Braves 11, Nationals 10 (11): Paul Janish plated Dan Uggla with an RBI single in the 11th inning as visiting Atlanta erased a nine-run deficit to stun Washington in the opener of a four-game set between the National League East rivals.
Uggla led off the 11th inning with an infield single and advanced to second on third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's error. A passed ball put Uggla on third base before Janish's bloop single to center off Tom Gorzelanny (2-2) gave Atlanta the lead.
Chipper Jones moved past Hall of Famer George Brett as Major League Baseball's all-time RBI leader among third basemen with a two-run single. The base hit highlighted a four-run eighth inning for the Braves, who pulled to within 9-8.
Michael Bourn ripped a two-run triple in the ninth off struggling reliever Tyler Clippard to cap the furious comeback, but Danny Espinosa homered in the bottom of the frame to stun Craig Kimbrel and the Braves. Kimbrel had converted 20 consecutive save opportunities.
Eric O'Flaherty (2-0) picked up the victory after tossing one scoreless inning of relief.
O'Flaherty and Atlanta seemed nowhere near victory during the early innings as Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman belted two-out three-run homers to stake Washington to a 9-0 lead. Stephen Strasburg appeared to be well on his way to celebrating his 24th birthday with his second straight victory before the Braves began their comeback.
Brian McCann launched a two-run homer and Martin Prado added a two-run double in the sixth - with all four runs charged to Strasburg.
Atlanta erupted for another four-run frame in the eighth, with Jason Heyward's bases-loaded walk and Freddie Freeman's RBI single sandwiched around Jones' milestone hit.
Morse went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Steve Lombardozzi ripped a two-run single and extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Strasburg even got in on the fun with a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning for the division-leading Nationals, who now lead the Braves by just 2 1/2 games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Morse's two-out blast traveled an estimated 465 feet, making it the longest homer in Nationals Park history. ... After being limited to pinch-hitting duties over the last five games due to a strained oblique, Washington's Ian Desmond returned to the starting lineup on Friday. Desmond went 1-for-4 with a pair of walks.
Atlanta | Washington | |
Tommy Hanson | Player | Stephen Strasburg |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
4.0 | IP | 5.1 |
5 | Strikeouts | 5 |
8 | Hits | 8 |
18.00 | ERA | 6.75 |
Atlanta | Washington | |
Dan Uggla | Player | Ryan Zimmerman |
3 | Hits | 3 |
0 | RBI | 3 |
0 | HR | 1 |
3 | TB | 6 |
.750 | Avg | .600 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Atlanta | 15 | 1 | 24 | .326 | 34 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
Washington | 15 | 3 | 25 | .326 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 1 |