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Washington Nationals: Top 10 Games Of 2016 (10-6)

By Ricky Keeler

May 29, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) is congratulated by manager Dusty Baker (12) after the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
May 29, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) is congratulated by manager Dusty Baker (12) after the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
Apr 4, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy (20) drives in the game winning run with a base hit against the Atlanta Braves during the tenth inning at Turner Field. The Nationals defeated the Braves 4-3 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

Opening Day Drama In Atlanta

This past season, the Washington Nationals first game and their first win ended up being at Turner Field in Atlanta. Bryce Harper got the scoring started with a solo home run in the first against Julio Teheran, which was his fourth career home run on Opening Day.

But, the lead didn’t last long when Freddie Freeman crushed a solo home run to dead center against Scherzer. Three innings later, the teams exchanged solo home runs again. Daniel Murphy hit his first home run in a curly W uniform to center and Adonis Garcia hit a home run for Atlanta, which tied the game at two.

While Opening Day was great for Murphy, it wasn’t good for Shawn Kelley. Kelley walked Garcia on four pitches with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, which gave the Braves a 3-2 lead. However, the Nats would rally back.

After the Washington Nationals loaded the bases against Jason Grilli, Michael Taylor hit a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at three. In extra innings, Murphy would end up being the hero as his double in the tenth inning against Jim Johnson ended up sealing the win in Dusty Baker’s first game as Nats manager.

Opening Day ended up setting the tone for this team as one that would fight back in any situation and it set the tempo for the Nats fast start to the season. Add in the implementation of the new slide rule, which worked in the Nats favor, and you have yourself a top ten ballgame.

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