This was the MLB season opener and the first game at Nationals Park. Washington got off to a good start, with two-out RBI hits from Nick Johnson and Austin Kearns giving them a 2-0 lead off Tim Hudson. That was literally all they would get off Hudson as he retired the last nineteen batters he faced, leaving the game after just 78 pitches through seven.
Chipper Jones’ homer cut it to 2-1 in the fourth, but the Braves managed little offense with just two baserunners in the fifth through the eighth. Facing Jon Rauch with one out in the ninth, Mark Teixeira doubled, advanced to third on Jeff Francoeur’s groundout, and scored the tying run on a Paul LoDuca passed ball on the first pitch to Brian McCann. Meanwhile, Will Ohman had a 1-2-3 eighth and Peter Moylan set down the first two Nats in the ninth, running Atlanta’s streak to twenty-four retired. But Ryan Zimmerman ended that and the game with a homer to centerfield.