3 thoughts on the Braves' sweep of the Nats

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez, right, looks toward home plate after giving up a two-run home run to Atlanta Braves' Justin Upton, left, in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 13, 2014, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Gio Gonzalez contemplates another loss to Atlanta. (David Goldman/AP)

Credit: Mark Bradley

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Credit: Mark Bradley

In the wake of the Atlanta Braves' latest sweep of the Washington Nationals, we offer three variations on a theme:

1. The Braves own the Nats. The Braves are 18-7 against Washington since the start of the 2013 season. That's a winning percentage of .720. Carried over a full season, that would leave the Braves with 117 wins. In the history of baseball, no team has ever won 117 games.

2. The Braves own the Nats. Of the past nine series between the two, the Braves have won seven, halved one and swept four. The Nationals are 6-0 against every other team in baseball this season, 1-5 against the Braves.

3. The Braves own the Nats, even if the Nats aren't willing to admit it. Before Sunday's game,  general manager Mike Rizzo told Washington reporters : "They've come on the winning side of it more often than we like, but we feel confident against this team. We feel we're better than this team. We respect them, we respect the organization, but we don't fear them. We think we're the better team, and we think at the end of the day we're going to come out on top." So much for inspiration: The Braves led 3-0 after an inning, 6-0 after two and 10-2 at the end.

From myajc.com, our premium site: The Washington Nationals ... or the Washington Generals?