Washington Nationals Reaction: Gio Gonzalez Shows No Rust

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Apr 12, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) hits a two run double during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park. Washington Nationals defeated Atlanta Braves 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Harper’s Clutch Hit

All night long, the Nationals offense struggled to find any rhythm against Jhoulys Chacin. The Braves’ right-hander went six innings, gave up no runs on five hits, and struck out eight on only 69 pitches (52 strikes). Chacin pounded the strike zone all night and only had two three-ball counts (Daniel Murphy in the fourth and Jayson Werth in the fifth).

However, once Chacin left the game, the Nats had opportunities against the Braves bullpen, which isn’t its strongest unit when you consider they were using the former closer, Jason Grilli, in the sixth inning Monday night.

After the Nats ran into a double play in the seventh, they went up against Jim Johnson in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Stephen Drew picked up his first Nats hit via a single to center. Two batters later, Rendon drew a walk, which caused the Braves to go to O’Flaherty to face Harper.

Harper, who had struck out looking against O’Flaherty the night before, was able to hit the game-winning double past Francoeur in left. This is the second time O’Flaherty has given up a game-winning hit against the Nats this year (Murphy’s 10^th inning double on Opening Day).

Even though Harper didn’t hit his 100^th career home run, he continued his runners in scoring position success from last year when he hit .301 (second behind Michael Taylor) with eight home runs and 55 RBI’s (led team in both categories).

Next: Bullpen Has Late Inning Magic

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