(10-1) Atlanta Braves at (7-4) Washington Nationals Recap

"WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 13: Tim Hudson #15 of the Atlanta Braves throws to a Washington Nationals batter during the first inning at Nationals Park on April 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)"

After a dramatic come back win against the Washington Nationals, the Braves will look to turn around and win another game less than 24 hours after their big win on Friday Night. As mentioned in our preview earlier, the Braves and Nationals revamped their rivalry in a huge way last night. Nationals took an early 4-0 after the first 2 innings off Julio Teheran. Braves got on the board in the 7th on a Chris Johnson solo home run. Braves proceeded to score 1 in the 8th, 2 in the 9th to tie the game 4-4, and Ramiro Pena untied it with a clutch 2-run homer in the 10th inning to give the Braves a 6-4 lead and Craig Kimbrel finished the job with his (5th) save of the season. This afternoon, the Braves will send veteran pitcher Tim Hudson to the mound and will look to earn his second win of the 2013 season. Hudson, 37, currently holds a (3.27) ERA and in his first win of the season against Chicago last Sunday, he pitched (6.2) innings with one earned run, (2) walks, and (7) strikeouts en route to a 5-1 win. Taking the mound for Washington is third-year phenom Stephen Strasburg, who will look to bounce back from his last outing against Cincinnati in which he gave up (9) hits, (4) walks, and (6) runs in (5.1) innings en-route to a 6-2 loss against the Reds last Sunday. It was the 3rd time in his career that Strasburg allowed 6 runs or more in a start. In a clash of two of the best teams in baseball, Atlanta would look to earn their 10th win of this season and Washington would look to stop the red-hot Braves offense.


FIRST INNING:

The Atlanta Braves offense opened the day with B.J. Upton with a pop-out to center field for the first out of the inning. Jason Heyward would reach base after being hit by a pitcher with one out. Justin Upton would strike out for the second out of the inning and Evan Gattis would fly out to end the inning. As Washington opened their first offensive stretch, Denard Span opened the game with a single. The Braves would turn a 8-4 double play on a Jayson Werth line out to center field and due to Span advancing to the next base, Dan Uggla was able to put him out and  it would be two outs for the Nationals. Bryce Harper would strike out to end Washington's threat and the score was still 0-0 at the end of the inning.

SECOND INNING:

Dan Uggla opened up the inning with a infield single with no outs. Juan Francisco would fly out to deep center field for the first out of the inning. Chris Johnson would also fly out for the second out. Uggla would also advance on a stolen base to second with two outs. Ramiro Pena would walk and after Tim Hudson would single; however, Dan Uggla would be thrown out attempting to steal home and the inning would end and the Nationals would dodge their first big threat of the game. Ryan Zimmeran would get a lead-off single for Washington. Again, the Braves would earn another double play as Adam Laroche would ground out to first base and a 3-6-3 double play was earned after Zimmeran would be caught in a run-down by Chris Johnson. Ian Desmond would ground out to end the inning in a scoreless 0-0 game.

THIRD INNING:

"WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 13: Evan Gattis #24 of the Atlanta Braves follows his two RBI home run against the Washington Nationals during the third inning at Nationals Park on April 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)"

B.J. Upton would strikeout for the first out of Atlanta's third offensive stint. Jason Heyward would fly out to deep center field for the second out of the inning. Justin Upton would reach first base on a throwing error by Ryan Zimmerman. Upton would precede to steal second base and Evan Gattis would come through with a two run home run to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. Dan Uggla would strike out but Atlanta would take a two run lead into the bottom portion of the inning. Danny Espinosa would ground out for the Nationals first out of the inning. Wilson Ramos would also ground out to make it 2 outs for Washington. Stephen Strasburg would ground out as well and the Braves would put the Nationals out in 1-2-3 fashion and take their 2-0 lead to the following inning.

FOURTH INNING:

Juan Francisco would strike out to open up the inning for Atlanta. Chris Johnson would ground out for the second out of the inning. Ramiro Pena singled to right field with two outs in the inning. Tim Hudson would get his second single of the game and now Atlanta had two batters on with two outs. B.J. Upton would pop out to end the Braves threat. Denard Span open the Nationals offensive stint with a strikeout for the second one of the game for Tim Hudson. Jayson Werth would earn a single with one out. Bryce Harper flied out to foul territory for the second out of the inning. Ryan Zimmerman would pop out to right field and the Braves would take their 2-0 lead into the next inning.

FIFTH INNING:

Jason Heyward opened the inning with a pop out to deep center field again for the first out. Justin Upton would ground out for the second out of the inning. Evan Gattis would strike out for the first 1-2-3 inning of the game for the Braves. Adam Laroche opened the Nationals portion of this inning by grounding out to first base for the first out. Ian Desmond would pop out to third base for the second out and  Danny Espinosa would put the Nationals on the score board as he hit a home run to cut Atlanta's lead to 2-1. Wilson Ramos would pop out to right field and the inning would be over as the Braves took a 2-1 lead to the next inning.

SIXTH INNING:

Dan Uggla would open the inning by grounding out for the first out. Juan Francisco struck out for the second out of the inning and Chris Johnson would also strike out swinging as the Nationals earned their second straight 1-2-3 inning. The Nationals offensive stretch would start with Tim Hudson earning his third strikeout on pinch hitter Roger Bernadina for the first out, Denard Span would pop out to right field for the second out and the Braves would get a 1-2-3 inning as Jayson Werth would ground out and the Braves took their 2-1 lead to the next inning.

SEVENTH INNING:

"WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 13: Jason Heyward #22 of the Atlanta Braves holds up his glove after catching a ball hit by Adam LaRoche #25 of the Washington Nationals for the third out of the seventh inning during the Braves 3-1 win at Nationals Park on April 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)"

Ramiro Pena would fly out to deep center field for the first out of the inning. Tim Hudson would also pop out for the second out and B.J. Upton would ground out as the Nationals earn their third consecutive 1-2-3 inning against the Braves. Washington would open their offensive stint with Bryce Harper grounding out to the pitcher for the first out of the inning. Ryan Zimmerman would also ground out for the second out and Adam Laroche would line out on a beautiful catch by Jason Heyward to end the inning and maintain Atlanta's lead into the next inning. This would also be the end of Tim Hudson's afternoon as he ended the day with (7) innings pitched, one earned run, (4) hits, no walks and (3) strike outs.

EIGHTH INNING:

Jason Heyward would line out for the first out of the inning for the Braves. Justin Upton would walk with one out in the inning. Upton would precede to earn his second stolen base on the season. Evan Gattis would also walk to have two men on with one out. Atlanta couldn't capitalize after Dan Uggla preceded to strike out and Juan Francisco grounded out to end the Braves threat. Eric O'Flaherty would come in to pitch for Atlanta and Andrelton Simmons would enter the game defensively for the Braves as well. The Nationals would start off the inning with Ian Desmond popping out to right field for the first out for Washington and Danny Espinosa would ground out for the second out of the inning and Dan Uggla would turn a ground ball that hit O'Flaherty into a nice defensive play to get Wilson Ramos out and maintain the Braves 2-1 lead headed to the final inning.

NINTH INNING:

Chris Johnson would start off Atlanta's final offensive inning with a lead-off single with no outs. Ramiro Pena would follow up with another single and the Braves brought two men aboard with no outs.  Andrelton Simmons popped up an attempted bunt for the first out of the inning. B.J. Upton earned his first hit of the game to load the bases with one out. Jason Heyward would get a fielders choice ground out RBI and Atlanta took a 3-1 lead with two outs. Justin Upton would hit into a fielders choice and the Braves took their lead into the ninth inning. Closer Craig Kimbrel would pitch for Atlanta. In Washington's final offensive stint of the game, Jason Heyward would make a tremendous catch to put out pinch hitter Chad Tracy  for the first out of the inning. Denard Span would fly out to left field for the second out and Craig Kimbrel would close the game with a strike out of Jayson Werth.


WINNING PITCHER:

Tim Hudson (2-0): (7) innings pitched, one earned run, (4) hits, no walks and (3) strike outs

LOSING PITCHER:

Stephen Strasburg (1-2): (6) innings pitched, (2) earned runs, (6) hits, one walk, (7) strike outs and one home run allowed

SAVE:

Craig Kimbrel (6)

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

Evan Gattis:

Rookie catcher Evan Gattis is continuing to deliver big runs for the Atlanta Braves to open this season as well as he did in today's game. Gattis went (1-3) with his two-run homer in the third inning that placed Atlanta in the lead at 2-0. Gattis has filled in very well for injured All-Star catcher Brian McCann in a tremendous way. In the eight games he's played in this season, Gattis have a (.333) batting average, (4) home runs and (8) RBI's and is carrying the Braves offense at times when there are other guys struggling to produce runs. At this rate, Gattis is going to continue and provide a spark to the Atlanta offense. 


CONCLUSION:

Today's win over the Washington Nationals secure the series for the Braves and extends their record to 10-1 on the season and pushes their winning streak to eight games. The win also was Tim Hudson's (199th) career victory. Tomorrow, the Braves will look to sweep Washington as they will send Pau Malholm to the mound against Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez. he Braves have been one of the most impressive teams around the majors to open the 2013 season and today's win displayed how special this unit could be throughout the season. Until next time, GO BRAVES!!!!!!