Birthday wish: Continue to dominate dish

PHILADELPHIA — If Braves right-hander Williams Perez uses his birthday wish wisely, he will request that each of this season’s remaining starts prove to be as efficient as the two dominant ones he has authored against the Phillies over the past two weeks.

Perez celebrated his 25th birthday in impressive fashion on Saturday afternoon, allowing two hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the Braves’ 2-0 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The young hurler battled through a rainfall that grew heavier in the seventh inning and seemingly influenced his exit.

“On a nice, sunny day, he might have went eight-plus the way he was throwing, because he had it going for sure,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, who was Triple-A Gwinnett’s manager when Perez was sent back to the Minors in April to make some mechanical adjustments.

Feeding off the confidence he gained by limiting the Phillies to two hits over eight innings on May 11, Perez was in total control as he commanded his sinker and also had success with both his changeup and curveball in this latest outing. He retired 19 of the 22 batters he faced and did not allow the Phillies to advance past first base. …

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