WASHINGTON D.C. -- It had been nearly 19 years since Tom Glavine departed a start without recording an out, but the veteran left-hander was forced to depart just five batters into the first inning as the Atlanta Braves dropped an eventual 5-4 decision to the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
The Nationals were in desperate need of a win coming into the contest, having dropped the first two games of this series and nine straight overall. Glavine's first inning departure no doubt boosted their chances, as Bobby Cox was forced to utilize his bullpen for the entire nine innings.
Glavine (0-1) was forced to leave because of a strained hamstring while facing Wily Mo Pena in the first. This marks the first time Glavine failed to record an out since May 16, 1989. Glavine left that start against the Chicago Cubs after spraining his ankle covering first. He is listed as day-to-day.
Atlanta turned to Jeff Bennett in Glavine's stead. The righty worked four innings but battled some control issues in allowing three earned over five innings. Glavine was charged with two runs on three hits and a walk.
Jorge Campillo was impressive in his Atlanta debut, working two perfrect frames and striking out three Nationals batters. Blaine Boyer and Chris Resop also hurled scoreless frames that allowed Atlanta to creep back into the game late.
Trailing 5-0, the Braves enjoyed a three run inning against starter Tim Redding (2-1). Chipper Jones belted a two-run homer to get Atlanta on the board. Mark Teixeira followed with a scorching drive that bounced off the top of the wall and back onto the field of play, forcing him to settle for a double. Jeff Francoeur chased him home with a sacrifice fly two batters later to make it a 5-3 game.
Though Atlanta would scratch out another run in the eighth to pull to within 5-4, they loaded the bases but were unable to push any more across in the ninth. John Rauch retired Brian McCann on a hard hit fly ball to right that ended the game.
Kelly Johnson 's nine-game hitting streak came to an end with an 0-for-4 day at the plate. For Jones, the homer is his second on the season, both coming at Nationals Park. Francoeur's sacrifice fly gives him a club-leading 12 on the year.
Washington activated both Pena and Chad Cordero from the disabled list prior to the contest. Cordero threw walked two men and gave up a hit on 21 pitches in two-thirds of an inning. The velocity on his fastball topped out around 83 mph. Nationals manager Manny Acta lifted Cordero in favor of Rauch to record the final out.
On Deck: The Braves have another much needed off-day on Monday, as the team travels to Miami to begin a three game set with the Florida Marlins before returning home.