Braves 7, Nationals 6
Late Friday
How the game was won
Justin Upton’s third home run in two nights was to straightaway center in the eighth inning to tie the score at 6, and the Braves pulled out a 7-6 win in the 10th inning on his two-out RBI single to shallow right field, which scored Jordan Schafer from first base. Schafer pinch-ran for Chris Johnson after a two-out single, the third hit for Johnson. Upton’s single bounced off the glove of right fielder Bryce Harper, who perhaps was rushed after seeing Schafer wasn’t stopping at third. The scorekeeper didn’t charge Harper with an error.
Braves highlight
In addition to Upton and Johnson at the plate, Craig Kimbrel struck out the side against the heart of the Nationals order in the ninth inning – Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche and Ryan Zimmerman.
Braves lowlight
Dan Uggla had a two-out throwing error in the fifth inning and it resulted in three unearned runs of Julio Teheran.
Nationals highlight
Ryan Zimmerman hit a three-run home run to tie the score at 4 in the fifth inning.
Nationals lowlight
Adam LaRoche tried to score from second base on a Jordan Walden wild pitch with two out in the seventh inning and the score tied at 5. Catcher Evan Gattis scrambled to retrieve the ball near the Nationals dugout and threw out LaRoche. The play was reviewed and the call upheld. During the process, a replay showed that Walden clearly made the tag before LaRoche’s foot touched the plate. … Since the beginning of the 2013 season, Tyler Clippard has a 9.72 ERA with nine runs and four homers allowed in 8 1/3 innings of nine appearances against the Braves, and a 1.81 ERA and six homers allowed in 70 appearances against everyone else.
Notable
Ramiro Pena, with a three-run homer in the second inning, has hit three home runs in 25 career at-bats against the Nationals and has a total of three homers in 391 career at-bats against all other major-league teams. … Teheran had one walk and one strikeout, his lowest strikeout total since recording none in two innings at Pittsburgh in his seventh major league start on Sept. 3, 2012.
Quoting them
“They know what I’m going to throw and what’s my best pitches. When I don’t have my best, they know how it’s going to be. On the difficult days when I don’t strike out people much, I try to get outs with ground balls and fly balls. My change-up was working.” — Teheran
“I’ve seen (Schafer) run before, so I was hoping he would (try to score). I knew he had a chance if that ball got down and got away from him a little bit. That’s why we put the speed at first base, and he made a good play for us.” — Justin Upton
“He was running on the pitch and scored on a ball that was just 120 feet. And (third-base coach Doug Dascenzo) did a terrific job at third base, keeping him coming. I would have liked to see if Harper picks that ball up clean what kind of play at the plate – but it was a strange enough night without trying to get that one also.” — Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez
