Same story, different verse: Atlanta's offense wasted another well-pitched ballgame, getting just two hits in seven innings against Doug Fister, who had lost three straight starts. An eighth-inning rally fell short and the Braves drop the opening game to the Nats 2-1.
Mike Minor allowed seven hits in six innings, but three of them came in the first inning. Following singles by Anthony Rendon and Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond singled home the Nats' first run with two outs in the first.
Freddie Freeman's first-inning single and Tommy La Stella's second-inning single accounted for all the offense against Doug Fister, who also walked three. There's a small consolation in that because Fister hadn't walked three in a start all year.
Washington's other run came in the seventh. Minor left after giving up a single and a double to start the inning. David Hale came in and got one out before intentionally walking Denard Span, hopeful for Rendon hitting into a double play. Hale got the ground ball, but he reached for it and deflected it enough that the defense could only get one out, allowing a run to score.
Tyler Clippard was the first guy out of the Nats bullpen, and I'm sure that gave the Braves some hope of coming back considering how bad he has been against them. Ryan Doumit came off the bench and hit a double to right that Jayson Werth tried to make a sliding catch on; Jason Heyward walked and after a strikeout, Freddie Freeman singled off Matt Thornton to bring home a run. Unfortunately, Justin Upton hit a foul popup to end the inning with the tying run at third.
Win Expectancy