ATLANTA -- The Ervin Santana who compelled the Braves to go over budget and sign to a $14.1 million contract in March has returned. Evan Gattis homered in support of Santana as the Braves beat the Padres, 2-0, on a sunny Monday afternoon at Turner Field.The Santana-Gattis battery gave a much-needed jolt to an Atlanta club that heads west for an eight-game road trip that will pit it against Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Felix Hernandez. But the Braves are feeling confident on a three-game winning streak. 
Santana fanned a career-high-tying 11 in eight shutout innings, retiring 11 of the final 12 batters he faced. The lone man to reach base against him during that stretch was Yonder Alonso, who was thrown out by Justin Upton trying to stretch a single into a double.The right-hander pitched at least seven innings for the fourth time in his past five starts and struck out 10 or more batters for the second consecutive game, marking the first time he has accomplished that feat during his 10-year Major League career.Particularly effective for Santana was his slider, which he used to record 13 of his outs. Nine Padres struck out on the breaking ball. Santana also proved very efficient, firing 77 of his 102 pitches for strikes. He did not have a three-ball count all day and threw first-pitch strikes to 24 of the 29 batters he faced.The Braves tallied eight hits in support of Santana, but Gattis's blast in the seventh was the biggest. His 17th home run of the season was his first since June 18, as he missed more than three weeks in late June and early July due to a bulging thoracic disc in his back.The catcher is 5-for-6 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch since drawing a bases-loaded walk in Friday's loss to San Diego, further indicating that his timing has improved since coming off the disabled list.Gattis gave Atlanta extra insurance in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single, setting the stage for Craig Kimbrel to strike out the side in the ninth for his 32nd save.Joe Morgan / MLB.com
Santana fanned a career-high-tying 11 in eight shutout innings, retiring 11 of the final 12 batters he faced. The lone man to reach base against him during that stretch was Yonder Alonso, who was thrown out by Justin Upton trying to stretch a single into a double.The right-hander pitched at least seven innings for the fourth time in his past five starts and struck out 10 or more batters for the second consecutive game, marking the first time he has accomplished that feat during his 10-year Major League career.Particularly effective for Santana was his slider, which he used to record 13 of his outs. Nine Padres struck out on the breaking ball. Santana also proved very efficient, firing 77 of his 102 pitches for strikes. He did not have a three-ball count all day and threw first-pitch strikes to 24 of the 29 batters he faced.The Braves tallied eight hits in support of Santana, but Gattis's blast in the seventh was the biggest. His 17th home run of the season was his first since June 18, as he missed more than three weeks in late June and early July due to a bulging thoracic disc in his back.The catcher is 5-for-6 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch since drawing a bases-loaded walk in Friday's loss to San Diego, further indicating that his timing has improved since coming off the disabled list.Gattis gave Atlanta extra insurance in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single, setting the stage for Craig Kimbrel to strike out the side in the ninth for his 32nd save.Joe Morgan / MLB.com
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