ATLANTA (AP) – Daniel Murphy was a huge hit in his Washington debut with a home run and a go-ahead double in the 10th inning, and the Nationals rallied past the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in their season opener Monday.
NL MVP Bryce Harper also homered in his first plate appearance of the season, and the Nationals made a winner of Dusty Baker in his first game as their manager.
Washington tied it in the ninth on Michael Taylor’s sacrifice fly to shallow center field. Atlanta nearly escaped with a game-ending double play, but Jayson Werth scored when catcher A.J. Pierzynski dropped Ender Inciarte’s accurate throw that beat Werth to the plate.
Murphy’s one-out double to left off Eric O’Flaherty (0-1) drove in Ryan Zimmerman from second base. Zimmerman reached on a two-base throwing error by second baseman Gordon Beckham.
Murphy also walked twice in his first game since leaving the rival Mets as a free agent and signing a $37.5 million, three-year contract with Washington. The 2015 NLCS MVP set a postseason record last year by hitting a home run in six consecutive playoff games.