Wow. Just wow. Whether it was Dan Uggla going 3-4 with two walks, Paul Janish's blooper that scored the winning run, or Chad Durbin recording save to close this crazy game out, this is a fine example of the fact that you just can't predict baseball.
Janish's blooper in the 11th inning that was missed by Ian Desmond allowed Uggla to come in and score the deciding run in Atlanta's 11-10 victory over Washington.
Down 9-0 after the fifth inning, Atlanta furiously rallied back, scoring four in the sixth and eighth before plating two in the ninth to take the lead over Washington. That lead was short lived, as Danny Espinosa hit a rare home run off of Kimbrel to tie things at 10 in the bottom of the ninth.
Things started badly for starter Tommy Hanson in the first, as he walked Ryan Zimmerman with two outs. Adam LaRoche followed with a double, putting runners on second and third. Michael Morse then blasted his fifth home run of the season to make it a 3-0 game. Morse's bomb was the longest of the season at Nationals Park at an estimated 465 feet.
Struggles with two outs caused problems again for Atlanta in the fourth. Steve Lombardozzi singled then stole second. Bryce Harper walked to put runners on first and second for Zimmerman. Zimmerman crushed a three-run homer of his own to make it a 6-0 game.
Back-to-back singles to start the fifth from Morse and Ian Desmond chased Hanson from the game. Luis Avilan entered to replace Hanson, and promptly threw a wild pitch that moved the runners up to second and third. Jesus Flores walked to load the bases, and Strasburg walked as well to bring in Washington's seventh run of the game.
Lombardozzi singled to score both Desmond and Flores to make it a 9-0 game.
The Braves finally got on the board in a big way in the sixth, chasing Strasburg in the process. Brian McCann launched a two-run homer to score Atlanta's first runs, and Prado doubled a few batters later to drive in two more, cutting the defect to 9-4.
Against Drew Storen in the eighth, Atlanta used three walks and three singles to score four runs and cut the game to 9-8. Chipper had a two-run single in the inning that gave him the most RBI for a player whose primary position was third base. Cool moment and accomplishment for Chipper.
With the score 9-8 heading to the top of the ninth, Atlanta took advantage of a wild Tyler Clippard and took the lead. Clippard walked Uggla and then hit Janish with a pitch to put runners on first and second. After a strikeout from David Ross, Michael Bourn tripled off the wall in right field, plating both runners and giving the Braves a short-lived 10-9 lead.
Tomorrow is a doubleheader, so an 11-innning game to start the series will make things interesting pitching wise for both teams. Both teams will need their starters to stay in the game to give the bullpens a rest.