Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Washington 3, Atlanta 0
When: 7:05 PM ET, Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Where: Nationals Park, Washington, District of Columbia
Temperature: 84°
Umpires: Home - Eric Cooper, 1B - Bill Miller, 2B - Mike Reilly, 3B - Chad Fairchild
Attendance: 40043

Miguel Batista did his best Stephen Strasburg impression in an emergency start in place of the rookie phenom as the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 3-0 on Tuesday at Nationals Park.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said it was his decision to scratch Strasburg after the 22-year-old right-hander had a difficult time getting loose in the bullpen before the game. Rizzo said he made the move as a precaution.

Batista (1-2) was booed by a stunned crowd of 40,043 when announced as the starting pitcher, but he didn't disappoint in his first start since 2008 with Seattle. The 39-year-old right-hander held the Braves to three hits and a walk over five scoreless innings, striking out six for his first win since Sept. 22.

Sean Burnett worked two scoreless innings in relief, Drew Storen pitched a perfect eighth, and Matt Capps worked a perfect ninth for his 25th save in 29 opportunities.

The Braves hurt themselves with two key errors behind starter Tommy Hanson (8-7), who allowed three runs -- one earned -- on six hits over six innings.

Nyjer Morgan led off the bottom of the first with a single, stole second and third, and scored on catcher Brian McCann's throwing error.

The Nationals added to the lead in the second on Ian Desmond's two-run single, which came after third baseman Chipper Jones' throwing error moved runners to second and third.

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Atlanta   Washington
Tommy Hanson Player Miguel Batista
Loss W/L Win
6.0 IP 5.0
8 Strikeouts 6
6 Hits 3
1.50 ERA 0.00
Hitting
Atlanta   Washington
Melky Cabrera Player Ian Desmond
2 Hits 2
0 RBI 2
0 HR 0
2 TB 2
.667 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Atlanta 5 0 6 .167 11 10 0 1 0 2
Washington 6 0 7 .194 8 10 2 0 4 0