WASHINGTON -- Ian Desmond got emotional late Wednesday when talking about Washington Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr, whose wife Kimberly died earlier this week at the age of 45.

Desmond was drafted by the Montreal Expos out of Sarasota (Fla.) High in 2004 and played under minor league manager Knorr the following year at Class A Savannah (Ga.).

"Since I was 18 ... we have been through a lot together," said the shortstop, who added he wished he could give Knorr a hug over his loss.

Of lesser importance, Desmond was dealing with a hitting slump, but he smoked a liner to left field in the 11th inning for a sacrifice fly that drove in right fielder Bryce Harper, giving the Nationals a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Desmond, who was benched Tuesday in favor of Danny Espinosa, entered play Wednesday hitting .129 with runners in scoring position. After going 0-for-3 with the sacrifice fly against the Braves, he is hitting .111 (6-for-54) in his past 15 games, and his average is down to .220.

"I feel like I bring something to the team every day," he said. "It feels good to win. I was able to get the barrel on it. I try to get better every day."

Washington starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, who threw eight scoreless innings, has been teammates in the majors with Desmond since 2009.

"He has been in a little bit of a slump lately," Zimmermann said of Desmond. "Hopefully this gets him going."

The National League East-leading Nationals (39-33) won their fifth game in a row, and the third-place Braves (35-37) fell four games back. Washington beat Atlanta for the seventh consecutive meeting and is 5-1 in extra-inning games in 2015.

Braves starter Shelby Miller allowed one run and three hits in seven innings.

"I thought the whole night both pitchers pitched really, really good baseball," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I thought it was going to be one of those special nights where maybe both guys get complete games and one ends up to be a loser. Both of those guys, and Shelby in particular, had some really, really good stuff going."

The Braves tied the score at 1 in the ninth off Nationals closer Drew Storen. Third baseman Kelly Johnson, who had two hits, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. However, the Braves could have had more, as first baseman Joey Terdoslavich was thrown out at second trying to advance on the fly ball by Johnson.

Said Gonzalez: "That was an aggressive play."

"He is not going to be perfect every night," Washington manager Matt Williams said of Storen.

Harper drove in a run with a bloop single in the seventh to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

Zimmermann, who threw 100 pitches, gave up six hits and struck out three with no walks.

Miller walked one and struck out five while throwing an efficient 86 pitches, 61 for strikes.

"I pitched good," Miller said. "I was just trying to go out and match Jordan the whole time. We came back in the ninth. We just didn't finish it. You take the positives from it, learn and go on to the next one."

Atlanta right fielder Nick Markakis had three hits. Washington second baseman Anthony Rendon had two hits, giving him six hits in the past two games.

The last Washington starter to give up a run was rookie Joe Ross, who allowed one Friday in 7 1/3 innings against Pittsburgh and is now with Triple-A Syracuse. That was followed by a no-hitter Saturday from Max Scherzer, seven scoreless innings by Gio Gonzalez on Sunday and five scoreless innings by Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday.

Miller entered the game winless since throwing a two-hit shutout May 17 at Miami. He had four no-decisions and two losses in his next six starts.

Miller retired the first 10 batters Wednesday before Rendon hit a shot into right field with one out in the fourth.

"Shelby was tremendous," Gonzalez said. "We battled. We got a lot of people on base. We did a good job against their closer in the ninth inning."

NOTES: The Nationals announced that Kimberly Knorr, the wife of bench coach Randy Knorr, died at age 45. "Yesterday was a sad day around here. It was a rough day for everybody," manager Matt Williams said. ... In the series finale Thursday, Washington RHP Doug Fister (2-3, 4.80 ERA) will face Atlanta RHP Matt Wisler (1-0, 1.13), who will make his second major league start since being traded from San Diego in April. ... Washington CF Denard Span has reached base 17 games in a row after two walks on Wednesday. ... Braves RF Nick Markakis is hitting .406 (13-for-32) this year against the Nationals after going 3-for-5 Wednesday. He has not made an error in the outfield since Aug. 11, 2012. ... Washington LHP Matt Thornton allowed his first homer in 75 innings when Atlanta OF Cameron Maybin went deep in the eighth inning Tuesday. It was the second-longest active streak in the majors.