than expected,” Wright said of his first victory. “I felt like I kind of got away from myself a little bit. Now I’m slowly getting back to where I need to be. I still have a long way to go, but I definitely like the way I am trending.”

The 24-year-old had pitched more than four innings just once in his five previous starts in 2020.

“He’s experiencing things and he’s figuring himself out,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s really good. I’ve had multiple talks with him about how good his stuff is. How good he can be. He doesn’t have to take a backseat to anybody and you saw it today.”

Atlanta added two insurance runs in the ninth on Marcell Ozuna’s RBI single and Travis d’Arnaud’s fielder’s choice grounder.

Four Braves relievers combined for three shutout innings of relief. Atlanta improved to 21-0 this season when leading after six innings, while Washington fell to 0-21 when trailing after six innings.