Chipper Jones drove in a pair of runs and Tim Hudson continued his dominance against the Washington Nationals, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 victory Wednesday.

Martin Prado had three hits and scored twice in helping keep the Braves 3 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia in the NL East.

Hudson (11-5) struck out seven and allowed one run on seven hits over 7 2/3 innings to win his ninth consecutive decision against the Nationals, improving to 10-1 in 16 starts against them. He left with two out in the eighth after issuing his only walk to Ryan Zimmerman, but Jonny Venters struck out Adam Dunn to preserve the lead.

Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save in 28 opportunities.

The Braves staked Hudson to a 3-0 lead, scoring a pair of runs in the first on Jones' sacrifice fly and Jason Heyward's swipe of home on a double-steal before adding a run in the fifth on Jones' RBI single.

That would chase Nationals starter Livan Hernandez (7-7), who failed to go five full innings for the first time in 21 starts this season. Hernandez allowed three runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings, dropping to 6-16 in his career against Atlanta.

Mike Morse drove in Washington's lone run with a single in the fifth.